A Trip to Jusgo in Duluth, GA

I rarely get to Duluth, Georgia.

But I want to go to Duluth, Georgia, ALL THE TIME.

I don’t go because I don’t drive. (Perhaps I’ll try again in a few weeks. Months. Years. I’m back in therapy. We’ll see.) But, I mean, it’s also FAR. FAR FAR and requires some scary highway and parking lot driving.

ANYWAY. On December 30, my amazing friend Jamie said “Get in, loser, we’re going to Duluth.” I couldn’t hop into the passenger seat because her sister was there (I like her sister a lot and she and I share the same interests, thus Jamie’s willingness to take a road trip) so I curled up in the backseat and off we went.

Ah - why Duluth? Because it has a thriving, vibrant Asian community and is a hub for legit Asian stores, restaurants, and groceries (and karaoke parlors). Jamie jokingly said that the KFC probably sells boba - but seriously, it might. There are a billion and seven boba shops, each with its own gimmick or flair or specialty. Duluth is where the Georgia branch of Teso is. Duluth has a really cool Costco. Duluth is where some of the bestest grocery stores are. Can I get some of these things, foods, experiences closer to home (or further from home)? Yep. But Duluth is a concentrated area of amazing.

First we tried to go to Fluffy Fluffy aka Fuwa Fuwa aka “North America’s largest soufflé pancake and dessert cafe.” But there was a TWO HOUR WAIT FOR PANCAKES. No. Instead we went to The Coffee by Hand and I got my first (but prob not my last) croffle (croissant/waffle) with Nutella. I also had one of Jamie’s tiny custard-filled Taiyaki.

Then we went to Teso and it was overwhelming and fantastic. I’d been to one in New York City (because I literally got to NYC before I got to Duluth) but the ATL outpost is a “SUPER” Teso and it’s huge. But I was spoiled by the prices at Daiso in NYC (as if I’m EVER going to get back there) so everything felt expensive. Still, my therapist said I needed a new hobby/crafty project, so I bought four little block-kits to make four little businesses because they were affordable ($6 each!) and darling. And also one tiny puzzle (not shown).

But like….look at the snacks:

I was so restrained. (Bonus: I got a tote bag that is reusable and nice with my purchase! Have we discussed my obsession with reusable bags? Maybe another time I’ll show you my collection…..)

Then off to Jusgo. But you see, Jusgo isn’t JUST a grocery store. No. It has both a separate small Japanese store (Tokyo Kuma - it carries food, home goods, etc.) AND a giant food court.

I wasn’t particularly impressed with the prices in Tokyo Kuma and only bought a tiny yuzu soda for 99 cents - but I still had a grand time looking at every single thing in that store. The cookies! The noodles! The small but mighty stationery section. I just was trying not to overspend or overbuy (as I write all this I realize I should’ve started by telling you that during this holiday break I’ve also been to both Buford Highway Farmers Market AND Super HMart - my pantry and freezer are both FULL.)

So then I went into Jusgo itself, and it was just overwhelmingly amazing. Every noodle you can imagine. Every spice and sauce. Candy. An incredible produce section. A giant frozen section.

I bought some vegetarian patties, some rice paper (which I didn’t really NEED but I like to use it for various things), some more yuba (I also bought some at HMart), some dried soy “meat” (TVP-ish - we used to get it all the time at 99 Ranch before that closed). I got frozen scallion pancakes too. And the vegetarian pho broth powder that I’d seen at BuHiFM but didn’t buy and regretted not buying, yay soup.

[Because I didn’t really think about writing a blog/newsletter post until I got home, I really didn’t take any pictures IN Jusgo. OH WELL. But here are some things I bought….]

Update - I ate the freeze dried fruit as seen above and it was amazing and I’m sad I didn’t buy two now (there was a sale if you bought two but I was like “what if I hate it?”)

By this point I was pretty damn tired, but Jamie is very astute and knows me very well and encouraged me to go back to the food court because I’d seen Vivi Bubble Tea there and they had a special holiday menu where you got your boba in a LITTLE GINGERBREAD MAN WITH A HAT AND A SCARF (you could also get a tree version) and I GOT HIM AND I LOVE HIM.

I actually have followed Vivi on Facebook for forever because I like their aesthetic. No, seriously, I took this picture of a stranger’s drinks (with permission) because LOOK AT THEM.

And then after a quick pit stop at Sweet Hut (I got my kid a bun and I got me a crispy tofu bao that was fabulous) I came home, popped open an adaptogen-filled seltzer from the local zero-proof shop, and got ready to roll into the New Year……

PS I would LOVE to grow this newsletter at least a tiny bit. I don’t want a huge audience but a few more people would be great! Share with your friends, would ya? https://thesillyshopper.beehiiv.com/

Correction January 2, 2024: We went to Tokyo Kuma not Ebisu, I’ve updated this post to fix that. :D