There is an article (PDF) out on the greatness that is Timor Bodega. Don’t let the closed gate fool you, he’s open. The article mentions Timor owner Kim Wee’s winter veggie box program and the Union Street soaps. Last I looked he was out of Black Tea and Sage which is an awesome soap. The tea embedded in the soap give you some scrubby action in the shower, and bonus is you get to rub yourself with caffine in the morning. I also have the oatmeal, which is more nubbly than scrubby, not as great as the black tea. There is a Cinnamon Orange bar that smells wonderful and keeps my bathroom smelling great hours after I’ve showered.
The yogurt is the best. I’ve been spoiled by the yogurt there, as I got some yogurt at Giant and found it watery in comparision.
When my cousin returns to eat me out of house and home, she will get the sourdough bread hiding in one of Kim’s freezers. She raves about it. Sometimes she won’t wait till the loaf is completely defrosted that she starts picking at it and eating it. It makes for a good ingredient for my french toast, too.
Timor is very unique not because of what it has (or doesn’t have, which at times can be frustrating) but because of the atmosphere created. Remember back two years ago when Kim opened Timor, he had the dairy case and just one low aisle of shelf stable items. Now as he’s past his second year anniversary with us, he seems to have found some sort of system, balance, method (whatever) that works, and the shelves are taller and there is more stuff, but you still have to ask him if he has X, because it might be in season and it is in the back, in a hidden freezer, or something. In that back and forth in figuring out what works, and what doesn’t something wonderful was created. And in that two years we have pointed to Timor as a neighborhood asset. Yes, it’s in Bloomingdale, but close enough to the border to be enjoyed by Shaw people.