Pork Tenderloin with Spicy Cranberry Glaze and Couscous. Pic by me.

I went in search of harissa this week to make a dish we published in yesterday's food section - pork tenderloin and couscous with cranberry-harissa sauce. It made for a fine New Year's Eve dinner last night.

My Tacoma harissa mission took me to two stores, both with international inventory.

My first stop was Daniah's International Market and Deli on Sixth Avenue (we wrote about Daniah's about three years ago, but I don't think we've revisited). Right there on the second shelf of the grocery section, I found the can of harissa I needed to make the pork dish. And it was bargain priced at $1.49. Harissa, in case you've never tasted it, is a spicy red sauce used in Moroccan and North African cooking.

Even though I had harissa in hand, I was curious about another store where I never have shopped. I was pretty sure they didn't carry harissa, but thought I would pay a visit to the European Deli Romka on Pacific Avenue anyway. I was right, no sign of harissa there – the inventory is centered pretty strictly on European groceries (Eastern and Central European, but no straying to Morocco). But if Ukrainian and Latvian soda pop and Russian cheese is what you seek, this is the store for you.

Click "read more" for the pork-harissa-cranberry recipe, and to see more about the groceries and takeout food I found at each store.

=> Read more!