Sultan's Market   

Light and airy, Sultan's Market is a Middle Eastern food emporium. Actually, it's more like the consummate electric Kasbah of edible goods. A Wicker Park/Bucktown mom-and-pop institution that started more than a decade ago as a run of the mill convenience store, it's undergone a metamorphosis within the past three years at the hands of Shadi Ramli, owner May Ramli's son. Everything -- from the 8-foot-long salad bar, comfy wooden booths and Lebanese downtempo music playing in the background to the blue-and-terra-cotta hand-painted floors -- is custom-made. Attentiveness and care goes into the inexpensive and bountiful food: the falafels, hummus, tabbouleh, Jerusalem salad, kafta kabobs and chicken shawarmas are all made from scratch daily, from recipes May brought with her from Jordan. Although the fresh grub is what keeps the front door swinging with new customers every two minutes, a modest but thorough selection of goods like Moroccan sardines, Turkish sweets and hookahs line the shelves.