300 bags of chickpeas delivered to Sultan's Market

Standing outside Sultan's Market, 2057 W. North Ave., owner Masada Ramli explains that it took three months for her 300 bag order of organic chickpeas to arrive from Istanbul, Turkey. 

A lot of falafel can be made with that shipment of chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. And many orders will be filled for that and other Middle Eastern dishes such as chicken and lamb shawerma and kefta. 

And then there is her order for organic tahini. [A sauce made from toasted ground hulled sesame.] Harvesting of sesame seeds in the Sudan happens annually. Her order? A mere 240 buckets, 40 kilo each! 

"These sesame seeds are sweet…tastes good. The ones from China are a little bitter, you can't use them for tahini. It is used in oils," says Ramli. 

She has been serving her Middle Eastern cuisine in Wicker Park since 1990. "But we didn't become famous until 1995," she explains. 

Open at 10 a.m. every day of the week, Sultan's Market is a no frills, reasonably priced restaurant with consistent high quality food that can be eaten on site or carried out. 

Her family has a second Sultan's at 2521 N. Clark St. Her son Shadi Ramli has an elaborate restaurant named Masada at 2206 N California Ave.