One Of America's Biggest Grocery Stores Is A Midwest Gem Often Called A 'Theme Park Of Food'

Pink pineapples. Spicy Lay's potato chips from India. Orange Fanta from Germany. Kombucha on tap. Squid jerky. Burmese Python fillets. Rattlesnake, bison, and ostrich meat. Uncle Bud's deep-fried peanuts in the shell (slogan: "Eat 'em shell and all"). Cheeto dust – in bulk, no less. The question isn't, "What can you get at Jungle Jim's International Market in Cincinnati, Ohio," but what can't you get here?

Yes, Jungle Jim's is a supermarket (emphasis on super), but it's also more than that. Ride the monorail in from the parking lot, past a "zoo" populated by fiberglass elephants and giraffes in a "jungle" complete with a waterfall, and you'll get it; Jungle Jim's is nothing less than a foodie theme park. It's as weirdly wonderful as Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, to which it's often compared, but created for adult omnivores. Occupying 310,000 square feet — that's over twice the size of your average Costco store — shopping here is an expedition. "Wear comfortable shoes, and plan at least 3 hours," one Redditor recommends.

What started as a fruit and vegetable stand in 1970s suburban Fairfield has grown steadily, product by product. The passion project of James "Jungle" Bonaminio, Jungle Jim's is still a family business (there's now a second location across town in Eastgate). That's Jim you see zooming around the cash registers on roller skates, announcing raffle winners through a megaphone. Today, the store has its own podcast and onsite podcasting studio. Would you listen to a 55-minute-long episode about the store's butter bar? If the answer is yes, then you're definitely a Jungle Jim's customer.

If you're one of those savvy travelers who always checks out the local food market scene to take the pulse of a travel destination, you'll find Cincy to be a town with a rollicking sense of humor and a devotion to kitsch, but with a sophisticated palate.

The selection of bizarre foods at Jungle Jim's is legendary, but that's the icing on this multi-layered cake. The reason the store is so beloved is that it hosts a deep and broad selection across just about every category of food and libation. Featuring the largest wine selection in Ohio, with a tasting room, Jim's stocks 17,000 varieties. Looking for Magnum of 2016 Domaine Romanee Conti Echezeaux for that special dinner party? Jungle Jim's has a bottle available for $6,999. The beer selection is almost as definitive, with dozens of options on tap.

1500 varieties of hot sauce occupy an island capped with a real vintage fire truck. The mushroom bar, presided over by an "Alice in Wonderland"-sized 'shroom, includes every culinary variety from French Chanterelle's to Asian Matsutake. Jungle Jim's World of Cheese stocks 1,400 varieties. The mozzarella section alone is bigger than most gourmet supermarkets' entire cheese aisles. And the produce section occupies 1.5 acres of the market's space.

Jungle Jim's is a serious foodie destination, even if the vibe is gonzo goofiness all the way. Cincinnati, a city known for its colorful street art, wouldn't have it any other way. That epically well-stocked cheese department is dominated by a 750-800-pound provolone hanging from the ceiling. Visitors also love to gawk at the giant talking can of Campbell's soup on a swing. There's an animatronic cereal-themed house band made up of the Trix rabbit on keyboards and Lucky the Leprechaun of Lucky Charms fame on guitar and vocals. If you like, this band can even play at your nuptials, as Jungle Jim's has an event space that can be rented as a wedding venue.

Cincinnatians are fiercely, cultishly loyal to Jungle Jim's brand of goofiness. Take it from this Reddit thread, in which one Redditor hit up fellow Junglers for Secret Santa advice, asking, "What is the largest, most impracticable food item at Jungle Jim's? I wish to repay my brother for his 50lb sack of peanuts." The highly entertaining list of answers included items including a gummy snake (as opposed to a worm), a 25-pound tube of bologna, a gallon jug of Tabasco sauce, and a whole shark in the seafood section. If none of this is able to whet your appetite for a shopping trip that's a real "trip," well, nothing will.