Photograph by Kathryn Yu

They’re sticky, they’re sweet, they’re incredibly fragrant—and they’re pricey as hell. But, apparently, getting less so. The much-ballyhooed Indian mangoes have landed in the United States for the first time this season, with confirmed sightings at Patel Brothers, the Indian supermarket, in Chicago, New York’s Jackson Heights, and Decatur, Georgia.

For seventeen years, Indian mangoes (such as Alphonso, Kesar and Banganpa) were barred from the United States. But that ban was lifted in 2007, and each spring since then, the arrival of the mangoes has been a major event. From the look of this April’s first boxes, prices are easing up. A case of twelve Alphonso mangoes is selling for $25 per box in Chicago, down from $36 two years ago. In Atlanta, they’re still going for $35. Have you spotted them anywhere else?

Patel Brothers

2610 West Devon Avenue, Chicago IL 60659 (map)
773-764-1857

1711 Church Street, Decatur GA 30033 (map)
404-296-2696

3727 74th Street, Jackson Heights NY 11372 (map)
718-898-3445