Gallery: Hanging Gardens of Ham, Mountain of Salt Cod at A. J. Seabra's Portuguese Supermarket in Newark, NJ

As seen from Ferry Street, the main drag of Newark's Ironbound district.

While Seabra's carries a pretty extensive selection of Portuguese olive oils, we were enthralled by Saloio's...distinguished...mascot. The oil is rich and buttery, but light on the tongue.

Juice boxes straight out of Portugal. The lion is presiding over strawberry juice.

The tagline, according to Um Bongo's English website, is "Um Bongo, Um Bongo, They Drink it in the Congo..."

The butcher counter proudly displays its ham. Please note the mouthwatering array hanging in the background. Now, imagine that this photograph only encompasses one quarter of the display.

Sufficiently awed? I know we were.

Yup. It's a bag o'...sausage. I am laughing because I am an adult.

One of countless varieties of sausages on display.

Jamie spots prosciutto and lunges for her prey.

It is literally a wagon of ham. Admittedly, it is Smithfield ham, which is less than ideal. But more to the point, why we ever came up with alternative modes of transportation is entirely beyond me.

Like, a lot of it.

Is a thing! Did you know that it was a thing? I definitely did not know that this was a thing.

None of Seabra's fish are farm-raised. Which is probably why these guys were so damn good looking...

Indeed, so good looking, we just had to get a little closer.

You can smell these huge cod fillets before you see them. Nostril-flaringly fishy, profoundly present, and absurdly delicious.

Bacalhau—dried and salted preserved cod—is pretty much the Portuguese staple.

At Seabra's Casa do Bacalhau, full cod fillets are available, along with portion-sized cuts, like these.

Salt cod looks as hard and dense as slate, but reconstituted, it's virtually unrecognizable—the moist, tender flesh has a bold salinity and pleasantly pungent aroma that takes center stage in any number of Iberian dishes.

The bitter, sour fruit is most often stewed or slow-cooked into marmalades, or membrillo.

One of the Brazilian specialties on display at Seabra's, spiny chayote is about the size of a pear. It's generally cooked in a manner similar to summer squash.