Many of you are already huge fans of City Market, but being "all the way out here" in Santa Fe, I had never been! Well, they've finally opened one up here and I just got a chance to go. I have to admit, it wasn't half bad. I wasn't like a "kid in a candy store" per se, as there was not an astonishing amount of things I'd never seen in Mexico City before, but there were several things I was happy to find. And you can't deny that they certainly do have a lot of "higher quality" items, although I cannot for the life of me figure out why anyone needs a selection of over 30 types of foie gras....................That being said, here are a short list of things I found there that I haven't been able to find anywhere else:
- Bok Choy (previously only seen at Mercado de San Juan)
- Amazing Cheese selection
- Dr. Pepper Cherry soda (I know some of you are addicted!)
- Dry-Aged Meat, aged in-house
- Duck Breast ("Magret de Pato", a delicacy from the famous Maillard Duck, the same breed from which they make foie gras...I have since seen this in the freezer section at Chedraui too)
- Fennel
- Greek Yogurt (although it was Walnut/Caramel flavored)
- Hot Chocolate, Ghirardelli Brand
- Large selection of certified/stamped Kosher meats
- Raddichio (have never seen it here, not even at Costco)
- Rice Papers with which to make spring rolls and a lot of other Asian ingredients for sushi, etc.
- Rice Pasta (great for those with Celiac's Disease)
- Whole Wheat Flour and Gluten-Free Flours
- Wild Rice (previously only seen at specialty kosher stores in Polanco, although finally saw it at Superama, too)
Their prices, however, on everyday items are not ridiculously exhorbitant as you might expect, and they have a truly fantastic bakery. Their pan dulce, cakes, etc. are much better than what I've found at Chedraui or Superama. Additionally, their coffee shop serves some amazing "mezclas" of coffee and everytime you buy a cup of coffee you get two free little pan dulces. Not bad! I definitely think I'll try out one or two of their "restaurants" in the near future...they have a "Bar do Mar" and a place selling "spiked tapas" called "Pintxos".
Let me know what you think of City Market, and where is your favorite place to shop. I have been doing a lot of research on pricing, and Chedraui is, surprisingly, the cheapest I've found so far, although Costco beats them out on many shelf-stable items. Let me know what you guys think!
I loved the City Markets when I lived in Austin, Texas. Now I'm in Ensenada, BCN and I *yearn* for them. I'm only a few hours from the border so it's not impossible to do some international shopping, although it is inconvenient.
ReplyDeleteLast year I went on a wild goose chase all over Baja trying to find rhubarb, green tomatoes ("no, that's a tomatillo. No, that is ALSO a tomatillo. Okay that's a guava and now you're just messing with me")and cardamom.
I've given up on the rhubarb and imported the cardamom. As for the decent tomatoes I've surrendered and started to grow my own.
That's the answer...I've got to grow my own. But I've got such a brown thumb...oh well, we'll have to see how it goes! Loved the green tomato story...I so have experienced so many things like that here in Mexico City!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment!
Update: They now have a wide selection of Greek Yogurt at Superama! Woohoo!
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