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Message
TulaneLSU's Top 10 grocery stores in Houston
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:22 pm
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:22 pm
Friends,
After spending a week in Houston earlier this year, today I wrap up my reviews of Houston. I will be unusually brief, as I am running late to catch a movie at AMC, where I am now an A-List member, permitting me entrance to three movies every week for just $20.
As you know, I do love grocery shopping. I think it is one of the most underrated activities in life, something people take for granted. One of the oddest aspects of contemporary life to me is that there is a budding grocery shopping service industry where people actually pay others to shop and deliver groceries for them. This sloth is a sign of poor taste, ingratitude, and poverty of spirit. The idea that someone would pay another to shop for them is so confusing to me. I would honestly pay you to let me shop for your groceries, so much do I love browsing the aisles and counters of our food markets.
As you also know, Houston is home to some of the great grocery stores in America. Houston’s vast and diverse offerings are a spectacle in the grocery world, and though Houston is lacking in spirit, it lacks not in groceries. If you live in Houston or are visiting for a short while, there are few, perhaps only one, things more enjoyable to do in Houston than grocery shop.
TulaneLSU’s Guide to Houston, TX:
TulaneLSU's Top 10 Mexican eateries of Houston
TulaneLSU's Top 10 dishes at Pancho's Mexican Buffet
TulaneLSU's Top 10 things to do in Houston
TulaneLSU's review of Tony's
TulaneLSU's review of The Gypsy Poet
TulaneLSU's Top 10 eateries of Houston's Chinatown
TulaneLSU's analysis of Publix, H-E-B, and Rouses
TulaneLSU’s Top 10 grocery stores in Houston
10. Pancho’s Mexican Meat Market
Houston is home to the best Mexican meat markets in America. La Michoacana Meat Market gets all the press, partly because it is clean, well-lit, and has 50 locations. But if you want a more authentic first generation immigrant grocery experience, I suggest you try Pancho’s Mexican Meat Mart. The yoga crowd will likely turn its nose up at Pancho’s, as they would with Pancho’s Mexican Buffet, but there are some great buys here. The market also houses a little eating area with Mexican orange and blue Formica booths from which Paulie Gee’s of Brooklyn stole their inspiration. Their tacos are exceptionally great, not quite good enough to break into my Top 10, but close.
9. Cho Tan Binh, 11698 Bellaire Blvd
Not to be confused with Cho Thahn Phat, which is in the same square, CTB was heads and shoulders above the other two Vietnamese grocery stores I visited in Houston. Its aisles were wide, floors were clean, and it had a very large selection of all types of groceries. I did not like Cho Thahn Phat very much, as I got my favorite loafers wet walking its aisles which had pooled water on them. Letting leaks go probably allows CTP to sell their banh mi at the remarkably low price of $2, but their meat section inspired me to start eating vegan.
8. Whole Foods, 1700 Post Oak
Whole Foods first location was in Mid-City New Orleans, or at least that is where they got their name. I have been in 20-30 Whole Foods in my life and the one on Post Oak was the nicest. Everything there is solid. The caviar section is the biggest I found in Houston. Unfortunately, they were not giving samples of their famous smoked burgers, which became world famous thanks to the Magazine St. location.
7. Fiesta, 800 S Wayside Dr
Fiesta may be the only store on Earth where you can purchase boiled crawfish, fresh tacos, Jello cake, boots and bandanas, and live blue crabs. The produce is great, the salsa bar contains restaurant worthy salsas, the pepper aisle is incredible, and the prices are some of the lowest in America. There are plenty of Fiestas sprinkled throughout Houstonland, and each is fantastic. Fiesta is number seven on this list, but in many large cities in America it would justifiably be #1.
6. H-E-B, 2300 N Shepherd
As most here know, H-E-B won the highly contested and highly coveted TulaneLSU Top Grocery Chain of the Gulf Coast Award last month. You may be surprised, then, to find it all the way at #6. That position while being such a quality grocery speaks volumes about the quality of Houston as a grocery destination. Houston arguably is the best place in America, some might even argue, the world, to go grocery shopping.
H-E-B is the shining example of what a local or regional chain grocery can be. From its incredible deli, which far surpasses the Publix subs, to its delicious freshly made tortillas to its wonderful cheese selection, H-E-B dazzles while maintaining prices that are over 30% cheaper than Publix and 18% cheaper than Rouses.
After spending a week in Houston earlier this year, today I wrap up my reviews of Houston. I will be unusually brief, as I am running late to catch a movie at AMC, where I am now an A-List member, permitting me entrance to three movies every week for just $20.
As you know, I do love grocery shopping. I think it is one of the most underrated activities in life, something people take for granted. One of the oddest aspects of contemporary life to me is that there is a budding grocery shopping service industry where people actually pay others to shop and deliver groceries for them. This sloth is a sign of poor taste, ingratitude, and poverty of spirit. The idea that someone would pay another to shop for them is so confusing to me. I would honestly pay you to let me shop for your groceries, so much do I love browsing the aisles and counters of our food markets.
As you also know, Houston is home to some of the great grocery stores in America. Houston’s vast and diverse offerings are a spectacle in the grocery world, and though Houston is lacking in spirit, it lacks not in groceries. If you live in Houston or are visiting for a short while, there are few, perhaps only one, things more enjoyable to do in Houston than grocery shop.
TulaneLSU’s Guide to Houston, TX:
TulaneLSU's Top 10 Mexican eateries of Houston
TulaneLSU's Top 10 dishes at Pancho's Mexican Buffet
TulaneLSU's Top 10 things to do in Houston
TulaneLSU's review of Tony's
TulaneLSU's review of The Gypsy Poet
TulaneLSU's Top 10 eateries of Houston's Chinatown
TulaneLSU's analysis of Publix, H-E-B, and Rouses
TulaneLSU’s Top 10 grocery stores in Houston
10. Pancho’s Mexican Meat Market
Houston is home to the best Mexican meat markets in America. La Michoacana Meat Market gets all the press, partly because it is clean, well-lit, and has 50 locations. But if you want a more authentic first generation immigrant grocery experience, I suggest you try Pancho’s Mexican Meat Mart. The yoga crowd will likely turn its nose up at Pancho’s, as they would with Pancho’s Mexican Buffet, but there are some great buys here. The market also houses a little eating area with Mexican orange and blue Formica booths from which Paulie Gee’s of Brooklyn stole their inspiration. Their tacos are exceptionally great, not quite good enough to break into my Top 10, but close.
9. Cho Tan Binh, 11698 Bellaire Blvd
Not to be confused with Cho Thahn Phat, which is in the same square, CTB was heads and shoulders above the other two Vietnamese grocery stores I visited in Houston. Its aisles were wide, floors were clean, and it had a very large selection of all types of groceries. I did not like Cho Thahn Phat very much, as I got my favorite loafers wet walking its aisles which had pooled water on them. Letting leaks go probably allows CTP to sell their banh mi at the remarkably low price of $2, but their meat section inspired me to start eating vegan.
8. Whole Foods, 1700 Post Oak
Whole Foods first location was in Mid-City New Orleans, or at least that is where they got their name. I have been in 20-30 Whole Foods in my life and the one on Post Oak was the nicest. Everything there is solid. The caviar section is the biggest I found in Houston. Unfortunately, they were not giving samples of their famous smoked burgers, which became world famous thanks to the Magazine St. location.
7. Fiesta, 800 S Wayside Dr
Fiesta may be the only store on Earth where you can purchase boiled crawfish, fresh tacos, Jello cake, boots and bandanas, and live blue crabs. The produce is great, the salsa bar contains restaurant worthy salsas, the pepper aisle is incredible, and the prices are some of the lowest in America. There are plenty of Fiestas sprinkled throughout Houstonland, and each is fantastic. Fiesta is number seven on this list, but in many large cities in America it would justifiably be #1.
6. H-E-B, 2300 N Shepherd
As most here know, H-E-B won the highly contested and highly coveted TulaneLSU Top Grocery Chain of the Gulf Coast Award last month. You may be surprised, then, to find it all the way at #6. That position while being such a quality grocery speaks volumes about the quality of Houston as a grocery destination. Houston arguably is the best place in America, some might even argue, the world, to go grocery shopping.
H-E-B is the shining example of what a local or regional chain grocery can be. From its incredible deli, which far surpasses the Publix subs, to its delicious freshly made tortillas to its wonderful cheese selection, H-E-B dazzles while maintaining prices that are over 30% cheaper than Publix and 18% cheaper than Rouses.
This post was edited on 8/2/23 at 12:24 pm
17
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:22 pm to TulaneLSU
5. H Mart, 9896 Bellaire Blvd
H Mart is a national Korean grocery chain headquartered now in New Jersey, where its best stores are. The NJ stores recently ran a lobster special at just $10/lb. Anyway, H Mart is one of those great Asian markets that does many things, especially seafood, very well. The sushi at H Mart is always decent and very reasonably priced. They even sell sea urchin, which many sushi “restaurants” never sell, which is shocking and a sign that you should leave that purveyor of mayo fried sushi immediately. H Mart also has the largest selection of dried shrimp
H Mart also has the largest selection of dried shrimp that I have ever seen. Most places in America do not have any dried shrimp, and we can think the 19th century immigrants from China and the Philippines for the abundance of dried shrimp in south Louisiana.
While many Asian markets are geared toward Asian customers, H Mart does a good job of making non-Asians feel welcome. All items are clearly listed in English. H Mart’s approachableness can be a stepping stone for more adventurous grocery shopping, once the shopper learns to identify certain fruits and vegetables that they may see in other groceries but without English words attached to them.
4. Seiwa Market, 1801 South Dairy Ashford
Seiwa has the best seafood in Houston. Its sushi counter is the best grocery sushi I have ever had. They use expertly prepared rice, not the monstrously starchy rice most grocery store sushi uses. I cannot find my pictures from Seiwa, but they were beautiful and highlighted the freshness and variety of sushi there. Some days you can watch a sushi chef butcher a whole large yellowfin tuna there.
3. Hong Kong Food Market, 11205 Bellaire
Opened in 1999, this multi-hundred thousand square foot complex is a mall in itself. With laser disc departments, a hair salon, a dentist, and much more, Hong Kong is the closest approximation of what I imagine Schwegmann’s Grocery was in the 70s. The store is not very well lit, and its produce section is only average. What opens the eyes here is the seafood market, a linear panoply of every strange beast that swims in the ocean on ice and in tanks.
There are conch and stingrays, hermit crabs (you would have thought some Cajun on vacation in Grand Isle would have popularized them by now) and cobia, live catfish and barracuda.
Fishmongers wait patiently for Chinese housewives to select just the right tilapia or catfish in those tanks. After scooping up a fish, the customer nods her head to give approval that it is the fish she wants to bring home. The monger flops the fish to the ground and then swiftly cracks its skull with a baton before fileting it. It is done in the most humane way, I suppose, and it certainly guarantees the fish’s freshness.
There is a huge selection also of Asian dry goods, candies, and other imported goods. I thought the twenty pound bags of dried mushrooms looked interesting.
2. Central Market, 3815 Westheimer
Some have said that Central Market is the best grocery store in America. And they would have a good argument. Its produce section alone, with 30 different apple varieties, 15 different potatoes, 81 different chocolates, and 22 different tomatoes, not to mention the most impressive mushroom selection I have ever seen, are all valid reasons to rank this tops. Its meat and seafood section, bakery, hot food bar, sandwich bar, and cheese selection are second to none.
But a grocery is more than just food. I am sad to report that on my last visit here, as I was preparing to watch a wheel of Parmesan Reggiano be broken in a ceremony, a manager approached me.
“You can’t take pictures here.” He was short and rough and his words chewed through my skin to the very core of who I am, smashing my heart like an overripe tomato.
I quickly put away my camera, ashamed that I had somehow broken an unspoken construct at Central Market. But then I saw others photographing the ceremony and the man said nothing to them. His prejudice against me I still do not understand, but those coarse words still injure my heart and I wonder if I will ever return to see its beautiful food selections again.
Because of that encounter that still wakes me in the night, I cannot in good conscience crown it as Houston’s top grocery store. Hospitality is one of the most important actions anyone can take, a deliberate act of love that Mother has taught is central to all life. As she and Hebrews say, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
1. Phoenicia, 12141 Westheimer
If you want hospitality, you are not going to find it heaped any higher than at Phoenicia. From the moment I entered to my departure, its workers were greeting me by word and smile. The entire store is home. It blends elements of a normal grocery with that of a Middle Eastern mart. Its bakery section is beautiful and it even has a hummus bar. And I have not seen rock candy sold in a while, but it is found here as well.
At the heart of the store is a conveyor belt dropping freshly baked Palestinian bread to the workers below, who may well let you sample a piece, who package it. It is amazing fresh!
On the northern end of the store is its warehouse shopping. Similar to Sam’s and Costco, bulk goods are found here. Phoenicia has the most extensive olive oil and lentil sections I have ever seen in a grocery, quite helpful on my current vegan diet, which I started in preparation for some mountaineering soon.
May we all find joy in the chores of life. Grocery shopping is one of the greatest gifts we have been given, an errand where we are set before God’s bounteous blessings from this Earth. Let us not take it for granted. Let us in gratitude see God’s blessings before us. Praise God!
Faith, Hope, and Love,
TulaneLSU
H Mart is a national Korean grocery chain headquartered now in New Jersey, where its best stores are. The NJ stores recently ran a lobster special at just $10/lb. Anyway, H Mart is one of those great Asian markets that does many things, especially seafood, very well. The sushi at H Mart is always decent and very reasonably priced. They even sell sea urchin, which many sushi “restaurants” never sell, which is shocking and a sign that you should leave that purveyor of mayo fried sushi immediately. H Mart also has the largest selection of dried shrimp
H Mart also has the largest selection of dried shrimp that I have ever seen. Most places in America do not have any dried shrimp, and we can think the 19th century immigrants from China and the Philippines for the abundance of dried shrimp in south Louisiana.
While many Asian markets are geared toward Asian customers, H Mart does a good job of making non-Asians feel welcome. All items are clearly listed in English. H Mart’s approachableness can be a stepping stone for more adventurous grocery shopping, once the shopper learns to identify certain fruits and vegetables that they may see in other groceries but without English words attached to them.
4. Seiwa Market, 1801 South Dairy Ashford
Seiwa has the best seafood in Houston. Its sushi counter is the best grocery sushi I have ever had. They use expertly prepared rice, not the monstrously starchy rice most grocery store sushi uses. I cannot find my pictures from Seiwa, but they were beautiful and highlighted the freshness and variety of sushi there. Some days you can watch a sushi chef butcher a whole large yellowfin tuna there.
3. Hong Kong Food Market, 11205 Bellaire
Opened in 1999, this multi-hundred thousand square foot complex is a mall in itself. With laser disc departments, a hair salon, a dentist, and much more, Hong Kong is the closest approximation of what I imagine Schwegmann’s Grocery was in the 70s. The store is not very well lit, and its produce section is only average. What opens the eyes here is the seafood market, a linear panoply of every strange beast that swims in the ocean on ice and in tanks.
There are conch and stingrays, hermit crabs (you would have thought some Cajun on vacation in Grand Isle would have popularized them by now) and cobia, live catfish and barracuda.
Fishmongers wait patiently for Chinese housewives to select just the right tilapia or catfish in those tanks. After scooping up a fish, the customer nods her head to give approval that it is the fish she wants to bring home. The monger flops the fish to the ground and then swiftly cracks its skull with a baton before fileting it. It is done in the most humane way, I suppose, and it certainly guarantees the fish’s freshness.
There is a huge selection also of Asian dry goods, candies, and other imported goods. I thought the twenty pound bags of dried mushrooms looked interesting.
2. Central Market, 3815 Westheimer
Some have said that Central Market is the best grocery store in America. And they would have a good argument. Its produce section alone, with 30 different apple varieties, 15 different potatoes, 81 different chocolates, and 22 different tomatoes, not to mention the most impressive mushroom selection I have ever seen, are all valid reasons to rank this tops. Its meat and seafood section, bakery, hot food bar, sandwich bar, and cheese selection are second to none.
But a grocery is more than just food. I am sad to report that on my last visit here, as I was preparing to watch a wheel of Parmesan Reggiano be broken in a ceremony, a manager approached me.
“You can’t take pictures here.” He was short and rough and his words chewed through my skin to the very core of who I am, smashing my heart like an overripe tomato.
I quickly put away my camera, ashamed that I had somehow broken an unspoken construct at Central Market. But then I saw others photographing the ceremony and the man said nothing to them. His prejudice against me I still do not understand, but those coarse words still injure my heart and I wonder if I will ever return to see its beautiful food selections again.
Because of that encounter that still wakes me in the night, I cannot in good conscience crown it as Houston’s top grocery store. Hospitality is one of the most important actions anyone can take, a deliberate act of love that Mother has taught is central to all life. As she and Hebrews say, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
1. Phoenicia, 12141 Westheimer
If you want hospitality, you are not going to find it heaped any higher than at Phoenicia. From the moment I entered to my departure, its workers were greeting me by word and smile. The entire store is home. It blends elements of a normal grocery with that of a Middle Eastern mart. Its bakery section is beautiful and it even has a hummus bar. And I have not seen rock candy sold in a while, but it is found here as well.
At the heart of the store is a conveyor belt dropping freshly baked Palestinian bread to the workers below, who may well let you sample a piece, who package it. It is amazing fresh!
On the northern end of the store is its warehouse shopping. Similar to Sam’s and Costco, bulk goods are found here. Phoenicia has the most extensive olive oil and lentil sections I have ever seen in a grocery, quite helpful on my current vegan diet, which I started in preparation for some mountaineering soon.
May we all find joy in the chores of life. Grocery shopping is one of the greatest gifts we have been given, an errand where we are set before God’s bounteous blessings from this Earth. Let us not take it for granted. Let us in gratitude see God’s blessings before us. Praise God!
Faith, Hope, and Love,
TulaneLSU
This post was edited on 8/2/23 at 12:33 pm
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:23 pm to TulaneLSU
Great content hoss
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:23 pm to TulaneLSU
#1 Fiesta
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:24 pm to TulaneLSU
0/10. Did not read.
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:24 pm to TulaneLSU
Fantastic list.
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:24 pm to TulaneLSU
“I spent a week somewhere so here’s everything you need to know about it”
Classic
Classic
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:25 pm to TulaneLSU
i miss fiesta *sigh*
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:25 pm to TulaneLSU
Thanks for the writeup baw. I shall reference this the next time I venture down there
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:29 pm to TulaneLSU
#5 is my personal favorite
Edit: It's been added now. It was originally skipped but I assumed that is how they counted in Texas.
Edit: It's been added now. It was originally skipped but I assumed that is how they counted in Texas.
This post was edited on 8/2/23 at 12:42 pm
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:30 pm to TulaneLSU
How about H Mart in Spring Branch for some Korean BBQ
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:31 pm to TulaneLSU
Is TulaneLSU now a Houstonian?
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:32 pm to TulaneLSU
quote:
quite helpful on my current vegan diet, which I started in preparation for some mountaineering soon.
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:34 pm to TulaneLSU
I only go to Houston once or twice a year.
But I ALWAYS go to Phoenicia when I’m there.
There’s a Dave’s Hot Chicken in the parking lot too.
But I ALWAYS go to Phoenicia when I’m there.
There’s a Dave’s Hot Chicken in the parking lot too.
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:34 pm to TulaneLSU
quote:
TulaneLSU
Far and away the best poster on this board. Downvote away, I don't care.
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:35 pm to TulaneLSU
it is disappointing that none of those stores choose to honor our lord and saviour jesus christ
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:37 pm to TulaneLSU
I agree with all of this 
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:39 pm to TulaneLSU
Montrose or Washington Avenue HEB are the two top tier HEBs in town.
And yes, Phoenicia is the tits.
And yes, Phoenicia is the tits.
This post was edited on 8/2/23 at 12:40 pm
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:41 pm to FearTheFish
quote:
0/10. Did not read.
You could always tell who’s unsuccessful in life on TD based on the things they brag about.
Posted on 8/2/23 at 12:43 pm to TulaneLSU
I know it's not your thing, but perhaps Uncle could provide you with his assessment of the beer and wine content of these stores? Just to get a more rounded picture, of course.
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