DOH!
That should read: “Aldi showed up in Houston a couple of years after Trader Joe’s and like TJ’s…”
I forgot all about that, but it’s a vivid memory!
Whole Foods
I attended UT in Austin and went to the original Whole Foods on Lamar when it only had two aisles. I fell briefly in love with it when they branched out and started providing me with unique products I couldn’t find anywhere else, (like exotic coffees and chocolate, and cheeses and freshly baked breads, etc.). These days they have little I can’t find elsewhere and absolutely nothing that I have to have and can’t find a lot cheaper elsewhere.
I don’t mind paying more for better but I hate paying more for the same or worse. And please spare me the “But but but Organic !” protest. I don’t mind if you want that lifestyle, but I don’t. If I keel over from pesticide contamination, please feel free to tell me “I told you” so when you see me down there. <wink>
I go to five or six different grocery stores a week, (I hit four just yesterday, including two different HEBs), but I never go to Whole Foods anymore.
What makes it Special: High quality. Modern décor.
What makes it Avoidable: The prices. They’re just ridiculous. HOWEVER, if Jeff Bezos wants to adopt me, I’ll shop there every day.
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Seiwa Japanese Market
Seiwa was announced about two years before it finally opened. I eagerly awaited it with bated breath and worked my way into being there the moment the doors opened for the first time. It’s pretty cool.
To be honest, I don’t cook a lot of Japanese cuisine but I pop in from time to time to pick up certain things like Kewpie mayo, green tea, togarashi, frozen gyoza, Kirin, and even occasionally some sushi grade tuna for sashimi.
They have some exquisite and pricey soy sauces. They make a nice gift for a cook or treat for yourself.
There’s a little café attached and ramen bar next door, but I’ve never tried either.
You should check it out if you’re ever west of the Beltway. 
What makes it Special: Unique Japanese pantry staples and sushi quality seafood. Twenty kinds of KitKats.
What makes it Avoidable: Hello Kitty everywhere!
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Nippan Daido
I guess I should also mention Nippan Daido. For many years it was the only dedicated Japanese market that I knew of. As noted earlier I don’t do a lot of Japanese inspired cooking, but I did drop in occasionally for some things including the gummy candy.
It’s a lot smaller than Seiwa and therefore a bit more limited in stock, but we always liked Pho One next door so it was an easy pop in.
If you’re driving past Westheimer and Wilcrest stop in and look around. It might have just what you didn’t know you’ve been needing.
What makes it Special: Dedicated Japanese themed grocery.
What makes it Avoidable: Hello Kitty everywhere!
Pete’s Fine Meats
Way back in the olden days of the mid-‘80s, Pete’s Fine Meats resided in the strip center at Wilcrest and Briar Forest and I used to go in there a lot.
It was one of the few places in that part of town where you could get fresh tamales, but only on Saturday and only if you were early. I can’t say I ever lined up before the doors opened but I absolutely left disappointed and tamale-less even before noon sometimes.
They also provided great cuts of beef obviously.
These days and for the last thirty years or so, Pete’s heirs are still serving great meats (and tamales!) from their store on Richmond just outside the Loop. I don’t get my tamales there anymore, (I have Alamo and Gerardo’s for that), but we still make the trip for certain things, most recently during the last holiday season when we picked up a couple of fresh, pasture-raised turkeys. (Don’t look at me like that – I didn’t pay!).
If you are carnivorous and ever in the neighborhood, you owe it to yourself to stop in and ogle their selection of prime dry aged beef.
They have a hot counter as well.
Also, if you have a hankering for exotic meats, they have a large selection available, especially if you have the time to preorder.
Pete’s is a great family-owned multi-generational butcher shop. The type of which are rapidly disappearing.
Drop by if you’re in the area. As a thanks, invite me over for whatever you picked up. I’ll even cook!
What makes it Special: Old style butcher shop that’s getting hard to find. It’s worth that second mortgage!
What makes it Avoidable: It’s basically on the edge of the Galleria area. Try to time your visit so as to avoid lunchtime and rush hour traffic. (So basically, 2-3 pm, February through October.) It’s not cheap, but it’s almost always worth it.
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Now only at Dairy Ashford.
Seems like this is aimed at me and it’s not happening, not for Japanese food.
That’s Pete’s Fine Meats not Hebert’s.
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Yep, just discovered my error and was about to post.
The ramen bar is Ramen Bar Ichi. I went once and wrote about it somewhere here, pretty good but I like Ramen Jin over it. I’m actually over there today and may try it again, definitely will pick up some Kewpie.
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So I’m working Thursday-Saturday nights and sleeping a lot the next day so I had the Wifeacita call her brother and sent her packing for the Valley and family.
She’ll be in the small border town of Nuevo Progresso manana and she now has a passport avoiding pissing off US Customs officials and the stern lectures that follow.
Turkey day for me will be Hebert’s crawfish fettuccine in a cream sauce, looking forward to it.
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Hope wifeacita has a good visit and your Hebert’s is festive!
My family has no feels for Thanksgiving this year due to the loss of our matriarch last spring, so we will meet at a restaurant this year and miss her en masse. Plus, no one can replicate her stuffing.
On the other hand my Number One Son will wed this weekend after a whirlwind TEN YEAR COURTSHIP, so we will all give thanks that she finally said “yes” later in the weekend. Wish me luck, I have to do some sort of mother/son dance. Yay.
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Sorry for your loss, I know how tough is.
TEN YEAR COURTSHIP, that’s about as long as I courted the Wifeacita.
I wanted to get it right and I did.
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I couldn’t resist and ate some tonight. It’s delicious with a good amount of crawfish and not too creamy. You can definitely taste the crawfish. I might spice it up a bit tomorrow.
It comes frozen in a one pound container for 8 bucks and is a steal, we will get more.
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Happy Thanksgiving! I went to Sam’s Burger’s Fries and Pies next to Hebert’s yesterday and expected to find a line of people picking up turduckens. But I guess they were already picked up. I was hoping for a chocolate cream at Sam’s, but scored a lemon cream and a peanut butter pie. Better than standing in line at Flying Saucer. Have a great day, hold on to your patience and eat some good food!
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I assume you’re talking about MY HEB on Bunker Hill, the best grocery in the solar system.
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Obviously.
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