January 2014 - Page 4 of 4 - On Vallarta Time

Welcome to OnVallartaTime!

The weather here in Puerto Vallarta is cooperating again and the sun is back! Everyone’s mood has improved. Even though the Mexican school vacations have now ended and the crowds have thinned out a little, business is good around town and on the beach for the restaurants and vendors, and tourists are glad to be under the sun once again.

Meanwhile daily life goes on here in Puerto Vallarta. Some of you have been asking, “Where do you go food shopping?” Well, unlike in the US, where shopping is often a one-stop affair, here in Mexico people tend to buy different things in different places. Sometimes you have to search around for what you want. One store may have most of what you’re looking for, but you may have to go to a different place to get the rest, or to find your preferred brand, freshness or style. We have been cooking and eating in pretty often. Because we tend to search and shop around for the best products and prices, I’ve titled this post ‘Hunting and Gathering.”

There are big supermarkets, but there are also little neighborhood grocery stores, and here in our Colonia there’s the Central Market and the weekly farmers markets. We’ll explore all of these in this post.

The big supermarkets have everything – true one-stop shopping. They are the place to go for hard-to-find items, meat and seafood, and household items like paper products, cooking gadgets, even clothing. They seem to be the only places that carry Peggy’s light, fat-free yogurt, and they have huge selections of health and beauty products. Here in Puerto Vallarta the big markets we have tried are Ley, Mega, Soriana, and Walmart. All require a cab ride from our neighborhood, unless you want to hassle taking the bus with all your purchases. Ley is the closest to us (i.e., cheapest cab ride) but we find it a bit cramped and difficult to navigate, and the quality isn’t always the best. I prefer Mega, the next farthest away, but Peggy prefers Soriana, possibly because of its location in an upscale mall with lots to offer, Plaza Caracol. Lots of people swear by Walmart, but it’s farther away and to us doesn’t seem to offer much more than the others.

Here are some pictures of the shopping experience at the big stores.

Here’s the Mega from the outside. It’s a big store! Note the cabs lined up to take people home with their purchases after shopping.

The produce section

More produce. Chiles (peppers) are featured.

Fish and seafood — some interesting stuff here…

Deli hot foods to go

This deli worker is quite a ham!

An aisle of health and beauty products

I said these big supermarkets have everything! Motorscooters at Soriana.

Unloading our purchases from the taxi

Next, there are the smaller grocery stores (tiendas), located every couple of blocks. Some are chains, Oxxo and Kiosko, much like 7-11 in the US. They are convenient and open all hours, but often don’t have much selection, and the prices are a little higher than elsewhere. Our favorites in this category are the small neighborhood groceries, mostly family owned. We buy eggs, fruit, cheese and snacks at these stores, or anything we may have run out of and need right away.

A little grocery, on Amapas just around the corner from our condo. We go here a lot since it’s so close.

Me checking out the bananas at another little market

Another kind of place to shop is the “Central Market” (Colonia Emiliano Zapata Mercado), much more a traditional Mexican shopping experience. The market is located inside an attractive building with an arched facade, and is surrounded by lots of small specialty stores. We prefer going to this market if at all possible, the downside being the hike to get there from our condo, and hauling our purchases back up the hill. Luckily we have our handy-dandy rolling cart, a gift from our friend Eve that I actually packed in my suitcase for the trip down. What do we like to buy here? Fruits and vegetables for sure, the freshest and most reasonably priced in town, plus spices and other specialty items. I really like the house-made chorizo at the meat market inside the major building.

Entrance to the Central Market (Colonia Emiliano Zapata Mercado)

Produce store near the Central Market

More produce

Still more produce. In Mexico, there’s no excuse not to eat your fruits and vegetables the way you’re supposed to.

Specialty shop, good place for cereals and spices

Meat market inside the main building

On the way back home with our purchases, using our rolling cart

Finally, there are what are known as “farmers markets,” although they don’t actually have much actual farm produce. They mostly have homemade value-added food items, like baked goods, oils, honey, coffee, cheeses, salsas, etc., plus quite a few artisan items like homemade soaps, jewelry, clothing and other items, all made by the exhibitors. They seem to cater largely to the expat population. There are two weekly markets very close to our condo, the one in the Paradise Community Center and the one that is now held in the square at the foot of Olas Altas, our street. Both of these are held on Saturdays. We like to buy traditional tamales, the fresh pasta and sauce from the Italian pasta man, bread and whatever else strikes our fancy.

Peggy at the Old Town Saturday Farmers Market