11 replies to this topic

[nhconner]

I just returned from my first visit to Super G Mart in Greensboro, NC. It is a large international grocery store on West Market Street. Today was the first day it was open. Overall I am beside myself with joy to have this in Greensboro. The first great part is the fish market. They had about 15 different whole fish on ice, all fresher than anything else in the county, and about 20 other seafoods and fish fillets. Some of the fillets looked to be prefrozen and only average in quality. There were also live blue crabs. The red snapper I bought had clear eyes and red gills and there was no fish oder in the whole department. Meat and poultry was standard Mexican meat market cuts, nothing too unique. I was hoping to find some pork belly, but maybe I missed it.

If today is representative, this will be the best fish source in the area by far. The dry goods, can goods, refrigerated and frozen foods, and frozen seafood selection is as impressive as I have seen anywhere. The produce is vast and there were at least 30 items I have never seen before out of the hundreds of choices. It's not as good as say an Uwajimaya in Seattle, but it has the potential.

Even better is the price. I bought a 2lb red snapper, pack of baby squid, 10 limes, cilantro, 10 small shallots, green onions, good fish sauce, hoisen sauce, and a jar of chilli paste for less than $20.

A monumental addition to Greensboro and one I hope to see succeed. A great test will be if the fresh fish holds up. Today was the opening, so it was all fresh, time will tell. Ill report back in a few weeks to see if things keep up.

Nate

[RAHiggins1]

Even better is the price.  I bought a 2lb red snapper, pack of baby squid, 10 limes, cilantro, 10 small shallots, green onions, good fish sauce, hoisen sauce, and a jar of chilli paste for less than $20. 

Nate

That sounds like the makings of a wonderful Thai dish or Sezchuan.

[merstar]

I just returned from my first visit to Super G Mart in Greensboro, NC.  It is a large international grocery store on West Market Street.  Today was the first day it was open.  Overall I am beside myself with joy to have this in Greensboro.  The first great part is the fish market.  They had about 15 different whole fish on ice, all fresher than anything else in the county, and about 20 other seafoods and fish fillets.  Some of the fillets looked to be prefrozen and only average in quality.  There were also live blue crabs.  The red snapper I bought had clear eyes and red gills and there was no fish oder in the whole department.  Meat and poultry was standard Mexican meat market cuts, nothing too unique.  I was hoping to find some pork belly, but maybe I missed it. 

If today is representative, this will be the best fish source in the area by far.  The dry goods, can goods, refrigerated and frozen foods, and frozen seafood selection is as impressive as I have seen anywhere.  The produce is vast and there were at least 30 items I have never seen before out of the hundreds of choices.  It's not as good as say an Uwajimaya in Seattle, but it has the potential.

Even better is the price.  I bought a 2lb red snapper, pack of baby squid, 10 limes, cilantro, 10 small shallots, green onions, good fish sauce, hoisen sauce, and a jar of chilli paste for less than $20. 

A monumental addition to Greensboro and one I hope to see succeed.  A great test will be if the fresh fish holds up.  Today was the opening, so it was all fresh, time will tell.  Ill report back in a few weeks to see if things keep up.

Nate

Thank you so much for posting this. I'm a native New Yorker, and have been living in Greensboro for 3 years now. Needless to say, I've had major culture shock. It's been very hard to find specialty foods, good restaurants, etc., etc. I keep hoping a TJ's will open, but it doesn't look good. This store sounds like a great start - the prices sound excellent (I'm tired of being ripped off at Harris Teeter, which for example, sells 1 measly lime for 69 cents), and I'm especially happy about the seafood selection. I will have to check it out soon. Thanks again!

[Marneuse]

Agreed that Greensboro has needed something to compete with HT and Fresh Market for some time. I'll be anxious to try this out.

I do hate $.69 limes...so very much...

Marsha

[chemprof]

I've been twice to the Super G now and still have not absorbed all the wonderfulness. My most recent visit I took a friend who is the Japanese professor at my college (she's also Japanese!). She was favorably impressed...I hadn't even noticed the first time I went, but there was an entire section of natto in the frozen food area. I didn't know Greensboro would have that much demand!

Things I love so far:

1. Fresh veg...cheap! Some of it's a little beat up, but a red bell pepper for 80 cents? Two avocados for a dollar?

2. Fresh veg...unusual! What do I do with banana blossoms? What is this squash? Durian?? I thought that was illegal! Things I need to figure out.

3. Mexican cheeses.

4. Coffeebeat! A Lotte candy that tastes like coffee-flavored M&M's! Last seen in Uwajimaya in Portland, OR. I am so shallow.

I'm sure there will be more.

They have apparently been tres busy, which is good.

[nhconner]

Well its only been a couple weeks, but I have been back quite a few times. The produce is just such a good deal.

Brussel sprouts for 1.99/lb. Fresh pork belly. Fresh flounder. So many good things.

For those who have been, what is up with all the fish? There a so many carp and needle looking fish that I am unfamaliar with. I see Africans and Asians buying them and am not sure what I should do. Any suggestions. I have bought snapper, flounder, grouper, pompano, bluefish and shrimp. I need to branch out. The quality of the eyes varies from day to day, but so far so good.

The frozen section is also great from the squid to the dumpling wrappers.

My kids love all the Asian candy I am bringing home.

Happy shopper so far.

Nate

[nhconner]

Nate

[/quote]

Thank you so much for posting this. I'm a native New Yorker, and have been living in Greensboro for 3 years now. Needless to say, I've had major culture shock. It's been very hard to find specialty foods, good restaurants, etc., etc. I keep hoping a TJ's will open, but it doesn't look good. This store sounds like a great start - the prices sound excellent (I'm tired of being ripped off at Harris Teeter, which for example, sells 1 measly lime for 69 cents), and I'm especially happy about the seafood selection. I will have to check it out soon. Thanks again!

[/quote]


What kinds of restaurants are you looking for?

Nate

[merstar]

"What kinds of restaurants are you looking for?"

Nate


Hi Nate,
Pretty much everything: Chinese, Indian, Mexican, seafood, vegetarian (I don't expect to find one of those), etc. I've been to Phoenix Asian several times, and it was excellent until the last two times - the quality definitely was not there - I hope they come back to their old standards. I've tried Bert's seafood and wasn't impressed. Tried La Fiesta a few times, and while the fajitas were pretty good, several other main dishes were pretty bad. Went to Green Valley Grill, and their fish was very good (trout and salmon), but their side dishes were wanting, the service sucked, and I wasn't wild about the atmosphere. I don't eat red meat too often, so I'm not looking for rib places, steak places, etc., and I'm not into Southern cooking.

It's just too bad that Greensboro is mostly chain restaurants. I wish more independent ones would open. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Edited by merstar, 10 July 2008 - 04:31 PM.

[chemprof]

"What kinds of restaurants are you looking for?"

Nate


Hi Nate,
Pretty much everything: Chinese, Indian, Mexican, seafood, vegetarian (I don't expect to find one of those), etc. I've been to Phoenix Asian several times, and it was excellent until the last two times - the quality definitely was not there - I hope they come back to their old standards. I've tried Bert's seafood and wasn't impressed. Tried La Fiesta a few times, and while the fajitas were pretty good, several other main dishes were pretty bad.  Went to Green Valley Grill, and their fish was very good (trout and salmon), but their side dishes were wanting, the service sucked, and I wasn't wild about the atmosphere. I don't eat red meat too often, so I'm not looking for rib places, steak places, etc., and I'm not into Southern cooking.

It's just too bad that Greensboro is mostly chain restaurants. I wish more independent ones would open. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Hi Merstar-

If you pop over to the Southeast Dining thread, there are several threads on Greensboro dining. Here's a link to to the the most recent that discusses some of the things you're looking for: clicky You might try Boba House on Tate Street for vegetarian.

Anne

[merstar]

Hi Merstar-

If you pop over to the Southeast Dining thread, there are several threads on Greensboro dining.  Here's a link to to the the most recent that discusses some of the things you're looking for: clicky  You might try Boba House on Tate Street for vegetarian.

Anne

Anne,
Thank you so much! Things are definitely looking up!

[merstar]

Went to the G Mart today. I was mostly in the produce section, and have a mixed report. Things like scallions, cilantro, garlic, ginger, potatoes, limes, and onions were amazingly low priced, and in very good condition. On the negative side, there were bags of shallots that were also low priced, but they were all sprouting. The red bell peppers were shriveled up and were selling for $2.99 a lb - I can get fresher ones at Harris Teeter for the same price. The broccoli was horrible looking, soft and brown, ie, old, and so was the cauliflower. Wouldn't buy them for any price. The romaine was dried out.
The fish looked good, and the Asian condiment section was well-stocked.

[merstar]

G Mart update: Went there tonight and their produce looked better than last time. The red bell peppers looked good, (lower priced than last time at $1.79 lb), as did the broccoli. Romaine was in better condition also. Ginger ($1.49 lb), garlic ($.89 lb), green onions ($.33 a bunch), Idaho potatoes ($.69 lb), limes (8 for $1.00)!, lemons (3 for $1.00), nectarines ($1.79 lb), red onions ($.79 lb), tomatoes ($.99), etc. were all fresh looking. Cauliflower and bagged shallots were still in bad shape, but most of the produce was fine. The prices are just incredible - savings of anywhere from half to 1/5 the price of Harris Teeter! After calculating what I would have paid for everything at Harris Teeter, I saved about $25.00. My total bill at GMart was about $16.00 - it would have been about $41.00 at Harris Teeter!

Thanks again Nate!

Edited by merstar, 02 September 2008 - 05:55 PM.