New Orleans Grocery Resources

[SeattleGrrl]

I'm moving to New Orleans in a couple weeks and I'm curious about the availability of specialty grocery products, such as cool lentils, asian products and obscure spices.

Are there any food importers that have retail operations in NOLA? In Seattle we have a Pacific Food Importers outlet that sells bulk spices, lentils, rices, beans as well bottled products like olive oils and vinegars. Is there any similar places in New Orleans, or should I stock up on puys and belugas, etc before I leave?

Thanks,

Jen

[fifi]

Oh dear... I'm afraid that you have entered a grocery store wasteland. At least from what I know from when my kids lived there a few years ago and myself more years ago and friends that live there now, you will not find quite the diversity that you are accustomed to. (I know a bit about the Seattle market.) As much of a food town as New Orleans is, there is not a lot of diversity. I have not lived there for several years, but that is a continual complaint of friends that have moved there from the Houston area (oil biz types). Houston is remarkably diverse so perhaps our comparisons are not quite fair. Also, Houston has one of the most competitive grocery markets in the country. I think you are really going to have to work at it if you want to find good "ethnic" finds. Hopefully, others in this forum have more immediate knowledge, but I am always appalled at the grocery market in NOLA.

[joiei]

The "99" market out in the East is probably the best for Asian goodies. It is a drive, but lots of cool stuff. I do not remember the address but it is out Chef Menteur highway. Then there is Langenstein's on Old Metairie Road, for upscale goodies, Robert's is the best local market, much better than Winn-Dixie. (the scariest W-D I have ever shopped in is the one on Carrollton next to the tracks). For wines, you are in luck, Martin's Wine Cellar is the best selection on the upper Gulf Coast.

http://www.langenstein.com/

I forgot to mention the Crescent City Farmer's Market held on the Corner of Girod and Magazine in the Warehouse district every saturday morning. Lots of great stuff there.

Edited May 6, 2003 by joiei (log)

[davidscooking]

A lot depends on where you're going to live. Uptown, there's a huge new Whole Foods Market with carries a lot of unusual/exotic ingredients.

New Orleans is not a particularly great town for Asian food, with the big exception of Vietmanese, as there's a large community of Vietnamese here.

[arriba!]

Both Whole Food stores are great--the new one on Magazine is spectacular, but I have many friends who prefer the old location on Esplanade. Dorignac's in Metairie is good and is known as having the best wine prices in town. Great meat market also.

[scottie]

I hope you have a car...

My favorite Vietnamese grocery is next to Pho Tau Bay, near Stumpf Blvd. on the West Bank. Way closer to most of the city than Versailles, the Vietnamese community way out at the end of Chef Menteur, though that's worth checking out, as well, esp. early Saturday mornings for the market.

In Metairie, Byblos Market has a huge selection of lentils, nuts, etc. It's on Veterans, near Foodies and Dorignac's. Somewhere in Metairie is an Indian grocery store, I don't remember where, you'd have to check the phone book. I like Byblos for its cleanliness and the freshness of the food.

In the city, the Lebanese restaurant Mona's has several branches which have little grocery stores attached. They carry plenty of nuts and beans, but check for freshness- sometimes not so good.

As for more traditional stores, there's a Foodie's on St. Charles, I think it's overpriced and has a crappy selection. There's a Langenstein's uptown on Arabella St., they have a great selection of native sausages and smoked meats. Of course there are the two Whole Foods. If you live by the lake, Lakeview Fine Foods on Robert E. Lee apparently has good stuff; I've never been there. Martin's Wine Cellar is my favorite for wine and cheese, plus they have an extensive selection of international groceries. The latter are overpriced, however.

There are two other weekly farmer's markets besides the Saturday one:

Tuesdays 10-1 at Uptown Square on Broadway, and

Thursdays 4-7 at the American Can Company over in Bayou St. John.

As for Winn-Dixie vs. Robert, I think Sav a Center trumps them both. Avoid A&P at all costs.

Hope this exhaustive survey helps. If you stumble across anything else, will you kindly post it here? Thanks.