Ethnic Foods in Houston

[fifi]

I put a link to this article in the Houston Chronicle Food Section in the DIGEST:

"2004 food trends" The title doesn't really say that it is about ethnic groceries.

I looked through the forum and couldn't find a thread on ethnic groceries in Houston so I thought I would start this thread for us to keep up with what is going on and new developments. (If I missed something, please point it out to me and I will merge.)

[slbunge]

Often when I'm in Houston (about 3 to 6 times per year) I end up at Phoenicia on Westheimer, west of the beltway (can't remember the cross street) to bring home some staples. They have tinned, Portuguese style sardines that I can't find here, nice sized bags of dried porcini, and all sorts of other good stuff that I can throw in a suitcase.

A local Iranian friend tipped me off to the place because it is one of his favorites. Not sure how it compares other Houston offerings.

[fifi]

Good tip. Do you remember the price on the porcini? They are hard to find. The only good quality ones I have found are at Spec's and they are like gold.

[fifi]

I recall in the eGCI course that Foodman did on Lebanese Cuisine, he mentioned that he goes to Droubi's. Maybe he will check in here and give us a run-down on what kinds of things he finds there.

edit to add: If you check out that course, be sure to have your drool bib handy.

[FoodMan]

Droubi is the place I go to for all middle eastern goodies. I usually buy fresh Pita bread, nice mediterranean olive oils, olives (usually the ones labeled green Lebanese olives), Coffee, Cheeses, rose water, orange blossom water, and almost any other ingredient you need for Middle Eastern cooking. They have very good prices on dried fruits and nuts also.

Pheonicia sounds pretty good, especially those Porcinis. It is out of my way though but I will try and stop by sometime.

Another ethnic store that has been mentioned here before but is worth another mention is Hong Kong Market on Bellaire and Boone. This is THE place for any Asian product, produce or ingredient. They have fantastic pork and fish.

Elie

[slbunge]

Where is Droubi? Sounds like a place I should visit.

I checked the cupboard and have a bag of porcini from Phoenicia but there is no price on it. I bought the 100g celophane bag with 'Funghi Porcini Secchi' on the front. I've found the quality to be quite good.

Actually, it was great to look for the bag of porcini because I found that I had one can of amazing tuna left from on my last trip. A's Do Mar Tonno Trancio Intero is the stuff I get and it blows away virtually any canned tuna I have eaten. Really nice chunks of flesh with very deep flavors of salt, olive oil, and meaty tuna. I like it virtually unadorned served on a bed of pasta.

[FoodMan]

Droubi has several locations but I think the original one is still the best with the most variety of goods, so that's the one I go to. It is located on Hillcroft between Bellaire and Bissonnet. I forgot to mention that they also have a small cafeteria style section that served cooked foods. Their dips and Falafel sandwiches are very good.

Another smaller location is on Hillcroft and Richmond.

Elie

[memesuze]

Is the Houston Phoenicia affiliated with the two Austin Phoenicia's?

[slbunge]

Is the Houston Phoenicia affiliated with the two Austin Phoenicia's?

I'm not sure. I think the owners of the store I go to in Houston are from Houston but I don't know if they have branched out to Austin. I'll ask around and let you know if I find anything.

[Jay Francis]

Another source for information on ethnic food in Houston. Every couple of years, I put on an Ethnic Markets tour for the Orange Show Foundations' Eye Openers Tours. On the last one, we started at The Russian General Store, proceeded to Droubi's to watch the bread-making, then on down Hillcroft to Hot Breads, the Persian grocery store, etc. Finished up with the Korean grocery stores on Longpoint.

Anyway, Hane and Harry at www.b4-u-eat.com have published my Ethnic Markets guide and notes from the last few tours I have done.

[fifi]

Pay dirt! We have hit pay dirt!

Many thanks for the information, Jay. That Russian market has me really curious.

[Jay Francis]

The Russian General Store:

Don't miss the chocolate covered wafer cookies. Also, the smoked salami's are terrific. I like the 'Wide Gypsy" one. Also, check to see if they have any Polish bacon in stock. In the back, lots of Russian cold war memorabilia and knick-knacks. Lots of packaged sweets and cookies too. Cheese kept in separate cooler from the meats (we all know why, don't we?)

I sent a friend to Phoenicia the other day. If you go to Phoenicia, you've gotta eat at Cafe Caspian. Just be sure to have one of the stews rather than the grilled meats. Grilled meats are grilled meats. But the Persian stews are unique and need to be tried. I am slowly making my way through all of them.

Jay

[jscarbor]

b4 u eat is a decent source when Jay and a couple others post. Most of the times the "reviews" are not very informative and very often just rest getting people to write reviews. For more in depth descriptions I would look past b4 u eat.

[Lone Star]

There is another Hong Kong Market at Beamer and Scarsdale

[fifi]

That is the one I go to when I am not at my office on the west side. I am in the Clear Lake area. It is pretty good but not nearly like the one on Bellaire and Boone. That one is like going to Disneyland.

[Lone Star]

There is an Indian/Pakistani market on Highway 3 called "Clear Lake Grocers" or Clear Lake Market". I go there several times a year when I need items for a curry dinner. They have lots and lots of "mixes" to try and make at home, as well as some fresh produce as well as frozen foods. Jars of Ghee and Indian Basmati rice also keep me going back.

This weekend they were selling sambusaks at the checkout counter which were delicious.

They also sell fresh nan. I bought some frozen chipatis, but they did not turn out too well. It may have been operator error.

[QuinaQuen]

Ooh, ooh, Mista Kotta I got the good stuff for ya'.

If you're after the stuff they sell at Phoenicia and Droubi's, check this out:

Remember Kojak's on Shepherd? They reopened on 18th, but they're just a storefront for EuroMid imports down the street on Seamist. They're our main supplier for the more esoteric Mediterranean items at our little pizza joint, but they do Asian stuff, too. Their will-call is open to the public. Only catch is, the minimum order is $50. Trust me, that is easily doable once you see what all they carry.

It's right by the corner of Seamist and 11th, not too far from Northwest Mall. If you're lucky, you'll overhear Elie putting a Lebanese-style Mr. Haynie on some poor, unsuspecting customer. Check it out, and tell them Erik from Star Pizza sent you!

[brucesw]

Golden Grain, 5406 Birdwood Dr., n. of N. Braeswood, w. of Chimney Rock

This is a apparently a former location of The Russian General Store now called Golden Grain. It’s listed under both names on b4. It’s a larger but not as well stocked store. There’s a smaller selection of meats and cheeses, some pre-sliced and in vacu-paks and many products that are made in the USA though the labels are in Russian. There is very little English signage so you’re stuck asking lots of questions. I got some potato salad in the prepared foods department - a very good version of Russian potato/Olivier salad with crispy diced celery and carrot, peas and I believe diced ham. This is a little creamier than the Olivier salad at RGS which has bologna in it. The menu over the deli case is only in Russian. There were some very good looking breads and I picked up a Russian rye. Given the name of the store I was surprised when the lady told me they didn’t bake them on premises but got them from a local bakery but I couldn’t understand the name of the bakery. I got some very good lemon meringues, a sugar-free Kvass, and some smoked herring (tinned) on my first visit. On subsequent visits I’ve gotten more of the potato salad - I like this version a little better than the one at RGS but my favorite version of this is at Phoenicia - some shortbread like cookies with chocolate cream filling (she just calls all her baked goods pastries) and tried the home-made pickles. These cucumbers in light brine are excellent, with peppers, garlic, celery, dill, green beans and I think flat-leaf parsley. I’ve also come across a very tough stalk that appears to be a small bamboo stalk. I’ve also tried the tomatoes in light brine which also includes red bell peppers, garlic, celery, parsley and peppers, mushrooms in light brine, and seaweed salad.. The pickles and tomatoes are very reasonably priced but the mushrooms and seaweed are kind of pricey, $5.99 and $6.99 a pound, respectively. All are very good and I’ll be a regular here just for the pickles if nothing else.

The store is on a side-street that does not go through to the major thoroughfare (Chimney Rock) and you’d never find it if you weren’t specifically looking for it. There is a forlorn, tattered folding card table and a couple of folding chairs outside on the sidewalk for al fresco dining but otherwise it’s all to-go. They have a domain name parked at goldengrainhouston.com so maybe someday soon there’ll be a website to peruse and find out more about what they have to offer.

After I had made my purchase including the bread and was driving away it hit me what the name of the bakery was that I was hearing as Haulfuhd!

Balkan/Bosnian Food Store

I’ve only been here once, several months ago, but thought I would go ahead and list it in this thread, though I’m not sure of the name. It’s across the street from Café Pita +, the side street, not Westheimer, run by the same folks and carrying lots of the foods served in the restaurant. I went specifically for the lepinja which I believe is also now available at the Russian General Store on Hillcroft. They also have the brand of ajvar served in the restaurant, a version with more eggplant than the ones I’ve picked up at Phoenicia, I think. They also have kavjak, the creamy condiment which Robb Walsh originally wrote they were having to make a substitute for since it was not available in the States, soujuk, pastrma, cevapi, the little sausages used for the cevapi sandiwich which is their signature dish, other sausages and meats, canned goods, cookies and candy, etc. A very interesting store and I’ll probably make a stop every time I’m at Café Pita +.

[brucesw]

A question for eGulleteers re: Jerusalem Halal Deli, on Hillcroft s. of Richmond.

I just recently heard of this and stopped in to check it out and was overwhelmed - about half the size of Phoenicia, very cramped and crowded aisles, shelves groaning under merchandise, everything from tortilla presses to goat's feet to injera. I walked thru the deli in the rear but the place was packed, the line at the check-out counter up front was long and I didn't have enough time to I decided to come back when I had time to explore the place.

Anybody got any recs? What's good, what to look for.....what to get in the deli?

[Jay Francis]

Jerusalem Halal is in my perimeter for getting to lunch and back to the office and it is a fascinating place, there's stuff here that ain't anywhere else. The place always smells really bad, though.

[brucesw]

Middle East Halal Meats, 9600 block of Bissonnet, one block outside 59, in the same center with Lo Nuestro (Guatemalan), New Filipiana (Filipino), and a new you-buy-we-fry seafood place and Filipino grocery I haven't tried).

I've been meaning to go to this place for some time but keep forgetting it. I had read somewhere on line this place had a hot deli but they don't serve food anymore. A large selection of spices and spice mixes for Indian, Pakistani, and Middle Eastern dishes, cooking oils and vinegars, teas, etc. Only a very small selection of halal meats and some unattractive produce. I noted smaller packages of spices than I've seen at Phoenicia - a plus for me.

I picked up some Syrian pickled vegetables - I'm a pickle freak - that are very sour. Includes cucumber, wild cucumber, carrot, turnip, cauliflower and more, and some locally produced sesame halawa with pistachios.

Really disappointed they don't have the deli anymore.

[brucesw]

Robb Walsh's Eating Our Words blog in the Press hit the Russian General Store recently. I love this place and have been 5 times since I 'discovered' it a month ago.

I haven't had any problem communicating with the staff.

It's gonna take a couple of months to sample all the sausages I think.

[brucesw]

Jordan Imported Food and Bakery, 5922 Hillcroft, next door to and co-owned by Bijan Persian Grill.

More reminiscent of a boutique kitchen store than a typical Middle-Eastern grocery on entering as you are confronted with a view of cooking utensils. A wide array of products that included such things as Hunt's Catsup, Louisiana Hot Sauce, Kraft Sandwich Spread, and Concord grape jelly but also Golchin and Sadaf spices, tubs of Bulgarian sheep's milk feta and another French sheep's milk cheese I can't remember, some entrees in the freezer case perhaps from the restaurant next door, bins of roasted nuts and seeds I presume done in-store (forgot to ask), CDs, DVDs, samovars, and a case of interesting looking pastries.

I've been to Phoenicia twice in the last week and was surprised to find a couple of the items I had purchased at a savings over Phoenicia, about 5 cents on the dollar, but can't say if that's true across the board; also found one item I hadn't been able to find at Phoenicia (they probably had it, I just couldn't find it) and was happy to find a black currant nectar.

[viva]

New to the Houston area here... what Mexican grocers/carnicerias do folks recommend? Looking for good chorizo, queso, crema, tortillas, chiles, etc. plus staples like spices and sugars.

Just cruising the yellow pages I found Mercado Mexico, Delacruz (in the Airline farmers' market? which I have not yet been to), and Fiesta?

[MarkinHouston]

New to the Houston area here... what Mexican grocers/carnicerias do folks recommend?  Looking for good chorizo, queso, crema, tortillas, chiles, etc. plus staples like spices and sugars. 

Just cruising the yellow pages I found Mercado Mexico, Delacruz (in the Airline farmers' market? which I have not yet been to), and Fiesta?

←

If you are anywhere close to Pasadena, MI Tienda, located at the corner of Shaver and Spencer Highway, is an excellent source. It is owned by H-E-B and provides an extensive array of products for Mexican and Central American cuisine.