Central Market's Brand Name Products

[fifi]

Welcome to the Society Papa Roja! And to the Texas forum. So glad to have you.

I was so happy when the big HEB opened near me on the Gulf Freeway at the Bacliff exit. (S and SE Houston are an up-scale grocery wasteland.) Then, to my delight, they started carrying some of the CM brands. That is almost as good as having a CM in striking distance. But why oh why do they seem to run out of Bitter Orange soda so regularly?

BTW . . . Best I can tell it appears that HEB is in the southern part of Texas and Louisiana. I may have missed something since the web site doesn't have a map and I just kept trying zip codes in the search. HEB is expanding like crazy here. I am hoping that CM will catch the fever.

[nacho]

<snip> since I was looking for it based on recognizing the label I am helpless to request that they bring it back.   

Any chance you bought it at Whole Foods instead of CM? I buy a greek olive oil there with a grassy label and tastes as you described. Here's a link, although the label looks more yellow than grassy in this picture...

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/afa/lapas.html

Now, back to CM ... welcome Papa Roja. I agree, the whole-grain mustard is awesome.

And as to the blood orange soda, my neighborhood HEB has large stocks of it now.

[alacarte]

I saw CM for the first time this past weekend, and I have to say that it's impressive, really gives Whole Foods a run for their money.

Papa Roja, any chance you can convince the powers that be at CM to open a branch in NYC?

[Papa Roja]

I saw CM for the first time this past weekend, and I have to say that it's impressive, really gives Whole Foods a run for their money.

Papa Roja, any chance you can convince the powers that be at CM to open a branch in NYC?

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No plans for Central Market going out of state at this time. There are seven Central Markets in Texas, with an eighth on the way to Southlake (between Plano and Fort Worth). There are a bit more than 300 H-E-B's (the parent company) in South Texas, Louisiana and Mexico; I believe there about 30 being built in the Houston area.

[RebeccaT]

I work for Central Market, and it's wonderful to hear so many positive comments about our "own brand" products. A tasting panel worked hard for over a year selecting the right ones. Personally, I love the pasta sauces, the whole-grain mustard and the frozen cookie dough as well.

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Papa Roja, which CM do you work in, or are you at the corporate office? I am at the Westheimer location every week, and I'd love to say hello!

[Papa Roja]

I work for Central Market, and it's wonderful to hear so many positive comments about our "own brand" products. A tasting panel worked hard for over a year selecting the right ones. Personally, I love the pasta sauces, the whole-grain mustard and the frozen cookie dough as well.

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Papa Roja, which CM do you work in, or are you at the corporate office? I am at the Westheimer location every week, and I'd love to say hello!

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Rebecca,

That's kind of you. I work in a division office in Austin but travel frequently to the stores. I love the Westheimer store!

[digigirl]

I believe there about 30 being built in the Houston area.

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When? and where? I just moved here to the Houston area last year, in the northwest area (Cypress) and there are no good stores close. I have to go all the way downtown to the Westheimer store to get to CM and with traffic and everything..... well, let's just say I've only been there twice. :(

It would be GREAT if they put a CM on the northern side...... Can't wait!

[Papa Roja]

Hi, I was referring to about 30 HEBs being built in the Houston area. HEB is the parent company of CM, and the new HEB stores are really nice. There are no plans at this time that I know of to build an additional CM in Houston.

If you are interested in knowing exactly where the HEBs are being built, I can probably find out for you.

I work for Central Market, and it's wonderful to hear so many positive comments about our "own brand" products. A tasting panel worked hard for over a year selecting the right ones. Personally, I love the pasta sauces, the whole-grain mustard and the frozen cookie dough as well.

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Papa Roja, which CM do you work in, or are you at the corporate office? I am at the Westheimer location every week, and I'd love to say hello!

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Rebecca,

That's kind of you. I work in a division office in Austin but travel frequently to the stores. I love the Westheimer store!

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[FoodMan]

I tried another couple of products from the CM brand.

-Apparently they have another EV Olive oil with a CM brand. This one does not have the "Organics" logo though so I guess it is not organic. It is also produced in Sapin rather than Italy like the other one and costs about half as much. I did like it a lot more than the Italian one which was very mild. This Spanish olive oil has a much richer taste and a good olive flavor.

-I tried the "Organics" canned Italian tomatoes. Very good taste and color. Actually better than the US grown "San Marzano" tomatoes I used to buy. However, the price is not cheaper than other top brands like Bella Tera.

Elie

[jscarbor]

Its actually HEB product but I have to say that the fully cooked smoked briskets are wonderful. I bought one yesterday and have to say its better than all but 2 of houstons briskets at BBQ joints. Has anyone else tried this?

[LonghornGal]

Its actually HEB product but I have to say that the fully cooked smoked briskets are wonderful. I bought one yesterday and have to say its better than all but 2 of houstons briskets at BBQ joints. Has anyone else tried this?

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If you liked the brisket you should try the Fully Cooked Prime Rib. It's in a pretty red foil package at the prime beef counter...

Actually, I can't think of a FC product that I haven't thought equal to mainstream americana restaurants. I'm not big on fried things, but they're good, and the new Asian chicken and beef products are great! The fajita strips are good too. Oh, and the cheese burgers... mmmmm mushroom swiss - with the cheese mixed into the patty. Yum!

As far as the new CM products, my favorites are:

Wasabi Mayo

Morello Cherry Preserves

Flax Seed and Sea Salt Tortilla Chips

Popped Popcorn

Balsamic Vinegar...

And if you look in the background of the photos posted on the Pastry Queen Thread, you can see the beautifully colored bottles of the CM Italian Sodas downstairs from the cooking school.

[lovebenton0]

no heb's,  I am north of the Red River.  But I can at least use that as an excuse for a weekend excursion to Dallas

from what I understand there are no regular HEB's north of Waco, don't know if that is true or not, but I do not remember seeing any in DFW.

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there's an HEB in Waxahachie, that may be closer to you.

[LonghornGal]

So... y'all are famous. Seriously. Well, at least within the world of HEB.

Today at work I opened a company-wide presentation about CM and Organics, and there, in the middle of the presentation, is a page of "consumer quotes about CM products." And it was you guys - Nacho, Irodguy, Fifi, going into raptures about chips and blood orange soda.

I was cracking up! My boss asked, what's so funny? And I said... I KNOW these people!

She thinks I'm nuts. :)

If you wanna eat a bunch of free CM Organic products, go to HEB Friday between 10 and 3. Every HEB out there is supposed to be running demos.

[RebeccaT]

I've tried two more recently, and wasn't nearly as happy as I have been with earlier offerings.

First, I picked up the Cheese Crackers - CM's version of Cheese Nips. I was hoping to love them since they are trans-fat free and they have a bit of cayenne. Well, they just didn't have enough taste! The cheese flavor is a little too understated for me, and they were harder and not as flaky as I would have liked them to be. I prefer Late July's cheese crackers.

I also tried the CM Organics Honey Nut O's. These were pretty good, although they were a little on the hard side. I enjoyed my box, but I think I will be going back to Cascadian Farm Honey Nut O's instead. I am looking forward to trying the Raisin Bran next.

[tupac17616]

Okay, I realize I'm probably a little late to this thread, but I finally tried the CM Blood Orange Italian Soda, which my mom's been buying for a while now. Man, that is some good stuff! I'm a weirdo when it comes to drinks (I only drink ice water, no soda, no alcohol, no juice, nothing), and even I liked this Italian soda.

[nacho]

It's time to bring this thread back to life a bit as I noticed some new Central Market brand products at my local HEB this weekend. The most intriguing are the CM Italian Style Wood Fired (frozen) Pizzas. I picked up two...the 4 cheese and the veggie, but have not tried them yet (b/c I had ordered a large pizza from Reale's the night before, and had plenty of leftovers). Anyone tried these yet?

Also, I finally got around to trying the Wasabi Mayo. This is great stuff. I find myself having a little dab of it with all kinds of stuff. The best so far was with a steak that I did in the cast-iron-pan-stove-top-then-oven method as described in another egullet thread. That will definitely be a repeat.

On a different note (since this thread has also previously discussed HEB locations, etc) are there any insiders that know what's being planned in the Victoria, Tx market? My parents live in that section of Texas, and mom said she heard that HEB had bought a huge site previously inhabited by a Big K [Mart] that went under several years ago. She was hoping for a Central Market, but I don't think the Victoria area has the right customer base (e.g. this part of Tx loves their chain restaurants). I suspect an HEB Plus is being planned (b/c I know a lot of people down there that shop at Wal-Mart for their groceries...wasn't HEB Plus conceived to compete more directly with Super Wal-Marts?).

[Grovite]

no heb's,  I am north of the Red River.  But I can at least use that as an excuse for a weekend excursion to Dallas

from what I understand there are no regular HEB's north of Waco, don't know if that is true or not, but I do not remember seeing any in DFW.

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there's an HEB in Waxahachie, that may be closer to you.

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There's one in Ennis too if you feel like making the short drive to get your Blood Orange Soda fix. My parents live there and I went to visit this past Sunday and ran in to the HEB, and low and behold, there they were! I walked out with 4 bottles and a bag of the CM Organic Popcorn

Edited October 25, 2005 by Grovite (log)

[Grovite]

The most intriguing are the CM Italian Style Wood Fired (frozen) Pizzas.  I picked up two...the 4 cheese and the veggie, but have not tried them yet (b/c I had ordered a large pizza from Reale's the night before, and had plenty of leftovers).  Anyone tried these yet?

I have tried the 4 Cheese CM pizza and it is great, better than the frozen California Pizza Kitchen line in my opinion.

[FoodMan]

My most recent product try out was for their CM Organics Frosted Flakes. Very good, extra crunchy and I even think a little sweeter with a more deep flavor than Kellog's Frosted Flakes. My wife however loves her Kellog's and is not willing to make a complete switch

[fifi]

I am glad this thread came back up. I have a funny story. The HEB's in my area continue to add more CM products. There is a smaller one in Clear Lake City on El Camino and the big one at 646 and I-45. The smaller one is in an old Albertsons and they had been schlepping along with the existing store furniture. Then they decided to do a complete revamp, new shelving, reorganization, the whole nine yards. The funny part of this massive undertaking (well, probably not funny to them) was that they started the process right before the pre-Rita bug-out rush. I stopped in to get some supplies for the country place and the store was complete chaos. They actually had to put folks at the end of the aisles to help direct folks. . . "Where is the canned milk?" "What happened to the chips?" You get the picture. I am sure that the original plan was to start the shake up on a normally slow day. I gave my sympathies to the manager. All I got out of him was a heavy sigh.

Anyway, it looks like there is a plan afoot to upgrade and include more CM products at the smaller HEBs as well. If that is so, I applaud the effort.

Must . . . get . . . blood . . . orange . . . soda!

[joiei]

no heb's,  I am north of the Red River.  But I can at least use that as an excuse for a weekend excursion to Dallas

from what I understand there are no regular HEB's north of Waco, don't know if that is true or not, but I do not remember seeing any in DFW.

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there's an HEB in Waxahachie, that may be closer to you.

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There's one in Ennis too if you feel like making the short drive to get your Blood Orange Soda fix. My parents live there and I went to visit this past Sunday and ran in to the HEB, and low and behold, there they were! I walked out with 4 bottles and a bag of the CM Organic Popcorn

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Where is Ennis? I know very little about Texas if it is anywhere far off of I-35 between DFW and Austin. I get out west more often than I do down south. I have to make a run down to Dallas on the 19th of Nov and will be making my ususal stock up at the Lovers Lane store. .

[Grovite]

Where is Ennis?  I know very little about Texas if it is anywhere far off of I-35 between DFW and Austin.  I get out west more often than I do down south.  I have to make a run down to Dallas on the 19th of Nov and will be making my ususal stock up at the Lovers Lane store.  .

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Ennis is 25 minutes south of Dallas on I-45. It's a rural suburb of about 20,000 people (and growing) that make some mighty fine Czech food

[joiei]

Thanks, next time I am down and have extra time, I will look into exploring a part of Texas I know nothing about. Yee Haw.

[Bill Miller]

I work for Central Market, and it's wonderful to hear so many positive comments about our "own brand" products. A tasting panel worked hard for over a year selecting the right ones. Personally, I love the pasta sauces, the whole-grain mustard and the frozen cookie dough as well.

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My daughter Allison transfered from the Dallas store to the one on Lamar--I believe she is still in cheese. She is enrolled at UT in January-- CM has been good to her. She is in Journalism and her experience has her considering going into food writing. Regards, Bill

[LonghornGal]

New product alert - CM Pomegranate Italian Soda. Red. Slightly fizzy. Festive.

A potential excellent mixer with the libation of your choice for the holidays.