Ethnic Market Tour Houston – Mexican Markets
Recently, I had the pleasure to put together a little tour
of my favorite places for Mexico related food and shopping here in Houston for
my friend, Mely Martinez (www.mexicoinmykitchen.com).
Mely and her husband and son had decided to come down to
Houston for a few days of vacation. Now, Houston is not really a tourist
destination in my opinion; compared to, say, Austin or San Antonio. We do have
some wonderful museums and some outsider art venues that are world class. But,
Houston is kind of a business and industry kind of place.
However, Houstonians have found that the best way to
socialize with friends is over food and this, plus the incredible
multi-culturalism of Houston has led to a city with amazing selections of
places to dine, of every ethnicity and of every price range.
Whole areas of our town have sprung up around dining:
Bellaire Boulevard – Chinese and Vietnamese (incorporating
Beechnut and Bissonnet now)
Hillcroft Street – Indian and Pakistani primarily, but also
Persian and Middle Eastern
Long Point Road – Korean and Central American
Airline Drive – Mexican
Harrisburg – Mexican
Scott / Cullen / OST – African-American
But on this particular meet-up with Mely (Facebook friends
for several years, first physical meeting), we focused on Mexico!
Our tour began on Airline Drive, and this is the route that
I am mapping out for you today:
El Bolillo Bakery (2518 Airline Drive) (www.elbolillo.com) - The person that
started El Bolillo had a doughnut shop or two, originally in Galveston. His
workers were from Mexico and one day they suggested to him that if he opened a
Mexican bakery, they would join him and make all of the types of breads of
Mexico. This is the default bakery for Mexican breads and your jaw will drop
when you see the selection here. It is a beautiful venue and very pleasing to
just hang out.
And then, a walk across the street to the Canino’s Farmer’s
Market complex (2520 Airline Drive) (www.caninoproduce.com).
Canino’s has been Houston’s market since 1958. The Farmer’s Marketing
Association is a private corporation whose shareholders are the original
farmers or their descendants. As you walk through the complex, you will
discover all things Mexican: dry goods like molcajetes, masa grinders, toys,
piñatas, and more; food products associated with Mexico like dried chiles,
huazontle, flor de calabaza, chepil, cilantro, tropical fruits and more.
Next, cross back over the street to Lone Star Culinary
(formerly Flores Spices and still owned by the same family) (1299 Gibbs at
Airline). Recently remodeled, the place looks fantastic. Here, you will find
any spice you could think of and much more, in the way of specialty products. Special note: the Houston location of
Penzey’s Spices is also located in the Heights at 516 W 19th Street.
And now, across the street again the Carniceria Teloloapan
for shopping or something to eat (2430 Airline Drive). And then, next door to
Reyes Produce (2426 Airline Drive) for a look see at their extensive collection
of cookware, candies, dried chiles, and more.
Finishing up, we now head south on Airline for a stop at the
local cheese purveyors: Houston Dairy Maids (2201 Airline Drive) (www.houstondairymaids.com)
And then, across the street to Tampico Seafood (2115 Airline
Drive) (www.tampicoseafood.com) for
a huachinango. You will pick your fish from their market section, which will
then be grilled a la plancha style and served on a bed of grilled onions and
bell peppers with a side of fries or fried rice (a Tampico tradition from the
large Chinese population there). They have a full bar and other food choices
too.
We continue south on Airline Drive crossing Cavalcade (just
to the west on Cavalcade is the Asia Grocers, featuring Thai, Lao, Cambodian
goods and serving food as well) and come to the best candy store, Delicias
Mexicanas (1777 Airline Drive) (www.lasdeliciasmexicanas.com),
your one stop shop for traditional Mexican candies including glorias, dulce de
leche, cajeta, hard candies, candied fruits and more. Reyes Produce also
carries sweets, so you can cost compare at both places if you wish.
Further south, where Airline Drive dead-ends into North
Main, three recommended restaurants: Spanish Flowers Mexican Restaurant,
Teotihuacan Mexican Restaurant, and Pinkerton’s Barbecue (quickly turning into
one of the top five places for barbecue in Houston)
The tour is finished. Turning west on North Main will take
you to the Heights via 20th and turning east will take you to I-45.
Both of which will have even more interesting places to shop and eat. But we
will save those for another time.
