Exotic groceries in Socorro and Albuquerque, NM

Socorro is not exactly the center of the world when it comes to buying groceries, but with a little searching you can turn up an astonishing variety. Here are some assorted hints.

• Socorro. Smith's, on the main drag at College Avenue, is the bigger supermarket. We call it the Produce Museum because the produce is so pathetic (the bag salads come pre-rotted), but they have a reasonable selection in most departments. However, don't neglect the John Brooks market, also on the main drag in the La Villa Center at the Otero stoplight. They have a lot of good stuff, including a surprising assortment of real cheese such as Fiscalini sharp cheddar. The only fresh fish I'll even consider in Socorro is tilapia, generally available at bot hmarkets.
• Fish: My strategy, since I'm in Albuquerque every week for symphony chorus rehearsal, is to go to Nantucket Shoals Fish Market in Albuquerque. A distant second choice is the Whole Foods Market at Academy and Wyoming, but Nantucket's fish is about two days fresher and slightly cheaper.
• World cuisine: For almost any Asian cuisine, plus a lot of other exotica, just about anything you could need is at Ta Lin World Market, in Albuquerque on the southeast corner of Central and Louisiana. I've been shopping here since the 1960s. It is owned and operated by some very nice people.
• Indian. Ta Lin has a reasonable Indian section, but for more specialized items or the higher quality levels, two Indian restaurants have a nice selection: India Palace and also India Kitchen (southwest corner of Louisiana and Montgomery).
• Deli/imported. Fremont's Fine Foods is on the lower level of the shopping center on the northeast corner of Lomas and San Mateo. Good deli, lots of European delicacies, and their catering is superior—the NM Symphony uses them for box lunches of high quality. Alpine Sausage Kitchen, Girard at Indian School, has outstanding German food. Ask them to cut you a slab of Kessler, a smoked whole pork loin, take it home and steam it.

Last updated: 2010/11/26 20:54:43
URL: http://www.nmt.edu/~shipman/food/shopping.html