What are some sources of food and beverages not generally available in Mexico?

[roberb7]

You say potato and I say potahto, let's call the whole thing off! I am going to update this as people comment and add addition information but initially here are some things I look for and have found at various places:

Asian - sections in major markets; Toyo in Leon/Aeropuerto; (small offering) El Unicorno in GTO
Bakery (self bake) - (*) frozen cinnamon rolls at HEB in Leon
Bakery (gourmet) - La Vie En Rose in GTO; La Buna Vida in SMdA
Bakery (gourmet) - (*) Biga Pan Artesanal, Nueva Ayuntamiento behind Hermanos Torres on Plaza Baratillo in GTO
BBQ Sauce (Stubbs) - HEB in Leon
Beer; Tecate, Bohemia, Dos XX, Indio, etc - Oxxo; all major mercados; most restaurants as monopoly
Beer; Corona, Modelo products, Pacifico - Extra/Circle K/Modelarama; all major mercados; only a few restaurants
Beer; microbrew and European - (*)The Beer Company, across from Plaza Allende (note new location) in GTO
Beer; Shiner Bock (Texas) - HEB in Leon (also have seasonal Shiner Ruby Red Grapefruit as of 8-2-2019)
Biscuits (frozen) - (*) HEB in Leon
Butcher - back row of Mercado Hidalgo, central GTO
Butcher - Mexiamora Plaza in GTO .. https://goo.gl/maps/92myhdEwsBb2vrum9
Candy (gourmet) - (Gloria's, pecan logs, large variety) GALEREÑA Dulces Tipicos Av. Benito Juárez 188 next/La Comer in GTO
Cereal (shredded wheat) - (*) HEB in Leon
Cheese (gourmet) - small variety Mega Pozuelos in GTO; Mercado Sano in SMdA
Cheese (white cheddar) - sometimes Mega Pozuelos & La Commercial in GTO;
Cheese (yellow cheddar mild) - (*) sometimes Mega Pozuelos & La Commercial in GTO; HEB in Leon
Cheese (yellow cheddar sharp) - (*) HEB in Leon
Chips (Fritos) - (*) HEB in Leon
Coffee (Mexico-Coatepec) - Zenteno Bros, house blend in SMdA
Coffee (Mexico-various areas) - large stand w/bins next to liquor isle, HEB in Leon
Coffee (Mexico-Veracruz) - Cafe Conquistidor in GTO
Cookies (Girl Scout mint) - (*) HEB in Leon
Cookies (vanilla wafers) - (*) HEB in Leon
Cornmeal ground for corn bread - Bonanza in SMdA
Crackers (cheeze it) - (*) HEB in Leon
Crackers (LaPanzanella Rosemary) - HEB in Leon (left of deli)
Crackers (Water) - HEB in Leon (left of deli); Mercado Sano in SMdA (under salad bar)
Cream Cheese (flavored) - (*) HEB in Leon
Deli (pastrami) - (*) HEB in Leon
Dips (French Onion) - (*) HEB in Leon
Dr. Pepper - Mega Pozuelos, (sometimes-La Comercial) in GTO; Extra/Circle K in various cities; HEB in Leon
Fish (freshest) - (sometimes) steel booths in front of Mercado Hidalgo in GTO; Estrella de Mar (Mkd de Cruz) in QTR
Gourmet - small isle Mega Pozuelos in GTO; City Market in QTR (++); (lesser) Mercado Sano in SMdA
Granola - (*)Via Verde Tiendas Saludables, Nueva Ayuntamiento 12 in GTO
Herbs - white canvased booths outside, side Mk. Hidalgo in GTO .. https://goo.gl/maps/HjLQJbaacFnk84Lu5
Horseradish fresh & refrigerated - Bonanza in SMdA
Jam (grape) - HEB in Leon
Lamb (rack/leg of) - only Saturday 9-12PM at Mercado Sano organic fare mkt in back of store in SMdA
Muesli - (*) Via Verde Tiendas Saludables, Nueva Ayuntamiento 12 in GTO
Mustard (gourmet) - black shelving just beyond last register of Mega Pozuelos in GTO; HEB in Leon
Pickle relish for hot dogs - Bonanza in SMdA; mustard+pickle at HEB in Leon
Pickles (dill) - HEB in Leon
Pickles (Vlasic) (*) HEB in Leon
Potatoes (Russet) - (no existe en centro Mexico)
Potatoes (small red/white bulk) - Mega Pozuelos in GTO
Potatoes (white baking) - large found at Mega Pozuelos in GTO (actually found everywhere)
Root Beer - HEB in Leon; (sometimes) Mega Pozuelos in GTO
Rye bread (Centeno handmade) - (sometimes) Mega Pozuelos & BigA in GTO; Mecardo Sano in SMdA (++seeded)
Rye bread (regular/pumpernickel bagged) - (*) HEB in Leon (**) missing from shelves on visit Aug 6, 2019
Salad (potato) - (*) HEB in Leon
Sausage (gourmet) - Toro, (flavors vary) corner of Mercado Hidalgo in GTO
Sausage (Johnsonville) - (non-US style) Mega Pozuelos in GTO; HEB (US style) in Leon
Steak (prime) - Costco in Leon/Celia(++)/QTR; City Market in QTR (**) missing from Costco/Leon Aug 6, 2019
Sushi grade fish - Estrella de Mar in QTR; La Isla, Sano Market in SMdA
Tea (anything but McCormick) - Mega Pozuelos (selling one non-McCor) in GTO; Bonanza has variety in SMdA
Tea (Lipton) - (no existe en centro Mexico)
Vegan/Vegetarian (varied) - (*) Mr. Tofu in Leon
Vegan/Vegetarian (Tofu) - (*) Mr. Tofu in Leon; Mega Pozuelos in GTO
Vegetable Markets (general, hearty) - Hermanos Tores in Baratillo, GTO
Vegetable Markets (gormet, large) - HEB in Leon, City Market in QTR
Yogurt (fresh) - El Unicorno in GTO

Key:

(*) - other contributor added (see comments below)
(++) - above average
HEB - US owned large supermarket chain (predominately in Texas)
GTO - Guanajuato
Mega Pozuelos - posted stop on GTO buses, but new name is La Comer in the Pozuelos shopping mall in GTO
SMdA - San Miguel de Allende
QTR - Queretaro

Notes:
Beers: In Mexico it has long been the practice of one of the two major beer companies "sponsoring" a restaurant which means they will receive beer branded chairs, tables, refrigerators, signs, etc if they will contract to sell only that company's beer line. This field has always been dominated by Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Holding which was recently bought out by Heineken and includes major brands like DosXX, Tecate, Bohemia, Carta Blanca, Sol, Superior, Indio, etc. This company also is part of FEMSA who owns Oxxo and thus sells exclusively its own brands. The massive expansion of Oxxo with no Corona products sold at Oxxo for many years continued until a point that Grupo Modelo (sellers of Corona, Modelo, Pacifico, Victoria, etc) while concentrating on its export sales almost lost the Mexico market. There has been a small comeback with the launch of the Extra and Circle K minimarts rolling out country wide and attempting to compete with Oxxo by selling both company brands and not participating in this monopolistic approach. At one point a few years ago, one could walk the streets of smaller Mexican cities and not find a single store selling a Grupo Modelo (Corona line) product. Things are slowly changing now with more and more Extra, Circle Ks which sell both and Modelarama's which sell only Corona products. Recently Anheuser-Busch InBev bought out the Grupo Modelo who owns Corona, so changes happening with this buy-out are also taking place.

Also note that Dr. Pepper was one brand that was cut out of sales in Oxxo due so some other contract and finding Dr. Pepper has been difficult also until the advent of Extra, Circle K and sometimes it's even seen at Modelarmama. However today these lines are quickly being blurred with things such as CocaCola Mexico being awarded a contract to bottle and sell Dr. Pepper under their own distribution and with the huge selloff off of the large Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma to Heineken. So like most things in life, change is the only constant and tomorrow will unquestionably create a brand new landscape.

Pork tenderloin and baby backs: Sometimes it's hard to communicate to the butcher what you are looking for when you want baby back ribs, but "Costillitas de Cerdo" should get you started in the area of baby back ribs. These to any BBQ enthusiast are easy to discern from the less tasty, larger and often tougher regular pork ribs which sometimes must be parboiled to be edible in contrast to the baby back which can be grilled or smoked. In Mexico the pork loin, just under the ribs is normally displayed still attached to the baby back ribs and called "Lomo". Most butchers will cut the "Lomo" from the "Costillitas de Cerdo" and sell you either or both. Go early in the day where ever you buy and the Mercado Hidalgo usually has them along the meat isle. Never enter the meat isle on a full stomach or late in the day.

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Copied from Lake Chapala forum:

Mexican Oven Numbers:
1=150 Celsius (300F +/-)
2=175 C (350F)
3=200 C (400F)
4= 225 C (450)
5= 250 C (500F)
An oven thermometer is really necessary.

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Copied from Civil List SMdA regarding HEB in QTR:
Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:20 pm (PDT) . Posted by: "BILL TURNEY" bturney702

We just returned from our first visit to the new HEB in Juraquilla and it was exciting! Pretty much like other HEB’s they have a tremendous selection of grocery products including the HEB and Central Market brands. Some particularly interesting finds were buttermilk, LeSeur peas, corn bread mix, sandwich thins and again a very wide selection of Hill Country, Central Market, HEB and Whataburger branded products. The produce section was just like home with great lettuce, about 20 varieties of apples, incredible meat and seafood selections and on and on! The store has some covered parking and what seemed to be an adequate number of spaces. Today was the end of their first week and the store was still crowded and I could tell the store manager was having a difficult time in keeping the shelves fully stocked but they were working at it. We went to “just look” since we are going back home in a couple of weeks but came home with a few bags full of items we just had to have including Cold Brew Ice Tea that we love to make down here but have always had to bring with us. The only seriously missing items were breakfast sausage, frozen okra (for gumbo) and Cafe Ole San Antonio blend coffee (HEB House brand) but I hope that will be corrected soon!

It was an easy 35 minute drive and I believe it was the 2nd or 3rd Juraquilla exit about 5 miles before Home Depot and Costco; easy off and easy back on. Give them a try for your grocery and drug needs, you will love them as much as we do and now we can say we have TWO favorite HEB stores, San Felipe at Fountainview in Houston and the new HEB in Juraquilla, here in Mexico!

Bill Turney (DonJuane)

[James Doran]

Good Jamon or Prosciutto:

It seems such a shame that Spain has the worlds best Jamon and I cannot find any here in Mexico that even comes close.

Any ideas on this item?

James

[datgnat]

I've said to more than one friend that I need to find someone with a big refrigerator so I can dry-aging some beef and start hanging some charcuterie...

[James Doran]

How big of a refrigerator are you talking about? May be a standard home refrigerator designated for hanging meat?

[datgnat]

That would serve to start with. I'd start with a rib roast or a primal new york strip for the beef, then start with something relatively simple on the pork side. I'd do it myself, but we're only here for another two years and I'm not sure I want to invest in the fridge (or put my mostly vegetarian wife out of sorts) by shoehorning the fridge in our house. The fridge would be augmented with a small (computer internal sized) fan for air circulation. The sweet spot (imo) for dry aging beef is about five to seven weeks...

[James Doran]

I sent you a private message on this topic.

Did you get it?

James

[roberb7]

I got several about prosciutto on Sunday.