The Mercado

We carpooled today to work (trying to save the environment AKA our acura...), and on the way home Cory decided to take Buford Highway.  We've found its a mecca of cultural foods and shops.  We have been hesitant to try some places but want to explore it more.  So we decided to hit up this Mexican grocery that we've been meaning to try.  And since Cory wanted Nachos tonight, what better time to get our feet wet and hit up Mercado Del Pueblo.

At first glance, I admit, I was hesitant- I am not a fan of being out of my comfort zone and this was definitely out of my comfort zone. I speak zero Spanish, and Cory and I were both dressed in our work clothes and got some glances.(yes that is a pig head... and it's on sale...)

But really, it wasn't so horrible- mainly just very interesting.  Despite little English being spoken (Cory had to dust of his Spanish from high school) everyone was very nice and helpful.  This grocery store was the site of an old Publix (darn!) and still has the trademark teal and pink colors throughout. It also boasts a hair salon (packed!), jewelry counter, cell phone counter, bra/undies counter, and perfume counter among the typical deli, butcher, and bakery areas.

We walked around for a little while just checking everything out including the massive displays of queso (cheese)......and huge bins of jalapenos

We ended up picking out some great tortillas, cheese, mole, peppers, beans, and veggies for our nachos along with some mexican soft drinks and tres leche for dessert (total $17.17...pretty cheap!)
The cheese, mole, and tortillas were fresh and delicious. I haven't had any of the tres leche yet... Cory's munching on it now so I better wrap up!

Overall we were pleasantly surprised with this place. But not where I would EVER go for meat. They had all of the meat and fish just stacked all on top of each other with layers and layers of wax paper... plus it smelled like nastiness. BUT the veggies looked (and tasted) great and there are really a lot of unique items that you cannot find anywhere else. I would say its definitely worth a trip! Just don't hang out anywhere near the meat counter... adios!