Houstonians: how is the quality of fresh produce in Houston?

Question

I'm from Massachusetts, so I'm used to going to my supermarket and buying oranges, grapes and strawberries that are stale and disgusting.

But I would imagine, being so close to Mexico, you Houston folks must have a wide array of fresh fruits and veggies at your supermarkets...true or false?

I may be moving there next winter so I'm curious for some opinions...

Answer 1

I would defiantely say true!

I lived in Philly for 5 years and the quality difference was crazy. Not to mention the price difference!

Also in the north alot of the fruits and vegetables are not available in the winter. That is not the case down here in Houston!

Answer 2

We get produce from Mexico, California, Chili, South Texas and many other places. The produce comes graded and some stores get the best and others get lesser grades. However, it is really good compared to most places. Try Fiesta markets for lots of economical produce including the freshest fish in town at the one on I-10 and Bunker Hill. Go to the Farmers Markets, one on airline and the other at Rice University for major quanitites. Rice Epecurian is usually a great place for very select, top quality produce...at a high price. Welcome to Houston!!!!

Answer 3

Unfortunately, quite a lot of wonderful produce is not allowed into the U.S. from Mexico for health reasons. However, we do have many Farmer's Markets where local farmers in Texas grow some really nice produce that they sell to various Farmer's Markets. I think there is a Farmer's Market still located on Airline Drive and IH-45 North in Houston which has almost every fruit and vegetable you can imagine; there is one privately owned market located in Alvin, Texas that has produce according to what season it is; and there are some markets located in Hempstead, Texas, a fairly short drive out of Houston that have wonderful melons, fruits and veggies. If you want a really large variety of items, I would try the Farmer's Market in Houston off of IH-45 North. They seem to have just about anything that is in season and they also import items from Florida, Guatamala, Chile and places that have tropical climates when certain items won't grow in Houston. That way, even if what you want is not in season in Houston, it may be brought in from independent farmers from around the State as well as across the Country and it is very fresh. You will find much better produce at Farmer's Markets than you will in any grocery store here in Houston! Many of the locations can be found in ATT Yellow Pages or by calling information...sorry, but I don't happen to have that information right in front of me, but it should be fairly easy to find. I hope this helps you find what you are looking for! And if you decide to move to Texas, Welcome! FYI, our winters are usually fairly mild here, but summers are very much like Florida and certain areas of California. They are hot, hot, hot and humid! If you do decide to move to Texas, please be sure to post another message closer to your moving date and I will see what I can do about getting exact addresses and telephone numbers of local markets for you!

Answer 4

Yes we have a good amount and quality of fruits and veggies. More so than the North. Not necessarily from Mexico but from Cali. also and many others areas. But like anywhere you are going to get the best of something when it is in season.

Answer 5

Actually, we get more of our produce locally than internationally, except in the off season, when we get things from Mexico and Chile. Thanks to relatively cheap transportation, we no longer have seasonal produce here, and we also have quite a variety. If you don't want to drive all over town looking for so-called farmer's markets, try Fiesta. Fiesta is a grocery store chain here, famous for it's produce and international foods. President Bush 41 took Boris Yeltsin to one back in 1992. Yeltsin was shocked.

Answer 6

Try one of the farmers markets on the weekends.

http://www.houstonfarmersmarket.org/

http://www.localharvest.org/

And there is also one 7 days a week on Arline Dr. just south of Loop 610 North. You may need to speak Spanish in order to negotiate with some of the vendors at this one.

Answer 7

We have a great Farmer's Market on Airline and most chain grocery stores have decent fruit & veggies. But best of all, we have Central Market on Westheimer & Weslayan. There you will find 15 types of lettuce, 10 types of mushrooms, etc. and they are amazing (kind of expensive for us but coming from MA probably not so much to you)!!!

Answer 8

the quality is okay. Yummie too.