Shopping at Sorianos

gringal - I noticed that too. They think we're all dumb. I examine each piece closely. we buy lots of veggies there. Squueze the cukes too, lots of soft spots.

What ticks me off more is buying strawberries out front of Super Lake, and getting home only to find "Rotten Spots" down on the berries......at least you can check out the tomato!

Ok, I have a tomato question. . .are those people from San Cristobal on the south shore who used to sell those ripe lush heirloom tomatoes at the 'Organic Market' when it was at the mall still doing so? Are they at the Tues market now???

I apologize for flagrantly hijacking this thread, but hey, I wasn't the only one.
Or the first one. . .

gringal wrote:Went into SL today for some tomatoes and was attracted to a display of beauties, but at the bottom of the price sign, in tiny letters, was "pieza".
Uh........I like tomatoes, but not THAT much...so we found some good enough ones in a bin nearby selling by the kilo.
I do a lot of shopping at SL, but you need to watch your burro when shopping anywhere.

As a newbie, did all that and a lot worse. Big learning curve with pesos and prices. Ni modo.

Trailrunner wrote:Ok, I have a tomato question. . .are those people from San Cristobal on the south shore who used to sell those ripe lush heirloom tomatoes at the 'Organic Market' when it was at the mall still doing so? Are they at the Tues market now???

Their greenhouse blew down a few months ago. They are currently collecting money at the entrance of the Farmer's Market to pay for a new one. If you miss the heirloom tomatoes, chip in a few pesos - let's get them back in business!

Flamingo wrote:

Trailrunner wrote:Ok, I have a tomato question. . .are those people from San Cristobal on the south shore who used to sell those ripe lush heirloom tomatoes at the 'Organic Market' when it was at the mall still doing so? Are they at the Tues market now???

Their greenhouse blew down a few months ago. They are currently collecting money at the entrance of the Farmer's Market to pay for a new one. If you miss the heirloom tomatoes, chip in a few pesos - let's get them back in business!

I'm not familiar with heirloom tomatos. Are they much different from the regular tomatos we buy?

They're often a little ugly but really really taste like tomatoes. If you buy the big yellow or orange tomatoes, or the funny looking green stripy ones at SL, those are almost certainly from the heirloom tomato guys.

I like their bulk frozen veggies...

OHhh! Thanks, Flamingo! I will donate to get them back, they had the best tomatoes in the area. It'll probably be a while before they have crops again, no?

John, heirloom tomatoes are 'heirloom', because they don't ship well. The tomatoes that ship well are those little green hard-as-a-rock and tasteless ones that are available everywhere. . .SL, Safeway, etc. Heirlooms are the kind of tomatoes our grandparents grew in their victory gardens. Thank god for the heirloom seed exchanges, no?

Trailrunner wrote:OHhh! Thanks, Flamingo! I will donate to get them back, they had the best tomatoes in the area. It'll probably be a while before they have crops again, no?

John, heirloom tomatoes are 'heirloom', because they don't ship well. The tomatoes that ship well are those little green hard-as-a-rock and tasteless ones that are available everywhere. . .SL, Safeway, etc. Heirlooms are the kind of tomatoes our grandparents grew in their victory gardens. Thank god for the heirloom seed exchanges, no?

I used to see them at SL, but not lately. I never bought any. Thanks for the info people and that great picture Flamingo. Will have to try them.

In general, the tomatos here are not as good as NOB.

I agree.

However, I believe you will be pleasantly surprised when you get a hold of one of that farm's Brandywine, Zebra, or the other pink tomato they grow. Even the vellows they grow are really good, they have very low acid content and I find they carmelize well with garlic and onions for pasta. The Brandywine is my most favorite tho.

gringal wrote:Ain't that the truth! Same deal at Walmart. "Always lower prices" means on the shelf, maybe, but not necessarily when you get to the checkout.

I used to love the Safeway system in the states: Canned peas of a good brand stacked up high, with a few of their cheapo brand adjacent. Below, a large sign showing a real bargain price, and in teeny weeny print below that "safeway brand".

Gringal, today I went to WALMART for 2 items, while my truck was being washed behind PEMEX.....a travel coffee cup and a toilet seat...special gift for my wife, as we seem to hit the worst of the worst rest stops between here and Nogales...she now has her own travel kit...ROLMAO! Anyway, Walmart display at this check out stand faces clerk......199 pesos total paid....looked at receipt, and was overcharged 35 pesos.....FOR 2 ITEMS.....clerk tries to send me to customer service....which I refused....they brought over a manager, and we walked back to location of both items....returned to customer service together and I was refunded 35 pesos. Probably the Scorpio in me.....BUT, for all newbies here.....Pay attention! While I hate shopping, I now pay attention to charges on goods.....resulting in refunds of over 350 pesos, over past 60 days.

Jim W wrote:


Gringal, today I went to WALMART for 2 items, while my truck was being washed behind PEMEX.....a travel coffee cup and a toilet seat...special gift for my wife, as we seem to hit the worst of the worst rest stops between here and Nogales...she now has her own travel kit...ROLMA

Jim,are you saying you're going to carry your own toilet seat around while traveling?

viajero wrote:

Jim W wrote:


Gringal, today I went to WALMART for 2 items, while my truck was being washed behind PEMEX.....a travel coffee cup and a toilet seat...special gift for my wife, as we seem to hit the worst of the worst rest stops between here and Nogales...she now has her own travel kit...ROLMA

Jim,are you saying you're going to carry your own toilet seat around while traveling?

YUP.....For my wife, as she has a problem with the lack of seats @ the rest stops going north to Nogales....GOTTA LOVE IT! Chris, I was thinking of carrying one over my shoulder for her, shopping the GDL Tienges! TFF

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CheenaGringo wrote:[img][/img]

CG YA did it again....TFF

John writes:

" I used to see them (heirloom tomatoes) at SL, but not lately. I never bought any. Thanks for the info people and that great picture Flamingo. Will have to try them.

In general, the tomatos here are not as good as NOB. "

Actually, seasonally speaking, the commercially offered, non-heirloom, tomatoes one finds in markets NOB are very often produced in Mexico. Unlike Florida, Mexican growers do not pick their tomatoes green and gas them to expidite red coloring. The commercially produced tomatoes from Mexico, including Jalisco, are picked when mostly ripe and shipped overnight to the U.S. They are superior to that hard, tasteless artificially ripened by gassing Florida crap one usually finds in U.S. markets. One often finds tomatoes in local markets here at Lakeside that are not the best produced locally as the best tomatoes are immediately shipped to the U.S. upon harvesting. Back when the U.S. started that war in Iraq years ago, the quality of tomatoes available at Lakeside markets improved dramatically as the market for Mexican tomatoes was temporarily shut down in the U.S. and we started getting these great tomatoes from the Sayula area originally destined for U.S. markets.

The heirloom tomatoes Pancho was getting at Super Lake were never even close to the standard we had come to expect in California at farmer´s markets and specialty grocers but, as was earlier noted, heirlooms do not travel well and become mushy and tasteless rather quickly. The locally produced heirlooms from San Cristóbal across the lake have never come close to the taste of the heirlooms we used to find in California but I wish them luck in getting re-started and, hopefully, improving the quality of their tomatoes when and if they do.

I should have said, in general, the fruit here is not as good as NOB and it is definitely more expensive here.

johninajijic wrote:I should have said, in general, the fruit here is not as good as NOB and it is definitely more expensive here.

Sure John,the mangos,papayas,guanabanas,pineapples,guayabas,ciruelas, avocados,limones etc. are much better and cheaper NoB.

viajero wrote:

johninajijic wrote:I should have said, in general, the fruit here is not as good as NOB and it is definitely more expensive here.

Sure John,the mangos,papayas,guanabanas,pineapples,guayabas,ciruelas, avocados,limones etc. are much better and cheaper NoB.

I don't know about those, but carrots, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, real lemons, apples, all pears, nectarines, peaches, prunes, dates, etc are MUCH better and cheaper NOB.

Prunes are dried plums unless you live in California and all the fruit you mention are fruit that head cold weather during the dormant season, if you If you want those you should not live in the tropics, meanwhile,, tropical fruit here is good,you just cannot have it all.
How many fresh dates do you eat?? Prunes and dates are sold dried as a rule so you can get them here too,maybe at a higher price but you can find them.
You cannot find a large variety of yellow lemons but you can find a couple of variety of limes, just cannot have everything you wish for.
Why are people always complaining about what they cannot get rather than enjoy what they can get. It is so tiresome.

johninajijic wrote:

viajero wrote:

johninajijic wrote:I should have said, in general, the fruit here is not as good as NOB and it is definitely more expensive here.

Sure John,the mangos,papayas,guanabanas,pineapples,guayabas,ciruelas, avocados,limones etc. are much better and cheaper NoB.

I don't know about those, but carrots, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, real lemons, apples, all pears, nectarines, peaches, prunes, dates, etc are MUCH better and cheaper NOB.

Not cheaper than Vancouver John. In fact, produce in Vancouver is easily twice as expensive as here in Mexico particularly in the winter months. I have paid $6.00 for one large mango in Vancouver. Perhaps it is less expensive in the town that you came from 11 years ago however when you say "NOB" that is a pretty broad statement......jaja.

We’ve found the Mercado in central Chapala a delight. Good prices and great taste most of the time. Over the few years we’ve been here our taste and desires are changing so integrating into Mexico does occur. However, SuperLake is a God-Send when one has a craving, No?

Parker wrote: However, SuperLake is a God-Send when one has a craving, No?

I wish there was a SuperLake near where we live in GDL.

viajero wrote:

Parker wrote: However, SuperLake is a God-Send when one has a craving, No?

I wish there was a SuperLake near where we live in GDL.

You have better stores like Mega and Costco without paying SL's marked up prices. 25% of SL stock comes from Costco. Mega has a large variety of everything. I was very impressed by the new one next to Costco on Lopez Mateos Sur.

CBob - I admit that was too broad a statement and I should have excluded parts of Canada like Vancouver where everything is overpriced.

Actually I was referring to California one year ago when we went into a large Supermarket chain and OMG the choices and wide aisles!!!