Some of these ubiquitous fruterías, verdulerías, and carnecerías are tremendous ...and if you have one close by, you really owe it to yourself to check it out.
For years, I ignored my local hole-in-the-wall other than for picking up an especially delicious piece of fruit from their sidewalk display ...in favor of the giant chain supermarket nearby.
I know why I avoided my local "bodega"... it´s crowded, it´s tiny, it's hard to tell where things are, there´s always some little old blue-haired fireplug that is blocking the already tiny aisle, pretends you don´t exist, and might even try to cross-check you into the avocados!
But what a mistake not to shop there.
Little did I know that the tiny boliche sold almost all the staples that a fella runs out of from time to time. Not only that, I discovered that the quality of the beef, pork, and chicken that he sells is SO much better than the big guy!
The fuse got lit when I selected a beautiful watermelon one day. While I was hefting it to the cash register, one of the clerks waived me off my selection in favor of a truly monster sandía from a different genus, saying that it was much more delicious.
I suspected that he was just trying to extract a few more pesos out of me. It was so big that it looked like it could feed a large family for a week. I was hesitant ...it was much more than I wanted ...but I switched.
Wow. Am I glad I did. That watermelon was so good that I ate it all in a matter of two or three days. Truly special; one of the best I´ve ever had.
So I started to shop there a little more often. It was then that I noticed "a regular" asking for a really good porkchop. The proprietor disappeared for a moment into a small walk-in and returned with a slab of the magical animal. It looked great ...so I asked for a chop cut just like the other guy. Super yum!
Then, one time, my missus called me to ask if there was anything that I wanted for dinner. I asked for a chicken. She came home with the best chicken I´d ever had! When I asked where she bought it, she told me, "from the little place down the street." No exaggeration; it was so tender and flavorful I felt like I´d never eaten chicken before.
Later that month, the jones for a big juicy steak hit me. Yep... I walked over to my new buddy and asked for "un BUEN bife." Superb.
Well... the tie-in with Mercado Central is: these tiny markets often do you a big favor by going to the giant wholesale food suppliers, far away, and very early in the morning, exercising their life-long contacts ...to bring you the best they can find.
Before you ask if the Discos / Jumbos / Carrefours / etc. do the same thing... remember that those bigfoots have their own proprietary supply chains ...that are often smaller and inferior to the big central suppliers that the little guys use. So it stands to reason that the little guys in Buenos Aires can still beat their big competition on occasion.
That comes at a price, of course ...but not always. Sometimes my tab is less than at the supermercados, sometimes more. I have the sneaking feeling that the more regular you are, the less your bill is!
Start making yourself a regular at a little mercado near you today! You´ll be glad you did.
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