Learn Your EATs
An epicurean orientation for students new and returning, but also for ACL visitors and recently arrived residents
By Virginia B. Wood, Fri., Sept. 23, 2005
Grocery Store Heaven
For many of us, going off to college represents the first time we've lived away from home with the opportunity to make our own decisions about when, where, and what to eat. When I arrived in Austin, I moved into a co-op house and used the 30 hungry hippies there as guinea pigs while I taught myself to cook. What I would have given for the stores you've got! If you are grocery shopping for yourself for the first time in the general area of UT, be advised there's a whole world out there beyond Ramen noodles and microwave popcorn. You've officially arrived in Grocery Store Heaven. While Austin boasts a full contingent of the regional chains to which you may be accustomed – HEB, Albertsons, Fiesta, Sun Harvest, and Randalls – we are also the birthplace of one national and one regional grocery operation. Both are state of the art.The Whole Foods Market company was born here more than 20 years ago, and their grand new flagship store (525 N. Lamar, 476-1206) is pretty remarkable: several in-store dining kiosks, a full bakery with an excellent coffee bar, a fish market with live entertainment, impressive selections of fresh and prepared meats, produce, beers, and wines, plus a large assortment of health food and organic products. If you're old enough, you can sip wine while you nosh and shop, and, if you're lucky, charge it all to Dad. Steering clear of the long-established one-stop shopping supermarket concept, Central Market's (4001 N. Lamar, 206-1000) flagship store had a huge impact on the concept of gourmet grocery shopping when it opened more than 10 years ago. They've remained true to the original vision and continue to offer quality shopping, food to go, a well-informed wine department, a comfortable cafe that often doubles as a music venue, a nationally known cooking school, and the most popular playscape in town. Here's a suggestion: Buy good food and volunteer in the cooking school to learn how to cook it.
Undoubtedly, the busiest HEB in the city has to be the megastore in Hancock Center (East 41st and I-35, 459-6513), which is remodeled every few years to accommodate the ever-increasing student population. The store is huge, open 24/7, and jamming all the time. Just across the freeway, you'll find our local Fiesta Mart (3909 I-35, 406-3900) offering sections of imported food products from all around the globe with a special emphasis on fresh and prepared Mexican fare with an in-store bakery and taqueria. The real grocery jewel in the UT area, however, is within walking distance to campus and harkens back to the days of smaller neighborhood stores. You're welcome to join Wheatsville Food Co-op (3101 Guadalupe, 478-2667) as an annual ($15) or invested lifetime ($70) member so as to shop at member prices and have input into the running of the store. You can also simply shop there – purchasing hormone- and antibiotic-free meats, organic produce, delicious vegan deli items, and assorted health foods – to your heart's content.
If you're looking for a farmers' market shopping experience, check out the Downtown Farmers' Market (Fourth & Guadalupe), the Sunset Valley Farmers Market (Toney Burger Center Parking lot), and the South Austin Farmers' Market (2910 S. Congress) on Saturday mornings, and the Boggy Creek Farm Stand (3414 Lyons Rd.) on Wednesday and Saturday mornings.
