Favorite Food Day Trips

[Troutman]

Sometimes I feel like things that excite me are totally dull to a lot of folks. I used to be an avid fisherman and couldn't wait to wet a hook. Then I was into my beach house and boating and couldn't wait to hit the water. Now food has captivated my thoughts and excite my day trip planning. My two got-to stores that provide me with the vast variety of foods that seems to satisfy my craving at that time are Rose's and Central Market here in the Houston area.

I cook a lot of seafood and seafood is something that has to be fresh. We're blessed by being within 90 miles of the Gulf of Mexico so we have an excellent choice is super fresh boat to market seafood within a couple hours drive. The small coastal town of Seabrook is my favorite (although there are many others) with Rose's Seafood the store I've frequented since the 1970s.

As far as meat (as well as general foodie needs) it has to be Central Market. Central Market is one of 9 specialty stores in Texas owned and operated by HEB, the grocer we Texans are bragging about all the time. CM is an HEB on steroids. Think Whole Foods only better.

Here's their Meat Counter. I generally start at one end and by the time I get to chicken on the other end I'm easily $250 deep. Generally it's "I'll take one of those, two of those, oh and a couple of pounds of this and one or two of that....". Meat is all higher end; Prime, Wagyu, Berkshire, you know the names.




I guess I have an addiction problem. Am I the only one who laments here? I need intervention

Anyone want to start having a foodie anonymous meeting???

[ofelles]

Just what I need another Anonymous meeting!
But yes I too am a Foodaholic

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I live an hour from the ocean and it's a struggle to get anything other than oysters fresh

[Panhead John]

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to Rose’s Seafood Market. I like the idea of a day trip Steve. Next time you’re going to Rose’s let’s hook up and drive down there together. We can do lunch while we’re there too. Also, I’ve never shopped at Central Market. Let’s meet up at one of them one day soon. I can use your advice on some good stuff to buy. 👍

[ofelles]

Troutman while you have his attention I would suggest a loooong talk with him about more than food
i.e. professional help!

[Troutman]

Dude, Central Market is the Disneyland of grocery stores. Food and Wine magazine says it's one of the top foodie destinations in America. I just spent $250 cruising through there and didn't buy anything. I could spend $1000 at the drop of a hat. Of course I'd have to hire a divorce lawyer as well

[Jim White]

Hi Steve.

My name is Jim and I have a problem.

(My addiction is studying the available restaurants endlessly just before and while traveling. We head to San Diego Thursday, so I've been making sure my faves are still going while also poking around for new options.)

[58limited]

Try Sam the Cooking Guy's places: Not Not Tacos and Graze.

[Troutman]

Help is on the way Jim. Yes to study groceries, markets, specialty stores, restaurants, food trucks in anticipation of your trips, day or otherwise, is indeed a sign of addiction. Say this prayer with me; Please grant me the serenity with a mouth full of great food, accept the things I am unable to enjoy or buy, courage when I find I'm buying or enjoying too much, and the wisdom to care less if I gain a few pounds.

I hope that helps you get through this crisis my brother

[Jim White]

Thanks, SheilaAnn and 58limited Those suggestions look terrific and are walkable from the hotel. Perfect! They are likely to happen.

[smokin fool]

My food addiction is ice cream, I find out about a dairy with great ice cream I'm in the car.
Hard one to satisfy these days as most small town dairies were brought out years ago.

[58limited]

When I first went to Texas A&M in the early 1990s they still operated a dairy and dairy farm Their ice cream was by far the richest and best I've ever had. It surpassed the Texas favorite Blue Bell Ice Cream by a wide margin. I sure miss it, they closed the creamery and built a parking garage on the site in 1992 or so.

[tamidw]

We always enjoy going to the Tillamook Cheese Factory on the Oregon Coast and getting cheese samples and going through the line for ice cream. Most times they have at least a couple flavors that aren't in stores. Then we have to stop by the Tillamook Smokehouse for pepperoni and jerky. We get a container of those little silver dollar jerkys for the dogs and of course we can have some too.

[jfmorris]

The only seafood market I've been in that approaches this at all is Joe Patti's down in Pensacola.

That said, I've since learned that even at a big market like that, some of what you buy isn't fresh caught local stuff. For example - every market seems to sell so called "orange roughy". I bought some of that one of 3 trips to Joe Patti's last October. In reading the book "Real Food Fake Food", I found much to my dismay that orange roughy is technically a deep water fish called "slime head", and its from the Australia / New Zealand area of the Pacific. They market it as "orange roughy" as , well, the name slime head is less than appealing.

So, the sad lesson learned this past few months - just because a place is on the water in Pensacola on the Gulf of Mexico does not mean that all the fish they are selling is local fresh caught fare...

I *wish* I could find a meat counter anywhere near me like that one at Central. Or even a regular HEB.

[Troutman]

I only buy local fish species (reds, speck trout, flounder) and occasionally salmon (imported). The shell fish is always local caught; shrimp, scallops, oysters and live crab.

[Panhead John]

You mean we don’t have salmon in the Houston Ship Channel?

[MBMorgan]

Panhead John - Salmon in the channel? Sure! And trout? How'bout those Jordan River browns?!?!?

[SheilaAnn]

Hi Steve!!

My name is SheilaAnn and I am a foodaholic.

I have to go to certain stores for certain items, too.
As I am trying to up my bread game, I go to an Italian deli near me for bread. Also get my canned tomatoes and anchovies from them as well.

If my farmer’s market mushroom guy is low on selection, I revert to the Korean market near me for a HUGE variety.

I could go on and on… but y’all get it.

[Troutman]

My sister in arms, please refer to the prayer I wrote for brother Jim White above. Peace be with you and your addiction to the things we all love....FOOD !!!

[Jfrosty27]

I’m like SheilaAnn as I go to certain stores/shops for certain things. I’m retired and have plenty of time to run around getting just what I want.

[tamidw]

While we were visiting our friends down in New Braunfels, we went to a meat market, thinking it may be a Central Market like you were referring to. It was behind the Ford dealership there. But basically it was meat heaven for sure! My husband and I had to contain ourselves because we weren't going to be there long and we had a long drive home. Should have figured it out!

And sadly as close as we are to the ocean and Columbia River, we don't get a huge amount of fresh fish and not much fresh shellfish except dungeness crabs, clams, oysters.

[tbob4]

My boy is moving back to the Houston area sometime at the end of the summer. He spent four years in Galveston and one in High Island. His wife is from Houston and that is why they are "going back". His is a very avid gulf fisherman. He doesn’t go out. He fishes from the shore. When he settles in, I should "hook" you up with him.

[DaveD]

I used to live about ten minutes from Rose's before moving here to NoVA in mid-2019. And Central Market is a true legend, no doubt about it. We didn't get all the way up there too often though, it was a solid 45 minute drive from our place, that's a high activation energy for us

And did anybody else mis-interpret the subject line at first? I read it as favorite trips one might make on "food day", and I was thinking, wait, isn't EVERY day Food Day?? OK, I'll just show myself out.

[Texas Larry]

Nice topic Troutman. We occasionally run up to Austin, and not just for bbq. Two restaurants we have enjoyed recently are Foreign & Domestic and The Salty Sow. Of course there are dozens of good ones up there. San Antonio is a 35 minute drive, and we are there too often for other reasons to call it "food day trip."

[CaptainMike]

A couple of more things to love about Texas.

[Caffeine88]

Foodaholics anonymous.... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Yeah, right! More like foodies get together to egg each other on!


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