Switched from the grocery store salad bar to the hispanic market's pre-made salsa verde chicken for lunch this week and saved $4.50 per meal

The grocery store was charging $9 for a tiny container of their signature mix while the local market (shoutout to Cardenas in East LA) has a full hot bar where I loaded up on rice, beans, and chicken for $4.50 total - has anyone else found hidden deals at ethnic markets that blew their mind?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_hernandez831mo ago

I read somewhere that Latin markets often cook with cheaper cuts of meat that actually have more flavor. Like that salsa verde chicken is probably using thighs or something, not dry breast meat. Plus they're not paying for fancy packaging or a corporate marketing team. I've been hitting up a Korean market in Koreatown for their banchan bar, way cheaper than Whole Foods salad bar. The trick is finding the ones with hot food counters that locals actually eat at.

leohart1mo agoTop Commenter

Yeah man, you're totally onto something there. I've noticed the same thing at a little Mexican market near my place, they do these tinga tostadas that are absolutely killer and it's like six bucks for a full meal. The meat is always so much more tender and flavorful than what you get at those chain grocery delis, probably exactly what you said about using thighs or even cheek meat or whatever. It's wild how much of a difference it makes when the cooking comes from actual tradition instead of some corporate recipe book. Makes me feel kinda bad for dropping so much cash at bougie spots before I figured this out, honestly. Feels good to support a real local spot too, you know?