Central Market

I like to explore food markets when I am traveling. If you are visiting any of the major Texas cities (Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, San Antonio or Houston), if food is your passion, I recommend visiting Central Market.

Owned by the H-E-B grocery chain, Central Market is a beautifully laid out store featuring both local growers and providing unique foods not normally available in Texas. The original store in Austin has been in business since 1994 and boasts over 2 million visitors yearly. Arranged based on a concept like food halls in European department stores, Central Market is exciting to explore. This chain is a foodie work of art.

The Houston location includes two walls of cheese, a tortilleria with freshly made tortillas, a sushi bar, a bread department, a large olive bar, huge produce and fish departments and a wine department with unusual wines from around the globe.

Central Market also has bands some weekends and sponsors various festivals. In August, 2009, Central Market sponsored a Hatch Chile Festival with all kinds of chile pepper samples on offer. Each February, Central Market offers a chocolate festival. I recently attended a South African wine and food festival and it was great to try South African cuisine.

If you are interested in cooking, Central Market offers a nightly cooking school. I am not much of a cook but have taken anything from a class on Italian food to a wine tasting class. Chefs publishing cookbooks often stop at Central Market for their book tours and will cook a dinner for a class. One of my favorite classes featured the former White House Pastry Chef who was promoting his book. His pastries were delicious.

I take visitors to Central Market as the selection is incredible. While one downside is the price (this chain is expensive), it is fun to just browse.

If you are visiting any major Texas city and enjoy unique foods, I highly recommend stopping by Central Market. This store is a food lover's dream.