Look, I’ll find any excuse I can to visit more stores. So last week I decided to turn a routine trip to the grocery store for a dinner party into an opportunity to explore Santa Clara food shopping possibilities.
My first stop down El Camino was for fresh salmon at Neves Fish Market, on the corner of El Camino and Main St. (shortly before El Camino turns into the Alameda).
Neves has good prices for fresh fish, but, alas, at 12:15 p.m. today’s catch was pretty well gone – you need to get there early in the morning. However, I consoled myself with a wedge of sharp, nutty Portuguese Sao Jorge cheese and a bottle of Vino Verde – a dry Portuguese wine made from green grapes still in their skins.
Next up on El Camino was the Ky-Po Market.
To someone who can never have enough kitchen utensils, the extensive display of house-wares at the store’s entrance was promising, and I narrowly resisted the extensive assortment of reasonably priced tempered glass storage containers.
Advancing on my objective, I garnered a dozen eggs for $1.59, a package of enoki mushrooms for $0.49, a four-pound bag of oranges for $0.99, and onions for $0.25 a pound.
I concluded my pass down El Camino with a visit to The Fish Market. At $15.99 a pound, the salmon wasn’t cheap. However, I can report that it was outstandingly fresh and sweet. And anyway, I would have paid that for fresh salmon at Draegers or Whole Foods, which are not Santa Clara businesses.
Circling back home, I stopped at Neto’s deli on Franklin Street for fresh salami for antipasto, pausing to be tempted the wide assortment of fresh sausage.
My final stop was Santa Clara Produce on the corner of Homestead and Scott, a reliable favorite for fresh produce, as well as middle-eastern and Mediterranean specialties such as feta cheese, grape leaves, and Greek makaronia – the long version of what’s familiarly known as “elbow noodles.” Limes were five for $0.99 that day, so I stocked up for future margaritas.
Carolyn Schuk can be reached at cschuk@earthlink.net.