Central market in shoreline has fresh made in market tortillas. They are amazing. I miss them greatly. (Celiac now)

> Y’all really survive without in store tortillerias? different parts of the country are different.

That was…mostly a joke. They’re just in every grocery store here (even Kroger etc)

Plenty of local tiendas around to get good torts

Just expect everything to be more expensive. Been here a long time but lived in Houston and remember HEB well. It was good quality low price. Closest thing PNW has is Winco but not sure how close you will be to one. Fresh made tortillas might be a stretch to find. I think you can buy tortillas pre cooked and frozen - then cook them at home? Probably you'd find that kind at least at upscale grocery stores. Or buy and freeze the Trader Joes ones. They are good but 0 shelf life.

They exist.

Thanks for confirming bro, OP had me worried.

Met market and PCC are solid options. You would have to drive a ways but also Central Market and Sprouts. Trader Joe’s is a good value staple as well that’s prevalent. We have tons of seasonal Farmers Markets and definitely explore H-Mart and Uwajimaya. Not the same cuisine as Texas, but certainly more PNW.

Cuisine doesn’t bother me as much as finding grocery stores that stock a good variety of brands, so thank you! I love the hmarts that I’ve been to out of town, can’t wait to have one nearish.

Definitely Asian markets but honestly I get some of the best produce, meat and seafood from Uwajimaya. Plus their grab and go food area is amazing! H-Mart is farther away but also amazing. Welcome to the PNW when you make it up here!

Thank you! I’m so happy to finally be leaving texas. I tried to move elsewhere for both college and Grad school and it never worked out.

“Y’all really survive without in store tortillerias?” Could ask the same to you. How do y’all deal with shitty anti-abortion laws, unnecessarily wide highways and shitty coffee.

don’t forget the frontage roads 😵‍💫

why do you think I’m moving lol I’ve been trying to get out of this shit state since highschool

Alexa play Mac Miller "hurt feelings"

This area is so tiresome sometimes. A guy asks about grocery stores, and of course some jerk here has to try to turn it into a political discussion.

Side note, highway width is much needed.

If you want a recipe for even more traffic, sure.

The population exists, if lanes were narrower, traffic jams would be 5+ hours.

Please go search up "induced demand highway widening"

I get the theory, but Houston being the 4th most populated city in America, and having lived there for 20 years, traffic sucks there regardless. Are of Houston is 665 square miles, Seattle is 83.79 square miles. You think they don't need wider highway's? Have you seen the traffic in Hawaii? Limited highways, and traffic sucks.

Doesn’t sound like you get the theory.

Create highways, more people use them thinking there will be less traffic. Have you been to Houston? Have you driven around the city?

It’s create highways, more people will depend on cars as primary transport. And I have a few times. IMO it’s the worst city in America, partly because of the highway induced car dependence.

You’re walking into a topic area with a very shallow understanding of traffic mitigation.

I am familiar with HEB but this isn't Texas. You will not find some things that are available there but you will find things here that you can't find there like honest to goodness asian foods but no Texas BBQ, just Korean BBQ but there are Mexican stores and restaurants.

In all honesty Korean BBQ >> Texas BBQ

I find them to be very different

Agreed.

I am veryyyy excited for decent Asian food and kbbq. Imo you can make your own bbq pretty easy with a grill/smoker and patience

Both Redmond and Bellevue have multiple grocery stores from mid-tier to fancy. There's also a number of specialty stores - Indian groceries, Asian markets, Redmond has a couple small Mexican grocery stores I believe as well.

PCC is pretty good. Uwajimaya too, for more Asian fare (though is expensive). Whole Foods if you like feeding Amazon's datamine. Some places have a Hagen food which is also expensive. Don't forget to register your car within 30 days.

Moving to Bellevue from Texas as well 🫡

Welcome 🤗 it’s nice being out of texas

I bet

I've shopped at H-E-B many times, and H-E-B is a great grocery store but it's main distinction is that it's for Texans -- it has a lot of Texas themed products. H-E-Bs only exist in Texas and Mexico, and so there is nothing similar to it outside of Texas and Mexico. If you miss shopping at a Texan grocery store, Whole Foods is from Austin but not thematically Texan. I come from Wegmans country, so I know grocery stores, and the scene here is a little bit more fragmented. There isn't any one "great" grocery store, but there are few good ones. Safeway is your standard Albertson's type grocer, mid-range, carries lots of national brands. Similar to Jewel Osco in Chicago. It's no coincidence that they are both part of Albertson's. Great in store fried chicken. Fred Meyer (part of Kroger) is your large-format grocer, more similar to Walmart and Meijer in the midwest. It has a grocery section, but also sells household goods and clothing etc. PCC is your hipster grocer. It's more expensive than Whole Foods. Metropolitan Market is the same. These are for rich people who eat like birds. QFC (also a Kroger store) is somewhere between Safeway and Whole Foods. It's similar to Krogers in Texas except their format is much smaller. It's the same tier as Wegmans but very different in terms of execution. Then there are the H-Marts and Uwajimayas and 99 Ranch Asian grocery stores. These are all great too. We don't have budget-friendly groceries like Aldis, so the closest would be Trader Joes (but you can never get everything there, so you'll have to go to another grocery) There are also no Hispanic grocers (that I know of).

We don't have Aldi, but WinCo is pretty close. And Grocery Outlet is another budget option.

Good to know. I’ll stock up on my H-E-B /Texan/texican basics like dried peppers before I leave. I’m assuming you can get chorizo SOMEWHERE lol but variety of dried peppers may be a specialty thing. And I make a lot of Tex mex/Mexican dishes like charro beans and carnitas, and want to get into making birria since I’m sure I’ll miss out

There are hispanic groceries around, but they aren't huge. My favourite little carniceria is in with the Lynnwood Event Center on 196th. There are also quite a lot as you head toward Everett on Hwy 99, and down in South Park you'll find a VERY good selection of options as well as some bang-up Mexican food. Truly authentic and delicious, near Marra Farm. Just know that Mexican spices are going to be found in MUCH smaller and more local stores than your average grocery, but you can get the packaged spices and things in most grocers. Winco is also a great store.

Yes, you might want to stock up on Tex-Mex ingredients and Hispanic products. We have Goya aisles up here but not much more. I used to live in a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago and we could get nopales and all kinds of chilies (ancho, guajillo etc.) You can get them here but the selection is way more limited. You have to go to specific neighborhoods in West Seattle. Birria -- I've never tried making it but the best Birria I've had was in Chicago -- goat birria with consomme at Birreria Zaragoza.

Ugh that sounds delicious. We have a Quesabirria taco truck here and I’ve been hoping it will open back up before I leave. I’ll make sure to pack up my basics!

Check out El Rinconsito when you get there. They're delicious and all over the place. You may need to order in Spanish for the best results, but their birria is absolutely wonderful. They are owned and operated by a family from Mexico, and just opened up a place in Mexico City fairly recently, but they are local to Seattle. Their story is fantastic.

I’ll definitely look them up!! Thank you! I’m definitely going to bring most of my needed spices up with me which’ll give me time to figure out where to get replacements.

Absolutely. I was able to get most of what I needed at that market by the Event Center, which happens to be right across from an El Rinconsito, so give it a go. Their carne asada is delicious from there, and you can get good chorizo as well. They carry a seriously awesome selection at that carniceria, though. I've not found that I needed to branch any further. There is also a decent spice selection in the mexican food aisle at Fred Meyer. You can get your corn husks, masa, spices in little plastic bags labeled in English and Spanish, and a fine selection of sauces and marinades. We get my mom Herdez salsa at Fred Meyer. Beyond that, Town and Country markets are excellent for a good selection of spices and more authentic ingredients. Our family migrated north in the last twenty years, and Mexican food was on the radar for a long time - We've had no issues at all.

Dried peppers are easy to find. What you'll miss are really regional things. Also meat is pricier here than in HEB. For asian, Asian Family Market in Bellevue in addition to the HMarts. There are some Mexican places around but not a lot (Plaza Latina in Shoreline but that's a drive from the Eastside). There are some excellent places to get tortillas (Maiz, Milpa Masa...) but again, this isn't Texas.

Metro market is the closest thing to wegmans here I’ve seen

Wegmans is way less expensive though.

Depends on what products you’re referring to but in general yes agreed. But I’d argue even safeway and qfc are a bit more expensive compared to wegmans in some areas. This whole region is more expensive in general due to many reasons, geography being a huge factor. Wegmans store brand is unmatched though in terms of price/quality. If someone I knew who was accustomed to wegmans was asking for a comparable store here, metro would be at the top of the list.

I visited the San Antonio area last year and went to H-E-B for the first time. Wow! I absolutely loved it. I'd live there just to be able to shop there. WA grocery shopping feels like such a let down after experiencing that.

Well, H-E-B is something special BUT you get a lot of excellent supermarkets including Safeway, Fred Meyer and the usual gang. The closest in terms of quality and different brands would be Whole Foods and then this place: [https://metropolitan-market.com/](https://metropolitan-market.com/) You'll be OK!

Safeway and Kroger are excellent supermarkets? Hmm...

HA! OK - fair enough, but hear me out. Those two are going to give you all the basics and they are everywhere. I'd argue Fred Meyer will give you more bang for your buck but when it comes to high quality and esoteric brands (despite the price) - It's Metropolitan Market that comes out tops for me.

Much appreciated!

Closest in terms of quality to H-E-B is Whole Foods? I know Texans love H-E-B, but c'mon, it's basically just a Texafied Kroger.

I don't know but you are in amazon country and everything can get delivered. It's a city people need to eat so what are you missing?

And for anything not delivered there’s Amazon fresh stores with auto chekcouts

Sadly, there's nothing like HEB up here :( We'll survive though!

Everything I need I get at Costco

Say goodbye to any decent Mexican food. Either have tortillas shipped or make your own

Trader Joe's is always dependable for some things, in fact they end up being cheaper for better products than a lot of the other places. I like them for their frozen foods, cheeses and wines. Veggies are sometimes great, vitamins and bath products are good. QFC is like a more grocery-focused Safeway/Fred Meyer, with a good membership program that gives you good gas rewards. They can run a little pricey but not too bad. Metropolitan Market is a spendy but high-end store, the highlights for me are their prepared food counter, salad bar and of course the amazing choc chip cookie. If you're looking for an ingredient to elevate your cooking you can probably find it there. Meat is expensive everywhere, and while cheaper a lot of the time at Safeway there's no guarantees of quality. Metropolitan Market actually has good meat sales on a few products from time to time. Their sales are typically quite a lot cheaper than their regular prices.

My Texas husband says HEB is nothing special but you won’t find a replacement for central market. Heh

All about Fred Meyer and Trader Joe’s

Whole Foods has the best orange juice. It went up a dollar across the board recently, I hate myself but it’s the only thing close to the grove stand stuff from Florida.

Both Redmond and Bellevue have easy access to a Costco for warehouse shopping, Whole Foods, PCC (think Whole Foods, but more local oriented), and some more generic stores like QFC and Safeway. Just go to Google Maps and search for grocery stores near apartments/homes you're thinking about for a complete view.