El Chico Produce No 2

As of late I've had a craving for avocados in my salads. So I usually find myself buying the bags of avocados at places like Costco & Safeway. I've noticed their prices per piece are sort of high (even when they are on sale!)Enter El Chico... this place is on my way to Safeway and I have stopped here a few times now. The selection and quality they have are pretty legit. Variety of different sizes of avocados & mangoes (those are the two I tend to buy a lot of). Of course there is also ton plethora of other produce, a deli, and butcher shop. I'm just there for the produce though. Once I venture into other foods, you'll be the first to know.ANYHOW... So far so good. They have tiny, medium, and huge avocados (for California standards) The prices are very reasonable with the size and quality of the produce. Their Mango selection is pretty good. Only once did I walk in there and they tried to sell me a mango for $6.99 because it was "really big". (Hence 4 stars) I looked at the clerk, whom I know isn't responsible for price gouging big mangoes, but I told her there is no way on earth I'll pay that much for a single mango. She was cordial and sorta laughed it off without acknowledging because she knew I was right. A couple of days later those mangos had gone down significantly in price. Something interesting to note... For a while there were these mangoes from Ecuador and they had the name "Tommy" on the price sticker. I don't know why but they were awful, and all the stores had the same mangoes. I've would say, don't buy mangoes with "Tommy" on them. I speak from experience.Aside from that, it has a whole lot of variety and fair prices 95% of the time. the folks that work there are very nice and always respectful! It's a HUGE space with LOTS of fruits, veggies, Central and South American foods and condiments, and a huge selection of different Queso! IYKYK.Oh and the prices for their LIMES... dearlawd... Safeway .59 PER limeEl Chico: 4 for $1Just the "quick" tip... GO there. If you want high quality produce and to support a local business, it's very much worth it. Great variety, fair prices, and friendly staff. Parking is another story, but we already know that.

Once you spot this grocery store on the corner of the street, you'll immediately notice their large selection of colorful fruits. Walk inside the store and you'll find even more choice in fruits and vegetables. Though all the veggies looked great, most of the fruits looked decent, while some of them were overly ripe (bananas, mangoes). I picked up a lot of fruits and veggies, though I've got to point out the guava because they smelled amazing! The store has lots of other stuff, too, like beans, chips, meats, canned fruit juices, and queso fresco.You can purchase a lot of produce here at a lower price than at a regular grocery store. Go support this local market - the pricing and wide selection of fruit and veggies can't be beaten.

Wasted $4.50 on three green mangoes that turned out to be rotten from the inside and wholly unfit to eat.

Excellent produce selection. Everything looked fresh and the staff was friendly. Picked up a few things but plan to make this a regular stop as my alternative to big box grocery stores

I went to this place on Amy A's recommendation. She's not lying. This place is great!! They have the best produce selection of any of the markets in the neighborhood and they are SUPER CHEAP! The produce is usually very good. As with most outdoor / indoor markets, you gotta be a little picky with the outside stuff that's been in the sun (hint, most of the items outside are also stocked inside). The meat counter is expansive and the meat is very fresh. There seems to be alot of turn-over here, and I never notice any funky smells by the meat. They also have a cheese counter and a bakery aisle along with a few aisles of dried grocery goods. I tried the Chuletas Preparados like Amy A told me to and they were delicious. They are cut thin they are perfect for grilling or pan searing (what I did). They were actually cheaper than I expected ($2.39 a lb) so I got some chicken (prepared) as well for the same price. The butchers here are nice, they know their stuff and they will put your meat order in the refrigerator case for you while you shop or stand in line (NICE!)to sum up, I bought:1 lb of prepared chicken1 lb of prepared pork4 valencia oranges4 asian pears2 large white zucchini2 bunches of asparagus1 bunch of bananas1 2L of Diet Cokeunder $15 dollarsWtf is Safeway?

Awful customer service. Stopped in there today since it was convenient I was on Muni I got off at the bus stop and what a mistake I do not need to be yelled at when I ask a question a simple question to be answered very nicely not yelling at me last time I will ever going to your supermarket

Not a good market, poor produce, unclean, and got bad directions from the checker. Would not reccomend or come back. Uncleanliness is never ok when there's produce and food being served...

My favorite grocer in the area. Produce is always good and occasionally I find things I thought only my grandmother has access to. Really low prices, especially compared to safeway. Also live all of the treats you can find here, and when I'm feeling home sick or want to celebrate a little something I just head over and grab something nice :)I definitely recommend this place, and bring cash for purchases less than $10

I love El Chico. This is the place to go for fresh produce and meats. Everything is so much less expensive than Safeway and the selection is better, too.I highly recommend that you try the Chuletas Preparados, pork chops marinated in fresh veggies and seasoning, raw for $2.99/lb. We brought home a pound today and threw it on the BBQ Grill. It was MOUTH WATERING and a pound was enough to feed four. The also have marinated chicken and steak. And the rest of the meat counter is just as impressive!The produce is fantastic too. Red Leaf Lettuce is $0.75/head and big fresh limes are 8/$1.00. El Chico beats the hell out of Safeway!

yah, you'll think its a bit dirty and unorganized as you are wandering thru the labrinth of metal shelves and looking dubiously at the fruit stacked in cardboard boxes, but then you see the hand-written prices and you fill your basket to the brim. CHEAP-O. I mean 69 cent avocados and the like.all the food is F.O.T.T. (fresh out the truck) from mexico and completely unorganic, but ignore strawberries, tomatoes etc. and all will be fine. they have great mangoes, avocados, bananas, papayas, citrus and peaches (when they are in season). you can stock up on mexican hot chocolate (yum), tapatio hot sauce and portuguese sweet rolls (makes great french toast). oh and the frozen tamales are great!details: parking can sometimes be difficult on mission, turn down ocean for more options. also, be sure to watch where you step when you are perusing the produce outside, theres always a roll away underfoot. notice how the cashiers wet there fingers with lemon to separate the plastic bags. very natural and nice :)