Mi Rancho Meat Market

close to home and good stuff just ate a fresh delicious giant piece of banana bread… wait was it banana bread? yes, yes it was… for 50 cents? i have mostly just bought stuff from the bakery so i’ll just recommend that, but from the looks of the place and the reviews it’s pretty good all around… just a note last time i went they have taken to cutting the giant pieces in half they are still good and cheap but not as big as they were.

This place is seriously an amazing place to get 1) produce from Mexico on the cheap and 2) quality meats from their market. Forget the other grocery stores who charge you waaaaaay too much for a handful of limes, half a bag of tomatoes, and chia seeds for $ 10 per lb! Come to Mi Rancho Meat Market and stock up on produce including bananas, plantains, tomatillos, bright red big tomatoes, fresh limes, and your greens for less than $ 10 total! I am serious. It is SO cheap!
The bakery is amazingly fresh and smells great. They restock their Mexican pan dulces every weekend and sometimes daily depending on how much is out there. They also have a great grill where you can order small street-​style tacos on the cheap and piping hot! The meat market is plentiful of seasoned and non-​seasoned meats with both English and Spanish translations of what meats are displayed.
Also earlier I mentioned chia seeds — they sell this by a 1b container for $ 5.99! I am not KIDDING! There is TONS of it too so take your pick.
Take a look around in the aisles too. I have found fantastic prices on vegetable oil, charcoal for the grill, flour for homemade tortillas, and even Mexican sodas for 3 for $ 4!

I’ve only shopped at this newly opened market once so far. I managed to walk out with one bag of groceries that I paid $ 12.50 for. This is definitely not Whole Paycheck Foods. It lacks all the glitz and glamor and inspirational slogans of an upscale market. This a no frills, working class market, in a South Austin neighborhood, predominately serving a Latino population. The staff is friendly and shopping is casual. They are jam packed with items for Mexican style cooking, and all very cheap. Mexican sodas, candies, juices, pastas, beans, masa, hot sauces, moles, and so on. They have an extensive bakery with delicious pan dulce, a meat market with chicharones… I am vegan so did not really explore, but it looked extensive, a deli where one can put together tacos, homemade tortillas both corn and flour_​still warm, bulk items such as pinto beans for $ 49 cents per lb, a large produce section with extensive selection of chili peppers, plantains, coconuts, papayas, avocados were only $ 59 cents each, limes were 10 for $ 1.00, key limes₂₀ for $ 1.00. I did not notice if there was any organic or not. For someone on a fixed budget, and who likes to support local businesses, or who has a particular Mexican dish they wish to prepare, or is vegan, or who craves some traditional Mexican bakery items, I suggest they check this place out. It always is busy, from the day it opened. It looks like it might be a little tricky getting in and out on a very traffic congested South 1^st near Ben White, but there is a large parking lot. I walked, so can not really speak to that. I plan to return soon.

The is the market that took over the old City Market location. It opened for a few days or weeks about 6 – 8 months ago then closed. Now it’s open again the last few weeks and the parking lot is the most crowded I’ve ever seen. Good place for cheap vegetables and chiles. Worth stopping in to just get random stuff that is cheap and decent looking. It’s bigger than most Mexican grocers.
Full size limes 20 for $ 1
Pineapples for $ 1
Red/​Orange/​Yellow capsicum peppers $.50/​ea
Red onions $.33/​lb ($ 1.38 at HEB and Walmart)
Yellow and White onions $.33/​lb.
Whole pigs head $ 7.99/ea.
Cow heads $ 1.39/lb (didn’t think they were legal here — maybe I mistranslated)
Chicken hindquarters $.59/​lb (in 10lb bags)
Red jalapanos $ 1lb
Poblanos $.50/​lb
66lb bag of lump charcoal for under $ 20.
Also hard to find peppers such as manzano/​rocotto, amarillo, chilaca, Italian, and a handful of others I didn’t quite catch. All the usual assortments of dried peppers in bulk (as little or as much as you want).
Much of the produce isn’t pristine fresh, but still serviceable for many uses. And the prices reflect that. The meat and general grocery selection is like any other you’d find at the typical carniceria — never the best looking beef, but cheaper than USDA Select at HEB.
Includes taqueria, bakery/​pastries, bolillos. No «discoteca» (or was there?).
–sw

This place is among the typical Mexican-​style supermarkets around the city. It’s very cheap for produce — like 30 limes for $ 1, 25c a lb for tomatoes, etc.
You have to hunt among the produce as it’s not fancy like Whole Foods and not always sorted for best quality but you can get great bargains here.
The meat is varied and I’ve purchased bistec sauve from them a number of times. It’s been good quality.
The bakery is large and varied as well with all kinds of Mexican treats.
The rest of the place is rather OK — nothing to write home about. I suspect it will get better and better as it’s new. It replaced the old City Market at South First and Ben White only a few months ago. It’s always busy.
I like the taquería. There a quite a few things there I wouldn’t eat like barbacoa, menudo, etc., but there are also a number of other things I would eat — tinga, fajitas, pastor, They also make their own tortillas.
It’s a great addition to the area.