Danny’s Fresh Market

Business has now closed and will be replaced by Fresh Marketplace in the Fall. Looking forward to a nice grocery store in the neighborhood!

I love Danny’s for meat and mexican products. They are cheap and of very good quality. By far, the best place you can buy meat in Chicago IMO.
I was surprised when I went there this week and they were closed. Does anyone know if they moved to another place or if they closed for good? I have to find them!

RIP

I’ve always been happy going in here. It’s a small little place but has a decent amount of produce & meat which are the two things I usually go there for. I feel like I get some cheap cuts of meat from the case to the left of the actual meat counter at rock bottom prices & yet they’re always in good shape.

I lived across the street from Danny’s for a year. This place doubles as a convenient grocery store & a taqueria with authentic Mexican cuisine. It was the go to spot for my friend and I’s staple food items, produce in particular. We also ate regularly at the taqueria because the staff is so friendly and they make your food exactly as you would want it, LOADED up! I do not eat meat so my options are usually very limited when it comes to Mexican food… I’m used to it. So It was either a chilles rellenos tortas, which is good and very filling, OR two vegetarian tacos with beans, no rice, lettuce, tomato, pico de gallo, and avocado. They are overflowing with toppings, and it’s the best vegetarian taco I’ve ever had for a taqueria — especially when squirted with lime, and topped with their yummy homemade salsa! They always have two kinds of aqua fresca, and horchata, and they can make fresh pressed juices on request. It’s a little unclean, and it’s a meat-​in-​your-​face kind of joint, but those are the only things I don’t like about it.
But seriously Danny’s Fresh Market & their Taqueria really stand out for me in my time living in Chicago. Friendly staff, convenience, and great food make Danny’s worth checking out.

I was out of tomatoes and jalapeño and Danny’s Fresh Market happened to be on the way home. The tomatoes were cheap (.79/​lb) and was not corroded like some tomatoes you get at Jewel for $ 2.00/lb. I ended up purchasing a bunch more produce (cucumbers, lime, bananas) and my bill was under $ 5! For last-​minute grocery items, this place is good, especially if you don’t want to deal with the long lines at Jewel, Dominicks, etc.

Who is danny? There is a liquor store down the street called Danny’s Liquor and a bar called Danny’s night club around the corner. This Danny must be a pretty cool guy. Anyway, this place is alright. If you live close by and need to get some groceries quick it’s perfect. Compared to other grocery stores its a little expensive.

I have been a long time customer, even before it was called «Danny’s». I’m in the neighborhood, and have always liked the ethnic authenticity and the opportunity for great meats a low prices. I went to pick up some meat products today, and while waiting at the meat counter, watched an inch-​long cockroach crawl across the glass of the counter. The butcher paid no attention to my horrified reaction and declaration I was leaving — he was chatting with another customer, part of what I have liked about the place. I told the woman at the front register about the «cucaracha» and her response was negligible. I tried to phone the manager; nada, no one was on site to speak with me.
I feel bad leaving a bad review for a place that provides the area with a local enterprise. But roaches in a food establishment seals the deal for me.

The meat counter is money with a ton of odd ball stuff. They also have a pretay pretay pretay tasty taqueria, which is nice…

Don’t expect anything magical here. Produce section frequently features a pesticide sprayer and a can of raid above the cilantro. Despite this, the produce is still D+ to C– at best. Live one block away, which is why I keep going back.
Also comical the way they try to satisfy some of the yuppies/​hipsters (you eat the same food) with things like tofu and other organic stuff in a tiny little section– but the tofu is $ 5… it’s all so overpriced, so no one buys it.
Great for getting last minute canned stuff not at Walgreen’s or CVS. Not a place you should do your shopping for the week.

Oh Danny’s… What a silly little grocery store. I have such a warm spot in my heart for Danny’s. Kind of like that annoying cousin that’s mostly really cute, but sometimes super annoying.
Anyway, I live like 2 blocks away so I come here often. Usually for emergencies or a mexican ingredient that I refuse to pay $ 10/​lb for at Whole Foods.
For example: a retarded selection of dried chilis and spices, for crazy cheap.
(I once decided to make tortilla soup. In the recipe I saw it called for «dried guajillo peppers» and I had that instinctive «f*ck a duck, where am I going to get that obscure mexican ingredient???» and then i walked into Dannys, to be greeted by the WALL of dried chiles which I had never before fully examined. There were like 5 different sizes of bags of dried guajillo peppers.)
The produce is sub par, except for a few items, like the herbs are okay shockingly enough, they have pomegranates for cheap in season, and things like zucchinis and melons and whatnot.
I’m skeptical of the meat, I mean, ribeyes are $ 3.99 a pound. I mean, that’s just crazy talk. In my pre-​vegetarian days, my boyfriend and I were eating like kings, ribeyes twice a week!
I love buying the tilapia for ceviche, and fish tacos, etc.
The mexican coke is kind of expensive though, oddly enough.
Oh and I’m obsessed with the chile lime roasted fava beans. That is a delicious, high protein snack.
If you own a single Bobby Flay cookbook and live anywhere near this area, you must do your shopping here.

Well, it’s a market and the owner may be named Danny, but as far as the «fresh» goes… I don’t think so.
This market is right down the street from my home so I usually go here when I’m low on staples and don’t feel like traveling to a larger grocery store. Their produce is suspect. You can routinely get apples, pears, bananas, onions and potatoes that are decent, but don’t try to get leafy greens or berries.
I’m giving Danny’s 3 stars instead of 2 because they sell Silk brand soy milk AND flax seeds that aren’t terribly overpriced.

I don’t do all of my grocery shopping at Danny’s, but Danny’s has everything I need/​want that I *can’t* get at my normal grocery store (s). Many kinds of chorizo, ox tail (for SUPER CHEAP, too), whole fish (also really cheap), really affordable pork shoulder (which was not out on display – asked the butcher for it and he cut me some right there), pork belly, and more. Can also get corn husks and a billion kinds of peppers, plus beans and rice in bulk.
For example, I was just there today and picked up a 2.5 pound pork shoulder for $ 4.50, and a whole tilapia was $ 1.50 per pound. A whole catfish was $ 2.50 per pound. Ox tails were like $ 2.50 per pound. Bulk pinto beans were 69 cents per pound. Et cetera.
I don’t shop for produce there, as the section is a little small and doesn’t have what I want, but I go there for the plethora of meat options they have available, and for crazy cheap.
And I don’t normally do this, but in response to whoever said the neighborhood is «not safe» to walk around in, I just disagree. I take my bike there all the time and and walk around constantly by myself. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, unless you’re afraid of people who speak Spanish.

this is not a nice grocery store. it kind of smells funny and isn’t super clean. BUT, it’s really cheap and they have every mexican food item you could want.
i once went here and spent $ 5.60 on black beans, queso fresco, limes, avocados, salsa, tortillas and crema. an entire meal for 4 for $ 5.60!
they have cheap beer here, too.
this is one of those examples of when an international market makes grocery shopping for specialty items SO much cheaper.

Was expecting a bit more of an authentic Mexican grocery, but was surprised that the produce section was anemic and the meat counter was small. Since I was there, and a bit hungry, decided to get a couple of tacos at the restaurant attached. MISTAKE. Nasty, sloppy and soggy tacos. Won’t hurry back…

I’ve been back to Danny’s a few times since my last review and can say that it really is a good place to go if you’re in the neighborhood. I was recently able to get enough food for a few meals all for under $ 40.
The food is fresh, it’s close to my neighborhood and I’ll be back for sure.

OK, so there are flies. But really, if you think that the grocery store fruit has never been landed on by a fly, you are deluded. Other than, that the store was clean.
The produce was cheap and for the most part looked really good. The cilantro, surprisingly, was pretty sad.
The reasons I am a fan: its cheap, the array of mexican products is mind boggling and the carne al pastor and the home made salsa are magically delicious.
To the other Unilocalers, if you don’t think that this place is cheap, I have to wonder where you shop that is cheaper? I drive out to the family fresh market near Cicero and Irving in pursuit of cheap good food…

You need to go grocery shopping and have a long list of items you want? Don’t go here.
You have some particular items that you’re looking for, likely focusing around spices and/​or Mexican/​Latino dishes? Come take a look.
While the place is somewhat unkept/​dirty, they more often than not have very affordable produce, and a variety of canned spices/​vegetables that are hard to find in other places. Jalapenos, poblanos, bananas, etc. tend to be very affordable and well worth it if you find yourself here. I have yet to test the meat counter, but the prices seem very affordable… the cuts just don’t look as good as other places, and with some great meat counters in Chicago, it’s hard to want to buy.
Danny’s also has a small restaurant hidden on the side. Again, very affordable prices and while not the best Mexcian food I’ve had, far from the worst. After a carne asada and chicharron tomatillo taco later, I realized that they chop the carne asada way to small and slightly overcooked it along with the pork that was slightly tougher than I had expected to chew into. Flavors were spot on, texture was not.
Verdict: Worth checking out if you’re in the area or need something in particular, but not worth going out of the way for. I still come here probably at least once a month just to pick up some cheap produce for my dishes.

This place does the trick. They are too expensive to shop here all the time and for everything.
However, as the closest shopping option to my boyfriend’s it definitely comes though in a pinch. Gotta love the Mexican candies at the end of the registers though. :-) Always a weakness with me…
I agree to check the dates though… this is not the first small grocer I have seen things on the shelf past their «sell by» date.

You’re being taken on an adventure, blindfolded. Think small town in Mexico.
Well, I wasn’t actually blindfolded, but I was surely lost … and hungry. I couldn’t believe my luck as I drove by this unassuming grocery store and found the most authentic Mexican food since my trip to Manzanillo.
I went in to grab a few things to nosh on my way home, but what I found was more than I expected. As I walked back to where I was told the tortillas would be, I found a treasure of varieties – Real corn tortillas fresh out of the corn factory. Soft and still warm, just like the ones the little ladies made in the small town I visited. But the best surprise, and the one that will save me from cooking tonight, is the little taqueria that is in the corner of this store. Tacos! Real ones! Mmmm… The works: ground beef, stewed beef, steak, chicken, chicken stew, rice, beans. And the carnitas – I was in Mariachi heaven.
They even had pupusas (clear your dirty mind). Think «stuffed» tacos – typical of Central America, they are very thick corn tortillas stuffed with cheese, chicken, refried beans or fried pork rind (don’t think of it, just it eat – it’s fabulous). The guacamole from the deli is phenomenal. The hot sauce – out of this world – just like a little «abuelita» prepares.
The place, unfortunately, is not the most sanitary, smells a little funky. But, if you pretend that you’ve just arrived in a quaint little Mexican town, you’ll be all right – Just don’t forget the tequila … salt, and the lime! Buen provecho!