Ideal Market #9

The prepared food is the best deal around and it’s fresh and authentic. I have a big appetite and I find one plate is enough for 2 meals. The carne asada and grilled chicken are so delicious. As someone who speaks very little Spanish it’s awesome to go here and know I’m getting the real deal and don’t have to worry about a language barrier. Everyone there I have talked to speaks English very well. The desserts are very very good. If only this place had baleadas!

We love shopping. We go in for the bread and produce. The service is great. And it is niice and clean.

Flew into NOLA on Xmas day and drove down Hwy 61 looking for someplace that was open. Saw this brightly painted oasis with cars coming and going and dropped in. Ordered 3 lunches from the hot line for 4 adults and there was plenty to go around. Loved the stewed beef, beans and rice and tamales. All of the flavors were wonderful and the meat was juicy and tender. So good that it was followed by a nap at City Park.

I just can’t get over how great it smells in here. It’s a smörgåsbord of wonderful aromas. They have a great hot line with the carne asada being my favorite. Their baked goods and produce section are top notch too. The pink cookies they sell brought back so many childhood memories.

I stopped here out of curiosity one lunchtime. It used to be the Walgreens that moved across the street replacing a gas station. It’s a welcomed addition, but can be difficult to get out of when you leave.
When you first walk in, the upbeat Latin music greets your ears as your eyes feast on brightly colorful, festive and eye catching decorated cakes on the right. To the left are the checkout counters, so the store flow is to move down the right aisle, to the back, down the opposite wall and back to the checkout counters in a big U (with trips up and down the aisles in the middle). So on entering, continue up the right hand aisle. Beyond the cakes, are the refrigerated flans, and other pudding or milk desserts. (I tried one of the flavors of the tres leches cakes, but it was too sweet for me.)
Beyond the refrigerated case, What a surprise to find a huge Mexican style «panaderia» or bakery, with many of the pastries I remember, with delight, from trips to Mexican border towns, as a child. The pastries were nickels and dimes then, but these are $ 0.89 each which isn’t too bad. You self serve which pieces you want with tongs and drop them into a bag for the cashier to count up at checkout. The pastries are a little less sweet than Americans are used to, so I think they add more frosting and sugar coatings than the ones I remember as a child. The variety is an amazing treat!!! — there are 8 floor-​to-​over-​my-​head, glass cases, with 7 shelves per case, with dozens of varieties to choose from. It’s worth going just to get a flavor of traditional old Mexico.
Moving past the panaderia cases is the serving cafeteria-​style line with a good variety of grilled chicken, beef, pork, fish, rices, stews, plantains, yucca, potatoes, soups, and more, for lunch plates or for sale by the pound or quart. The lunch plates are enormous for $ 8.99. The staff behind the counter usually doesn’t speak much English, but the people in line have always been friendly and willing to tell them what I wanted if pointing or miming didn’t work. You can ask for extra grilled jalapeños which are wonderful. I could take a pound of those to go. Be warned though, between 11 and 1:30 during the week, the line on the deli is very long and you can wait 10 – 15 minutes before you can order. They have a few tables outside to sit and eat your take out.
Past the deli line, the entire back wall of the store is a great variety of produce including fresh epazote (put it in the water when you boil beans to cut down on gas) which I haven’t seen even at Whole Foods. They have a good selection of typical produce, but also fresh yucca, coconuts, papayas, plantains, chayote squash, and vegetables I’ve never seen, other non– traditional produce. Most of the times I’ve been, all the produce has been very fresh (late in the day less so).
Moving around to the next wall is the refrigerated cases with typical grocery items, then moving back towards the front of the store is a fresh fish and meat deli and at the front, by the cashiers is a liquor section. In the middle of the store are aisles of average grocery staples, with a little heavier emphasis on Hispanic items. The prices are very reasonable and a welcomed alternative to Walmart or at the other end, the expensive local chains.
All the non-​Hispanics I’ve mentioned this place to seem suspicious and hesitant to go, but the store is very clean, very well organized, spacious and upbeat. The staff have been helpful, if shy about not speaking English.
It’s worth checking out if for no other reason than the panaderia.

As of right now their card system is down so it’s cash only. Great place good food. No one really speaks English. Bring a translator

It is a clean establishment and it has well proportioned plate lunches at a reasonable. price. Last week I ordered the Chicken with stew, with black beans and yellow rice which included potatoes and two tortillas for only $ 8.99. It was enough food for two days of lunch. I will definitely be back for lunch next time I need to drive out to Harvey for work.

What a wonderful place! Great meat and produce. Fun atmosphere. Much bigger and less cramped than the Broad Street location.

I was very excited to have this new Latin supermarket in the Nola area. The isles are well stocked and you can find a variety of (mostly) Mexican items. I have 3 main criticisms: 1) You have to watch out for expiration dates on breads, tortillas etc, they keep and sell stuff way past expiration dates 2) The hot bar items are very variable; while I have bought a couple of delicious dinners, my last «carne asada» plate was more than 50% fat, yuck! 3) The fresh meats counter offers a variety of items, but their scales are NOT precise and give you less meat than what you pay for.

I am a big ideal market fan. This new location is way fancier than the Broad St. location I used to frequent. Although I do occasionally gravitate towards the hot bar for a quick snack I now mostly just stock up on cheap produce and meats. They frequently have specials where you can get up to 20 limes for $ 1. Plus I am addicted to their pre-​marinated (raw) meats. They use the same marinade for everything but it is awesome. The carne asada, chicken wings, and chicken on the bone are all good options. Just throw it on a hot grill and you have a super easy meal.

Awesome spanish market. Loved that I could jam to Enrique Iglesias while picking out my fiesta cookies. I didn’t go full-​out grocery shopping, but I got some snacks that were decently priced. I love the bright colors, the loud music, and the environment in general. I will return amigos!

I adore this market! As soon as you walk in, the bakery case is right there. It is bright and beautiful, and everything looks delicious. In addition to regular cakes, desserts and breads they have Latin ones which look amazing. There is tons of choice. As you keep walking, there is a hot food bar that looks and smells amazing. It is a bit overwhelming because the menu is set over the middle of the food, but if you just stand back and look for a minute you should be good to go. The produce section is next and it is beautiful. They have everything you find in a regular grocery, plus things I’ve only seen there. I love it! The isles are fun– again a mix of the usual and the imported/​unusual. But my absolute favorite part is the meat counter. The meats are gorgeous and the prices are great. This is definitely a place to at least check out once if you have never been!

Excellent produce. Meat prices downright criminal, in the best possible way.

Just made my first visit to Ideal Market on Saturday. What a surprise! The vegetable selection was outstanding and although I hardly ever eat cakes or deserts I know where I am going to go the next time I need one.

They have everything, the cleanest meats and deli. It’s not if they have tres leches, it’s how do you wanted it presented. Staff is helpful and knowledgeable and I LOVE that they have bakery, carneceria and deli in one place. Don’t want to cook? Come get roasted chickens and mexi-​sides

Ideal Market is such a nice addition to the area. I have never been to one before and was very surprised at everything they offered. I pictured it being a specialty store offering a few things that one might not find at a typical grocery store. I was totally wrong on that one, not only do they have all the specialty items, but its a full blown grocery store as well! They have everything from fresh produce, meats, deli, bakery, hot food bar, and everything in between. The bakery is hard to resist especially since they bake everything fresh daily. I had the pleasure of enjoying a fresh, still warm from the oven, churro. The last time I had a real one was in California. I would suggest going early for bakery items because I’ve gone back in the afternoon and the Churros didn’t taste quite as fresh.
Everyone is really friendly. The only downside is the language barrier at the hot bar. I’m so intrigued by the authentic looking food. I wish I could speak Spanish because the food looks so good! I try to ask questions and the poor girl just doesn’t understand what I’m saying. I will have to drag my Spanish speaking friends with me next time so I can see what is behind the illusive hot bar.

Three words: chicharrones con carne. Pork rinds with a strip of pork still attached. Zap them in the microwave for a bit and add some salt, and your taste buds will thank you. Your cardiologist, on the other hand, will be less than thrilled.

Lots of cool Mexican/​Central American items (produce, baked goods, candies, etc.). However, I wish there was more. There are lots of normal American items too. I was excited when I saw cheetohs and doritos, because the ones I had in Mexico tasted WAY BETTER. But it was just regular American flavors — disappointing. It seemed clean enough, but it was a bit cramped too. I’ll probably go back for some stuff in the future, but I still wish they had more authentic items.

This isn’t what I expected, but the selection and prices were still good. I expected to see lots of imported items… there were a few. For example, the large Mexican coca-​colas in glass bottles were there, but the smaller cokes were the regular ones you would buy in any grocery. If you’ve been to Mexico or had Mexican coca-​cola, you know it is very different from the coke bottled in the US. They had a huge selection of pastries and meats that were Latin. I had some churros and Tres Leches that was delicious. They do have a few exotic fruits and vegetables you can’t find at your everyday grocery. Some of my purchases included: star fruit, yucca, and prickly pear. My SO and I were very dissapointed that they did not carry the Mexican cheetos he had purchased on his last business trip to Mexico.
The store itself was very clean and the employees were friendly; however, it’s a little far for me to do regular grocery shopping there. I’m happy to know it exists if I’m looking for a few extra Mexican touches, but most of the things I can do without or enjoy when I eat out at Mexican or latin-​inspired restaurants.

As much as I hoped this would be a Trader Joe’s instead, it’s a decent addition to the area. I stopped in here over the weekend. I had driven by it many times since it has been open, but it always looked very crowded and I didn’t particularly need anything from there. At night it is so brightly lit up like a Mardi Gras float that you are sure not to miss it!
This location was formerly a Walgreen’s. Walking around inside there is no trace that it ever was a Walgreen’s. It’s just as colorful inside as it is outside. Actually inside, you almost get the impression that you are standing in the middle of a village square somewhere in tropical South America. All around the perimeter of the store are the counters and prepared foods. The center of the store is all of the aisles of groceries and produce. The aisles are a bit on the tight side, so it’s a little difficult with a cart. There is a panaderia that displayed many pretty looking desserts and breads. The carniceria and mariscos counter featured a nice looking selection of all kinds of meats and seafoods. There is also a counter where you can buy plate meals and choose your selections. In the corner is a Moneygram area to pay bills and wire money.
They have a decent selection of items throughout the store. It’s pretty much a mini grocery store. I was surprised to see they carried a particular soy milk that we like that is sometimes hard to find. The prices vary. I think for the most part they are reasonable.
I don’t see this as being a place I will frequent on a regular basis. But, if I need a specialty item or soy milk, I would definitely stop in.