Cardenas Markets

Cardenes is one of the obscure ethnic supermarkets in Las Vegas that many people have never set foot in. I'd checked it out when I first moved here but my needs at the time were more generic. Today I needed something not available at any of the mainstream supermarkets; although it should be a pretty standard item.

First, Cardenes caters mostly to Mexican cuisines, and most of the clientele appeared to be Mexican (certainly latino). You're not going to find Rapini or Johnsonville Sausage in this place.

They have a prepared food area that sported a long line at 5pm on a Tuesday; Low prices compared to most restaurants. Lots of people don't cook in 2023 so it doesnt necessarily mean its great food.

I picked up some Guacamole on special and a $1.99 bag of chips. I have to say the guacamole was very good. A bit spicy. I may have to try toe prepared food.

They have a totilla kitchen here dedicated to making tortillas, because tacos are big in Mexico. So if you want fresh tortillas this is the place.

The meat section is typical of latin ethnic markets; lots of pork, not much beef, and a lot of weird stuff that most people don't eat. Animal parts that I wouldn't know what to do with myself.

And the reason I was here; some ground pork. Doesn't seem too exotic; they had it in all of the main supermarkets in Florida, but not here in Las Vegas. Walmart doesn't sell it at all; Smith's has a combo been/pork *sometimes* but you can't really tell what the pork looks like because it's all mixed up; Smith's also sells packaged "Duroc Pork" for $6.99 lb, which is way too much for pork. Albertsons also sells a packaged ground pork for $5.99;lb, but nobody has it fresh ground in the store, except here.

$3.59 / lb and it looks like gound pork. I use this for meatballs; Vons and Albertsons used to have ground veal but they don't carry it anymore; so I use about 2/3 beef and 1/3 pork and it's prefect for spectacular mealballs. It ends up costing about $5/lb but they're much better than beef-only balls. Trust me. I was actually surprised to find ground pork here; I have a grinder and I was going to buy pork stew chunks or boneless country ribs; but they had the ground stuff for 10 cents more so it saves me a lot of trouble. While home ground meat can be good; they add fat in the supermarket so it's a bit better for meatballs.

This is also a good place to get Mexican Chorizo.

Mexican chorizo is made with ground pork, not to be confused with Spanish chorizo which is cured.

They have bulk chiles here; this is the kind of stuff real Mexican food has to spice it, unlike the bland tacos you get everywhere at the chain restaurants.

Also bulk rice and beans, if you don't want to buy a 50lb bag.

They have an extensive produce section.with all the regular stuff so the ethnic shoppers never have to set foot in a Walmart.

They also have just about every Mexican spice known to man; if they don't have it here, nobody has it.

Conclusion

As ethic supermarkets go, this place is pretty comprehensive. Although I don't make Mexican food at home and I didn't have much of a shopping list, they have a lot of stuff here you won't find at Sprouts or Walmart.