The 3 Amigos: Mexican Market in Saint George, Utah

Greetings from Utah, where I have survived my first day of tennis camp. All that exercise can make you hungry, and so far I have not been impressed with my meals out here in Saint George. The easiest way to sum up the culinary offerings here is this: if its a Western Franchise, its here. Since we are staying in a condo, I have taken to cooking more and more. Saint George has at least 3 huge supermarkets, of which I have now been to two. Each contains the usual supermarket stuff, good produce, etc. Much more interesting than these typical behemoths is the 3 Amigos Market, located at 325 North Bluff Street (435-652-0180).

The 3 Amigos Market is a Mexican Market catering to the local Mexican community. It has a large variety of fruits and vegetables, and avocados cost half what they did at Albertsons. They also have such specialty items as tomatillo (good enough to eat raw) and several varieties of coconut. There is a dairy case where you can buy classics such as queso blanco, and a full service butcher. We bought chorizo and green chorizo. Although we ate the green chorizo, and liked it, we're still not exactly sure why its green. There are a large variety of pork products and pork parts for sale. This includes pickled ears. Taco meat is available pre-seasoned and ready to cook. Spices are very inexpensive.

We also bought some of the ices and ice milks available. My personal favorite was the rice pudding, although the coconut with pineapple was also good. There is a selection of traditional Mexican sweets available as well as baked goods.

In a town like Saint George, 3 Amigos is a welcome relief from that franchise feeling that permeates the restaurant scene. Although I still will buy some items from a traditional supermarket, adding the chorizo and using the spices for other dishes made our bar-b-cue dinner at home much better.