Deflowered
On a whim I decided to drive by Guercio's this morning to see if it was open.
I'm not terribly proud to admit this, but I've lived in Buffalo since the summer of 1996 and I've never been to Guercio's. I know the place by reputation, yet still after checking it out for the first time I was astounded. Really and truly, we have a first class local market... I don't have enough superlatives to accurately describe the place. I suppose the most succinct way for me to put it is that after seeing it first hand, it was plainly obvious to me why the local high end restaurants swear by the place.
Fruits and produce - first class. They have certain things that you'll never find in a supermarket, and in exceptional condition. The things that really stood out to me were some of the hard to find fruits, the pepper selection, the cheeses, the prepackaged nuts and such that you could make trail mix from... and cheap, too. I felt like I stepped back 20 years to the markets that you used to see that have been gobbled up by places like Wegman's. Isn't it ironic that now Weg is being undercut by Wal-Mart? Its like a capitalistic circle of life where the smaller fish are always being eaten up by the bigger fish.
In any case, I'll be going back many, many times. And its actually more convenient for me to go there rather than Wegman's. Granted, there are some things that are missing that I'll still be making trips to the Co-op and such for, but for once its good to know that there are still local, highest possible quality places that charge fair prices and have no fear of survival. After leaving Guercio's (and after grabbing one of those $2 personal pizzas, couldn't leave without one) I felt proud that our city has something like this available to us.
I know that we have some newer residents that have been journaling on the strip... if you haven't yet made it to Guercio's and you need tomatoes, or plan on making fruit salad, or need some good cheese for that pasta, making a dessert, or are simply in need of some basics - or if you want $5 free trade olive oil like @paul mentioned - make an excuse and go check it out. You will not be disappointed, I promise. My only bit of fair warning that I'd dish out is that this morning parking was ATROCIOUS down there. I lucked out so hard by getting a spot directly in front of the store. It was incredibly busy this morning and I can only assume that its always that way. So - be prepared for a hard time parking. Regardless, its still worth the trip. Its on Grant St. between Lafayette and Delevan.
I'm not terribly proud to admit this, but I've lived in Buffalo since the summer of 1996 and I've never been to Guercio's. I know the place by reputation, yet still after checking it out for the first time I was astounded. Really and truly, we have a first class local market... I don't have enough superlatives to accurately describe the place. I suppose the most succinct way for me to put it is that after seeing it first hand, it was plainly obvious to me why the local high end restaurants swear by the place.
Fruits and produce - first class. They have certain things that you'll never find in a supermarket, and in exceptional condition. The things that really stood out to me were some of the hard to find fruits, the pepper selection, the cheeses, the prepackaged nuts and such that you could make trail mix from... and cheap, too. I felt like I stepped back 20 years to the markets that you used to see that have been gobbled up by places like Wegman's. Isn't it ironic that now Weg is being undercut by Wal-Mart? Its like a capitalistic circle of life where the smaller fish are always being eaten up by the bigger fish.
In any case, I'll be going back many, many times. And its actually more convenient for me to go there rather than Wegman's. Granted, there are some things that are missing that I'll still be making trips to the Co-op and such for, but for once its good to know that there are still local, highest possible quality places that charge fair prices and have no fear of survival. After leaving Guercio's (and after grabbing one of those $2 personal pizzas, couldn't leave without one) I felt proud that our city has something like this available to us.
I know that we have some newer residents that have been journaling on the strip... if you haven't yet made it to Guercio's and you need tomatoes, or plan on making fruit salad, or need some good cheese for that pasta, making a dessert, or are simply in need of some basics - or if you want $5 free trade olive oil like @paul mentioned - make an excuse and go check it out. You will not be disappointed, I promise. My only bit of fair warning that I'd dish out is that this morning parking was ATROCIOUS down there. I lucked out so hard by getting a spot directly in front of the store. It was incredibly busy this morning and I can only assume that its always that way. So - be prepared for a hard time parking. Regardless, its still worth the trip. Its on Grant St. between Lafayette and Delevan.
Please check out there Gondola brand pasta products. They are made in Buffalo and are so freakin' good. The Ravioli is the best 15 minute meal, and Rachel Ray can just shove her crap. The saffron noodles with a little sliced beef and a touch of cream sauce and makes my heart explode with delight (and saturated fat). I have a package of their pepper noodles I can't wait to try.
I think I now go to Wegmans for asprin, mescaline salad mix (the loose is organic and cheaper than the convention packaged, awesome).
Glad you finally went.