H-E-B — Attraction in Austin

HEB comes through with plenty of quality produce, meat, and good prices especially on their growing range of house brands. I go to the Burnet Road HEB in Allendale center for that (32 years) and for the people who like their work & realize how it matters, esp. now. Like Irma was very helpful last trip, and Audra giving samples time before. They genuinely enjoyed making a person's shopping experience better.

This regional family-owned outfit has a stronger supply chain than what we hear about in other parts of the country. First, we grow food here in South Texas; and, they have the transport and storage in place.

When you notice their avocados are fresh and abundant - that's why. They are considered a super food for omega-3s, and sub for fat in recipes. I've done it, just as good (except yeast type bread).

Also you can slide it well-mashed into lots of sandwich fillings, dressings, thick soups, rice ...

For a meal in a bowl as good as anywhere & little cost, just add to what you probably have already. Canned HEB diced tomato (I press the juice out, save for soup), any onion/garlic, seeds - pumpkin, sunflower, chia, chopped walnuts. Single origin olive oil (Google fake olive oil), sea salt or tamari, apple cider or balsamic vinegar. I use HEB one or two leaf for cooking; in your salad, three leaf is richer and sweet to balance the tang, yum. It's a lot like those long-aged ones in fancy little bottles. Really, just cook balsamic down long & slow as high-end chefs do, even getting balsamic "molasses". Still a little tart? Balance with raw local honey.

Then any greens, cubes of cooked potato, cucumber or what you like; chopped meat like tuna, chicken, etc. or vegan add lentils, non-GMO tofu.

Crisped lettuce (take out the core & outer leaves, submerge weighted down in water 20 minutes core side up; drain core side down. This soaks any bitter out, cleans. The ultimate is when you do it the day before, just wrap in towels, paper or cloth to absorb excess water & leave till next day in the frig - it plumps up, more sweet, crisp.) It seems only a few of our grandmothers, and maybe a few fine restaurants, still know and do this. It's a lot better.

Imagine if we learned things like this, and the other hundreds of hacks for Real Life living better, in school? Instead of ... ummm ...

But I digress. And head for the kitchen; a luscious super food salad is calling. Watermelon for dessert (with a hollow sound when rapped sharply, & a yellow - not white or green - pale patch, where it touched the ground. Then, left it in a hot car two days to ripen...

I LOVE THIS HEB. I also shop at Ralphs on Balconies. There is nothing at Ralphs that I cannot find at this HEB. The prices are much better at HEB. I also go to Walmart occasionally and fu-get about it. I get my French Onion Soup by Campbells at any store. I find I am not trusting Walmart's meats, as there is just something about the look and fat on them that disappoints everytime. I love the Deli at this HEB and the one on Far West/Frontage Road. You can get more gourmet and kosher items at the one on Far West..cheeses--which my Dr. has said, STOP IT!, I love them though. The produce at both HEB's is gorgeous most of the time. The produce at Walmart-scares me--It reminds me of when I was in Mexico and it looks like the produce that was being irrigated by human waste--I would not touch it--it looked sick all the time--at HEB-AND Ralphs-the produce is healthy and looks like the veges I used to pick out of our 20 acre garden of tomatoes, okra, corn, carrots, broccoli, watermelon, butterbeans, peas, etc. when I lived at home with my parents--that garden supplied 5 families-(cousins and their parents) with the best veges you can get ever. HEB'sTASTES like fresh picked produce--The tomatoes taste hand picked--delicious--can't say the same about Walmarts produce. MEATS?? I like to go to Ralphs when they are having their marked down for quick sale--after a certain amount of time in the freezers, They HAVE to sell it at reduced prices--you can get the BEST cuts of meat, chicken, ribs, etc. if you know when to go. HEB has gotten higher in their prices for their meat, but it is great quality--I just wish they had the marked for clearance freezer basket at HEB's. Bring it home, freeze it immediately and then enjoy at your leisure for a lot cheaper than you could imagine. The Deli at HEB has the BEST mesquite SMOKED turkey and ham. I love it on a sandwich and if you go to the HEB off of FAR WEST, they have oodles of gourmet cheeses that just melt your mind. HEB is also the only grocery I can find the new "ends-off" bread, multi grain and softer and fresher than ANY bread I have ever tasted. Pre-packaged salads at all the groceries in Austin that I go to, I have to look real hard at, as sometimes when I get them home and I don't use them right away, the lettuce starts turning colors the NEXT day and gets limpy--I hate that when it happens.. :) Anyway, I hope my review of my experience in this particular area of town and HEB and others has been helpful. Happy...

overall HEB's generally score a 5 with me simply because it is the best store in town at least the one I shop at with some regularity which would be Hancock Center... Recently I had issue with a return that turned into a nightmare. I'm not going to go into details except for that I think that it was handled poorly and that it was never resolved and I left after speaking with three managers and two very snarky business office employees to leave completely with my tail between my legs unhappy and not resolute with my problem. None of the managers was willing to pursue it any further nor were they willing to give me the UPC code or anything of that nature to help me with it or to find out if it was at another store or any of those things with no further explanation or suggestions I left completely upset and angry. I pursued calling the manufacturer of the product and to no avail because they only distribute to distributors so you can see my dilemma has gone even further down the road with no resolve thanks HEB on this one for nothing, no resolve or suggestions I left the store completely unhappy and mad I attempted in vain to contact the distributors of the product and they only distribute to distributors you can see my dilemma is problemrecommendation as to what I should do short of just A blank stare I felt like I had been profiled and I was not part of that group... I would hate to think discriminatory practices are carried out at HEB but it seems as though that this is becoming more apparent as the Dynamics of such things change over the years. I simply wanted to exchange an item and be done with it I'm out $15 I'm not happy and nobody is willing to do anything about it that's it that's all I will take this up at...