Friday, March 8, 2013

Sardines Around Austin

Here are two of my absolute most favorite blogs EVAR:

Society for the Appreciation of the Lowly Tinned Sardine

and

Mouth Full of Sardines

I love sardines and to anyone in the Austin, TX area who wants to expand their tinned sardine palette, here's where to go for some of the brands mentioned on the blogs above. I'm only noting the ones that got decent ratings. As I write this, I still need to scope out the stock at


Walmart
World Market

but other than that, find, eat and enjoy

HEB
- King Oscar
- Crown Prince Boneless and Skinless
- Beach Cliff (the hot sauce one is really good with avocado)
- Ligo in the Asian section (I know these weren't highly rated, but they appeal to my Filipino sensibilities and are good when cooked)

Specs Liquor & Gourmet Foods
- Roland
- Bela Olhao
- Wild Planet (personal fave)

They're good on carrying a lot of varieties within brands and these are the constant brands I've observed, but I've seen Haddon House before and their website (Specs) shows a lot in terms of variety so the inventory may differ slightly from store to store.

Asahi Imports
- Nissui
- Iwashi

Sasha's Russian Gourmet Market
-Riga

They had more brands, but I was on a Riga mission so I didn't remember the rest.

Sur La Table
-Matiz Gallego


Big Lots
-Ocean Prince Boneless and Skinless in oil (make sure the box reads boneless and skinless, for some reason other ocean prince sardine products don't rank well. I know their kippers taste a little on the medicinal side.)
-Nice: Boneless and Skinless


Go out, eat and enjoy. If you're curious, Whole Foods, and Central Market didn't have much to offer in terms of different brands, both offered Bar Harbor and Central Market had Season. Best selections so far were Specs and HEB.

UPDATE (03/22/2013):

Natural Grocer
Wild Planet (cheaper than at Specs and it's RIGHT NEXT DOOR!)
Raincoast Trading
Crown Prince Wild Caught