Central Market Preston Royal Set To Open February 15
The corner of Preston Road and Royal Lane just got a lot more delicious.
A brand-new Central Market is coming to the neighborhood, in the former Borders space. And, just as you’d expect from Central Market, plenty of tasty new ideas await.
Our new store will feature everything you already love about Central Market, including an almost mind-boggling selection of fruits and vegetables, fresh meats, peak-of-season fish flown in six days a week, a massive selection of cheeses, on-site catering, and fresh floral.
But there are plenty of new surprises, such as house-made bialys, custom sandwich bar, expanded New York-style deli offerings and even car carryout. Our coffee bar opens an hour early, at 7 am every day.
So come meet your new Central Market neighbors on February 15. But don’t worry about bringing us any food. We’ve got plenty.
Central Market Fort Worth Reinvents Its Chef’s Case
How often have you gazed longingly at the foods in our Chef’s Case, wishing they were available hot and ready to eat? Dishes do come true! We’ve tripled the size of our hot foods area, and that means delicious new warmed-and-ready dishes created by our new executive chef, Joe Synatschk, CIA graduate and former chef de cuisine at Screen Door in Dallas.
Forgive us if your mouth waters, but here’s a sampling of what you’ll find in-store: house-smoked meats such as brisket, pork ribs, turkey or chicken, available on a platter with your choice of two vegetables, including green beans amandine, whipped sweet potatoes and mac & cheese. Or choose chicken poblano enchiladas, a hunk of cowboy casserole or a slice of four-cheese pizza. But wait! There’s more. For breakfast we’re serving breakfast tacos (think smoked brisket, eggs, onion strings and cotija cheese), pancakes and steel-cut oatmeal. Now there’s a reason to rise and dine.
Central Market Fort Worth Introduces New Artisan Pasta Program
What’s the first thing you miss after returning from a trip to Italy? The pasta, of course. Well, Central Market is now making fresh, authentic pasta daily in-store. Watch as we crack fresh eggs into the dough made with imported Italian flour and semolina and then carefully monitor the streams of fresh product coming out of our imported pasta-making machines.
Among the pasta cuts are pappardelle, fettuccine, linguine, penne, lasagna and strozzapreti, available in flavors like traditional, Cabernet, carrot, Dijon and chile powder. If you prefer your pasta stuffed, Central Market chefs have crafted craveable raviolis, in foodie flavors like mushroom and goat cheese with a hint of thyme, simple and delicious ricotta and fresh herbs, shrimp and mascarpone spiked with brandy and tarragon, hearty and sophisticated beef bourguignon, and kid-friendly mac and cheese that tastes just like the comfort-food classic that inspired it.
Pucker Up for Fun This January at Central Market Houston
Last week flew by in a blur as most of us were just getting our bearings in the new year. But now we’re ready to share delicious new products and ideas all year long!
Aside from aisles and aisles of the best local and imported foods, this month we’re shining the spotlight on citrus. And, with all the predictions about what’s on the horizon in 2012, we decided to share some of our favorite culinary and food trends that you can find right here at Central Market!
Although it’s been around for a while, you’re going to see the heirloom designation being used on many more products. Come taste the difference during Citrus Fest. Start by sampling from our new shipment of heirloom navel oranges. They’re among the 40+ varieties of citrus featured.
Bite-size desserts continue to be a trend. At the top of our list: French macarons, which we make in our Bakery.
Each year it seems one culinary craft becomes the “it” Foodie profession. This year epicurious.com puts the cheesemonger front and center. We are lucky to have talented culinary stars represented in our various departments, and the cheese shop is definitely one of them! Ask our experts for advice and recommendations any day of the week, here at Central Market.
Whatever your level of kitchen expertise, there’s always new and exciting things to learn in our cooking school, from hands-on classes with our talented chefs to guest appearances and special dinners with regionally and nationally known instructors. There are still a few spots left for Tapas and Wine with Chef Daniel Olivella on January 26. Reserve now!
Time To Break Out the King Cake
Mardi Gras season is here, and that can mean only one thing: king cake. (Well, it could mean a lot of things, but this is a food blog, you know.) The king cake is a ring of twisted sweet bread topped with a trio of icings, in purple, green and gold to symbolize justice, faith and power, respectively. Aside from the carnival of colors, the king cake is known for the plastic baby hidden inside. Whoever ends up with the baby is crowned king or queen of the party. And who doesn’t like to be royalty for a while?
Central Market has been making king cake for years, for the days leading up to Fat Tuesday, which this year falls on February 22. In addition to the king cake, the Bakery department has introduced a new dessert for the season: galette des rois. The puff pastry cake filled with a lightly rum-flavored frangipane is the French version of the American king cake.
Like its American counterpart, galette des rois has a porcelain feve (trinket) hidden inside, and whoever unearths it is crowned king or queen—literally, as the cake includes a paper crown, too. Look for the galette des rois in our Bakery department until the end of January.
Take the Amazing Grass Challenge and Save
Get a jump start your New Year’s fitness program with raw and organic plant-based products from Amazing Grass—and save while you’re doing it! The Healthy Living department at Central Market is featuring Amazing Grass Wheat Grass, Green SuperFood and Amazing Meal at an amazing 20% off through January 24!
Green SuperFood is a delicious drink powder that helps you make up the difference if you don’t get the five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables required for optimum health. Besides the healthy green food blend, you’ll also get antioxidants, essential fatty acids, fiber, digestive enzymes and probiotics. It’s vegan, dairy- and soy-free. Choose from original, chocolate, berry and orange dreamsicle flavors or 15,000 ORAC (highest in antioxidants).
Amazing Meal is a combination of protein –10 grams per serving, sourced from hemp and brown rice—and chlorophyll-rich grasses, plus organic superfruits (acai, goji and maca), cleansing fiber, digestive enzymes and probiotics. It’s organic, vegan, kosher and soy-, dairy- and gluten-free.
Save 20% when you buy, then sign up at amazinggrass.com to receive 14 daily email lessons telling you how to energize, maintain and heal your body with Amazing Grass. Take the Amazing Grass challenge today!
Celebrate Citrus Fest at Central Market January 11-24
We had enough of gray skies and rain during the holidays. Now we’re ready for a little sunshine. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, we’ll take it in the form of sunny citrus.
So join us January 11-24 for Citrus Fest, when our experts show you how to put a little pow in your chow. We’ll teach you the differences between variegated pink and Meyer lemons and introduce you to kishu and satsuma mandarins. Don’t know what to do with fragrant Buddha’s hand? No worries. We can teach you that too.
From the pith to the peel, citrus fruits – grapefruits, oranges, limes, lemons and beyond – offer powerful flavor and boast some pretty amazing health and mood benefits. Folate, free radical-fighting antioxidants, vitamins and more pack a healthy punch in every bite or sip, and these can improve skin’s elasticity, heart health, even the ability of the body to absorb calcium for healthy bones. Just the scent of citrus can boost energy and lift your mood.
In addition to a mind-blowing array of citrus fruits, we have fresh-squeezed juices at our newly revamped juice bar, sweet and savory recipes featuring citrus, brand-new products in every department (scratch-made limoncello pound cake, marinated chicken breasts in signature flavors like orange honey habanero and ginger orange cookies from Wackym’s Kitchen, to name a few), and special citrus classes in our cooking schools.
Another great idea: try a little grapefruit sorbetto in your champagne or prosecco for an appetizing aperitif. You can buy grapefruit sorbetto at our Gelato Bar. Or try herbal-infused sorbets from local company Savoy, in flavors like orange chamomile or lemon thyme, available in Frozen. For even more great ideas for incorporating citrus into your cooking, check out this recent blog post by Bon Appetit.
This is the most flavorful navel orange in the house. This grower only uses “old line” Washington navel trees combined with sour and sweet orange rootstock. It’s picked only when it is ready and packed fresh.
Cara Cara Oranges
Discovered in the mid-’70s at La Hacienda de Cara Cara in Venezuela, the Cara Cara has a sweet taste with a spicy tang reminiscent of raspberries and strawberries.
Moro Blood Oranges
Originally from Sicily and common throughout Italy, moro blood oranges are known for their complex raspberry flavor. Moros are generally deep red, almost black inside. This is a great orange for garnish, saucework or fresh eating.
Meyer lemons are favored for their thin, edible rinds and very juicy interior. The flavor is slightly sweeter than traditional lemons without the harsh acidic bite. Recently, Meyers have become very popular with chefs and foodies!
One of the best flavored early-season mandarins. Pages are slightly more difficult to peel than other varieties due to their tight-fitting skin. Score the bottom of the fruit to make peeling a breeze.
Originally from Satsuma, Japan, these mandarins are the first seedless mandarin of the year. You may have seen them beginning in November. Easy to peel, satsumas are perfect for lunchboxes and snacking. Just pop the little mandarins in the mouth!
This mandarin orange is native to China but has been popular in Europe and Africa for more than a century. It’s known throughout the world for its fine, distinctive flavor reminiscent of apricot nectar.
Kishus are small in size but big in flavor. They are grown by a small farmer in the Ojai Valley, considered by many to be the most ideal location in the world for growing citrus.
Known as the “caviar lime,” its juice vesicles have a surprisingly similar texture and appearance to caviar. Its flavor is tart, slightly sweet and more limey than limes. To eat, slice the lime in half widthwise and squeeze each end. The pulp will slide out of the skin. Finger limes are fantastic for seafood, salads and sauces.
How To Celebrate New Year’s Eve
We don’t know about you, but we think New Year’s Eve is an event best celebrated at home. How many times have you booked a table at your favorite special-occasion restaurant only to be saddled with an expensive fixed-price meal and drink minimum? We say visit your favorite restaurant on another day and prepare your celebratory feast in the comfort of your own kitchen.
To help you do that, we’ve got Central Market Natural Angus U.S.D.A. Choice New York strip steaks for just $9.99/lb. through January 3. Our beef is raised without added hormones or antibiotics and aged at least 14 days for tenderness before it’s hand-trimmed in store by our expert meat cutters. Need some tips for preparing the perfect steak? We have those too.
Nothing says special occasion quite like lobster, and through January 3, you can get live lobsters, ranging from 1.5 to 1.75 lbs., for $9.99/lb. Each is hand-selected to ensure the most meat. Check out our recipe for classic broiled lobsters, a delicious complement to your NY strips.
20% off 12-17 bottles
25% off 18 or more bottles
New In Stores: Central Market All Natural Virginia Peanuts
You’re probably asking yourself, why are the Foodies at Central Market talking about plain old peanuts? Let us explain. These are no ordinary peanuts. These are super extra large Virginia peanuts; they are the largest and best-tasting peanuts available anywhere. They’re so big they should be called Texas peanuts.
Okay. So they’re big. What else makes them great? For starters, we begin with the top 2 percent of the peanut crop. Then we water blanch them and oil roast them, which produces unique and unusual blisters on the peanuts. These blisters give our peanuts a crisp, crunchy taste.
Honey roasted your flavor? This variety is roasted in all-natural peanut oil after they are coated with pure honey, evaporated cane juice and a pinch of salt. The result is the perfect honey roasted peanut, natch.
Looking for more than just peanuts? Try our new deluxe mixed nuts, an eclectic collection of nuts from all over the world: California almonds, Southern pecans, Indian cashews, Brazil nuts and Virginia peanuts blended together with a few shelled pistachios. Only the finest grade and quality nuts are selected for this mix.
Chozen Ice Cream Has Chutzpah
Hanukkah is here, and we have a great way to end every evening of the festival—or any evening of the year, really. New York City-based Chozen creates quality ice cream inspired by the best desserts from the Jewish holidays. Using tried-and-true family recipes and hormone- and antibiotic-free dairy from a local farm, they churn out original and delicious ice creams with ingredients like caramel-coated matzoh, homemade rugelach and toasted coconut.
All Chozen ice creams are certified kosher and available exclusively at Central Market. Read on for a sneak peek at the flavors. And, now until December 27, save $1 on all varieties.
Ronne’s Rugelach
Rugelach translates to “little twist” in Yiddish. So this is Chozen’s twist on Ronne Fisher’s (aka “Mom’s”) famous recipe. Rugelach made with chopped walnuts and golden raisins meets cinnamon ice cream flavored with fresh cream cheese and apricot jam.
Matzoh Crunch
Matzoh is a simple combination of water and flour, and it’s eaten all eight days of Passover in many forms. Here matzoh is coated in caramel, layered with bittersweet chocolate and sprinkled with kosher salt.
Coconut Macaroon
Italians began eating macaroons for Passover because they have no flour or leavening. Made with the simplest ingredients—almonds and toasted coconut—macaroons prove that sometimes less is more delicious.
Chocolate Gelt
Gelt is the Yiddish word for money but also refers to those chocolate coins that are given out during the festival of Hanukkah.
Apples & Honey
What better way to celebrate Rosh Hashanah than by dipping apples into honey? This tradition is meant to symbolize the hope for a sweet year ahead filled with success, good health and lots of laughter. And, hopefully, ice cream.
