La Placita Supermarket

Purple Peruvian potatoes. Taquis. Arequipa. Mexican and Ecua cheese. Oh, man. I’ll travel 15 miles just to food shop here. The Latina in me loves this place.

Like this place. Fun to shop for Latin American goodies like guava paste candies and tropical fruit. The produce is good. The meat looks OK. The shop is pretty tidy. Feels like you’re in another country.

Great Latin grocery store. Has reverting even gringo stuff. The meat dept. is wonderfully fresh looking. Also assorted Mexican cheeses fresh fruit and vegetables. Everything for your next fiesta. So glad I finally went in!

La Placita is a bright and clean supermarket located on Port Chester’s Main Street. Open for less than a year now, La Placita features fresh produce, a deli counter, meat department, and a variety of products from Central and South America in addition to well-​stocked shelves with pantry essentials like breads, pasta, and cereal.
The reasonably-​priced produce, while definitely not local, is one of the many highlights at La Placita. A bag of carrots cost 79 cents; fresh celery was 99 cents a bunch. If you’re on a strict budget but want to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, this place is for you. For those who prefer organic produce, La Placita offers little in this area but more than makes up for this by providing a diverse range of harder-​to-​find Latin American produce. A well-​maintained section of leafy greens and fresh herbs featured old stand-​bys like Swiss chard, escarole, and red leaf lettuce, but what was really exciting was finding fresh Mexican herbs like epazote, a leafy herb that smells like gasoline and imparts a slightly-​lemony and bitter taste to beans and stews. Along with the more common Mexican produce items like tomatillos and jalapenos, there were others with unfamiliar names: papalo, verdolago (more commonly known as purslane), and tuna verde (I think it’s prickly pear cactus?). There was a variety of starchy, root vegetables and dried chile peppers sold by weight.
You will need access to Wikipedia to go through La Placita’s frozen foods section because there are so many unfamiliar but tempting tamales, frozen treats, fruits and vegetables originating from countries like Peru, Colombia, and Guatemala. I was surprised to find frozen cuy, or guinea pig, considered a delicacy South America and definitely not for the squeamish in these parts. A couple of aisles feature canned foods, bottled marinades and sauces, with each country’s section designated by its national flag. Beans, maseca, dried Peruvian potatoes, piloncilo (Mexican sugar), the list goes on and on.
La Placita sells all different kinds of meat like chicken leg quarters, pork chops, ox tails, pig feet, and beef tripe, as well as deli meats and cheeses sliced-​to-​order. They carry a variety of dried herbs and spices like Mexican oregano and achiote (I tried the dried hibiscus and it makes the most refreshingly tart summer drink.) I appreciate the fact that they carry organic milk, but it can be more expensive at $ 4.99 for a half gallon. The dairy section also carries an impressive array of Latin American cheeses. I also spied duck eggs (6 for $ 3.99!) and at one point Araucana chicken eggs, which are blue in color and can never been found in supermarket chains. On a recent visit I didn’t see the Araucanas, but maybe they were out of stock.
If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at making Mexican food or venture beyond those parameters into lesser-​known cuisines such as Peruvian or Colombian, La Placita is THE place to get all your ingredients. They make a great effort to serve the needs of the diverse families in Westchester but also stock a lot of mainstream items found at your local Stop and Shop. It’s not a place where you will find fancy, «gourmet» items but if you hold a soft spot for the generic Krasdale brand (I do, it brings me back to my NYC living days) you’ll definitely find what you need here. La Placita keeps everything clean and fresh, which is not always a given at other ethnic grocery stories. I enjoy trying out new recipes and cooking at home, and shopping here is way cheaper than buying a plane ticket to Mexico!

Don’t think of this as simple super market. It is a Kaleidoscope of Central and South American foods, ingredients that is likely to cover any of your needs. Whether you are From Mexico, Honduras, Colombia or Brasil, they’ve got mini-​sections in their aisles especially tuned to your taste, carrying the products that you long from days back home. Prices are great too. It’s one of my stops when shopping for cooking parties.