Phoenix Ranch Market III

 

20

74

Aletheia L.

Phoenix, AZ

super clean, surprisingly cheaper than food city on certain items...
annnnnnnnnd a huge selection on mexican ingredients/foods.
what i love most? the "food court". didn't get a chance to try any foods (which smell/look amazing, i might add), as i wasn't hungry, but i did get the papaya agua fresca. SO.GOOOOOOOD!!!!
so 5 stars for the amazing agua fresca and for being so gosh darned clean!

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54

213

Eric P.

Phoenix, AZ

I don't want to be controversial, but most of these crowning reviews are from those not likely to have seen what a true mercado may look like, and yes, I'm referring to ethnicity.  

Phoenix Ranch Market is the Knot's Berry Farm to Mercado Tipico's Disneyland.  Its a noble effort to bring Mexican staples and unconventionals to the big city in the middle of Arizona, USA, but the product are tinged with americanization; from their weekend menudo, which is wholly rubbish, to the carne which is a grade above what you would get in a true Mexican market (damn FDA).  Though the latter may sound like an unusual gripe, its that stringy gato-grade-meat that makes fajitas and tortas uniquely tasty.  I was impressed one time, however, when my buddy Graham snagged a few pounds of fajita meat for the SuperBowl from PHX RM, and they marinaded it for him in a sturdy plastic bag which included whole jalapenos to boot.  However, I beleive it was Graham's skill on the grill that made them very tasty and moist rather than any particularly amazing grade of meat from the Market.

As a hispanic, the place feels appreciably disingenuous.  Sure, they sell the liquados and the pansitos, et al, but if you plopped this place in Mexico pt 1, it would fail from poor quality by Mexican standards.  

By all means, if you don't know the difference, then knock it out.  You won't know what you are missing anyway, and you can get your ethnic dinner party needs and a sandia drink while you wait.

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24

27

Emily D.

Glendale, AZ

Best place to go when you are feeling blue!

As a fresh new transplant to the area who knows absolutely no one besides her beyond retired neighbor who hits the pillow by 4pm, I often find myself slightly lonesome.  Instead of watching another episode of entourage, I decided to see if you yelpers were right....THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!

Not only were my new Mexican friends staring at me because I was the only white gal in sight, but probably because I was beaming from ear to ear!  From the outrageous meat section to the beautiful bakery I think I could easily spend a whole day there.  The store was extremely easy to find and for a whopping $1.88 I left with a gigantic cucumber, 2 over-sized oranges and at least 2lbs of grapes!  

Great place, cant wait to go again!

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Elite '08

32

51

Laura R.

Phoenix, AZ

Everything about this place rules the bakery, my fav is the pan dulce and they have never ending varieties of everything, the kitchen part is great food to order great prices, the refresco cold drink bar with fresh fruit yummm. It is a huge place and has lot's of elbow room. If you are into meat you will love their meat dept. it is muy gigante! FUN FUN place for everyone for sure!!

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16

43

Amy B.

Chandler, AZ

This place is great!  For starters, when you enter, its very colorful.  There was some spanish music playing overhead, and loads of things to look at.  They have a huge meat department, groceries, bakery and everything im between.

I wandered through the isles and liked what I saw.  I ended up eating a breakast burrito at thier food bar at the far end of there store.  I think this is a truely southwest expereince to come here, and I wish I had known about it when my friend Jason came out last October.  

They also have a lovely resturant attached to this place (as if the store itself won't do it for you) and that it authentic in itself.

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7

37

maggie r.

Glendale, AZ

My husband and I lovingly refer to Phoenix Ranch Market as Food City on Crack!  This place is amazing, but be prepared for a bit of culture shock as this is a truly authentic Mexican grocery store.  I have only walked the perimeter of the store, which is the bakery, fish market and carneceria.

The bakery is phenomenal,  I would especially recommend the dulce de leche cake.  Next stop fish market, with an excellent seafood spread.  You can order food-to-go straight from the market, I recommend the shrimp ceviche.  Next stop the meat market - Wow!  Some interesting food you would not find at your local Albertson's.  Carne Asada (marinated) is an excellent and cheap choice to take home and have a mexican bbq in your very own backyard.  

The restaurant next door is also very good - great seafood enchiladas.  There are also soom little shops with items you would expect to find at a border town shop.

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21

44

Sofia L.

Phoenix, AZ

There isn't much to say about Phoenix Ranch Market that hasn't been touched on by other reviewers. Still, there are a few points I'd like to reiterate/emphasize:

- SENSORY OVERLOAD. On my first visit, I was so overwhelmed by the number of colors and people and smells that I literally got sick.
- I never imagined that there could be so many varieties of rice pudding.
- Remember the first time you went to Krispy Kreme, and how much fun it was to watch the hot donuts roll off the conveyor belt? PRM has a tortilla factory like that, and I'd take a dozen of their corn tortillas over a dozen donuts any day. And then I'd eat them all in one sitting.
- At the front of the store, next to the jugeria (which, by the way, serves the best horchata I've tasted), there is an ice cream stand that serves novel flavors like tamarind sorbet and chiclet gelato.
- The employees of PRM are really friendly and knowledgeable. I was initially worried about a language barrier, but everyone who helped me spoke better English than a lot of the people at my neighborhood Albertson's.

So, yes, Phoenix Ranch Market is a local landmark. This is going to sound sappy, but I always leave this place full, happy, and feeling proud to hail from the Southwest.

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0

3

Joe O.

Paradise Valley, AZ

What makes Ranch Market so great is that it creates a fantastic experience for its customers. When you enter through the sliding doors for the first or thousandth time, you immediately understand what Ali Baba must have felt when he uttered, "Open O Simsim". For if you've entered through my favorite entrance (the West entrance), you'll be flanked by rows of 7' glass pillars filled with bejeweled pastries for sale.  The experience only gets better from there. Truly, Ranch Market is more of a destination for me and less of a stop. Highlights for me, include but are not limited to:

- having a smoothie made for you from fresh fruit and vegetables that are both peeled and pureed for you
- a produce area that reminds you of that great farmers market where the wooden carts are pilled high with produce so fresh you can feel the earth still holding on to the vegetables
- fans dancing throughout the store with streamers hanging from their blades
- a cafateria style food service area that rivals most modern mexican restaraunts
- ceviche that both tastes like the ocean and smells like limes hanging on tree

-

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Elite '08

194

90

Matthew K.

Phoenix, AZ

Gotta love this Market.  I take people here as a sort of a tourist attraction.  They have everything and it's all fresh.  A total culture shock, but fun none the less.

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41

69

Sophie B.

Phoenix, AZ

Oh my jesus is this place fantastic. I experienced Ranch Market for the first time last summer. I'm not familiar with the holiday, but it's the one where they bake tons of cakes with little babies in them..? Someone help me here. Back to the point, it was EXTREMELY festive, and I don't know if it was the heat, or that I was tired, or that the place was just so decked out in colors and people and decorations, but I got sick. Sick to where I had to wait outside by the car for my company. Hilarious. Needless to say I was a little frightened, so it took a little while for the curiosity to pique again.

Second time was yesterday evening. Perhaps it was because instead of being a busy Saturday it was a slower (still busy, though) Tuesday that I was able to survive this visit. The boy decided to use it for a school project so I tagged along to see if I could help. The second we walked in the door however, all hope in my helping him was lost. My mind was in a frenzy as I decided where to stop first. The Jugeria for some Horchata? Or the restaurant for some asada? Or maybe the bakery for something sweet...?

Found out the Horchata is way too sweet (but delicious) to drink alone so I shared with the boy. Grabbed some kind of sweet roll from the bakery that we practically fought over...and oh my! It was Taco Tuesday at the restaurant! I ordered 4 asada tacos for $2.99 and thanked the lord my boy is a vegetarian. Best carne asada ever!

And the atmosphere in here is great. Oh! And they're open late. 6a-11p. The employees are friendly and the customers (mainly families) are just so full of life and happiness (or maybe it was the Spanish music blaring on the loudspeaker?). All in all, this is a new fave. I will most definitely be looking into more of the daily specials and sweet rolls.

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Elite '08

408

65

Mark T.

Decatur, GA

Phoenix Ranch Market III is an absolute MUST for any person visiting Phoenix, Az. Forget the upscale breakfast and faux southwest shops that dot and line Scottsdale. Forget the 'burbs of Peoria, Goodyear, and East Mesa. Don't let your visiting family leave without making a trip down to the Phoenix Ranch Market on 16th st and Roosevelt. Yes, this is south of the I-10 freeway and far away from your faux mexican food at Macayo's Cantina. At Phoenix Ranch Market you'll find a side of the city that nearly all of the transplanted surburban population seems to want to ignore, or just completely forget. This is Phoenix being Phoenix, not Phoenix trying to be a new Los Angeles or anyplace else.

After having breakfast at a carbon copy brunch eggery, I was in need of something less perfect and faux. I found exactly what I was craving. When you can hear the sounds of mariachi or radio campesina from your car parked at the other end of a packed lot, you know this isn't the local Kroger you're about to enter.

Part grocery store, part food court, part village market, PRM is huge, it's overwhelming and it's surprisingly clean and comfortable - this isn't a low rent grocery like Food City. With a fresh seafood section two or three times the size you'd find anywhere else in Phoenix, and with parts of animals you've probably never prepared at home, it's fun to just look, but even more fun to buy. Want meat? Want better options? Better cuts? Want an entire skinned cow's head with the eyes intact and staring at you? Check. It's all SO GOOD.

But that's just the meats. They make their own tortillas onsite with a literal factory and small army of workers churning out the flat corn and flour awesomeness. Hungry? Want mexican food? Want great mexican food? ALWAYS consider going here. Think of anything on a restaurant menu and you have it here. Prepared fresh, and a la carte. Seriously. Tamales of any kind. Horchata! Cow Tongue! Burritos of immense size and stuffed with anything you want. Some of the best beans in town, rice, and parts from a pig that still actually look like parts from a pig. This isn't the mall food court.

The place is packed with mostly hispanic families but you'll also notice a few adventurous types, including my asian self. Most of the employees speak english very well so language is not a barrier. The only times you'll need help is when asking what is that? And like mentioned above, the answer just might be cow tongue (which by the way, is good, however I can see how the texture would turn some people off. Imagine a soft almost too mushy beef...)

Oh. The food is also cheap. You'll get more than full off of $5, you'll explode at $10. It's seriously like heaven here. Music, people, atmosphere, food, drinks, desserts, baked goods. All of it awesome. I met up with my friend Amy.The.Kidd for 'lunch' and we ended up spending almost 4 hours just walking around, back and forth, trying each new item we found, or trying the standards but knowing they were going to be better here. Mmmm. Horchata, great corn tamales, rice, beans, empanadas, warm fresh tortillas... bring everyone. This is a place that should be in people's minds when they think of Phoenix, not just the golf courses, or upscale Scottsdale, or Frat/Sorority Tempe... but South Phoenix. No matter how scary it is for suburban soccer moms to venture down there.

Phoenix Ranch Market on 16th St and Roosevelt. Take me anytime.

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2

42

jen s.

Long Beach, CA

stimulus overload!!! and i loved every moment of it.  i SO wish i had a store like this near my house.  each isle brought new delights to my eyes.  specialty mexican items everywhere.  my mind was racing with all the things i could make.  unfortunately i'm just visiting and can't haul food home.  

the fresh cheese section was intense, as well as the seafood, meat, produce and hot food booths.  i seriously couldn't make up my mind what to buy and try.  i was in this palace for 1 1/2 hrs!! a grocery store!!  

i ended up with the carnitas burrito which was one of the best i've ever had...and it only had beans, rice and carnitas in it!! no shit.  i also tried the camarones ceviche. coulda used some more limon y chili for my taste, but the fresh avo on top was bombey!!  

the fresh jugo bar was insane.  it was also cool being the only whitie in the building.  this evening, i didn't see one other geras. just me.

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6

59

Tim J.

Phoenix, AZ

This place is awesome.
The Traditional restaurant as well as the deli style restaurant inside.
The assortment of food items is amazing, too many good things to choose from. And the prices are great.
It is a great experience, if you like Mexican food you must go and check it out. This is the closest thing to Mexico without being there.
After eating it is great to explore the rich colors and products in the market.
And don't forget the Sunday brunch with tons of choices and lots of traditional entertainment.

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0

6

Luke S.

Bagdad, AZ

So I visited this unique market after reading some of the glowing reviews from other Yelpers and I must say the Phoenix Ranch Market is awesome. Like any good market the wide variety and abundance of fresh food at PRM makes shopping at the old chain store a boring old chore. The operative words here are fun, vibrant, and cheap. I went on a Sunday so I kicked it off with a steaming bowl of menudo, a beef tripe soup with a ton of garnishes so you can personalize your bowl. After I finished I wandered around filling up on fresh tortillas, dried and fresh chiles(my mole can beat up your mole anyday), my eyes were agog as I absorbed the sight sounds and smells of the bustling market. My favorite area was the meat counter where patrons bickered with the butcher over the best cuts and a peeled cows head stared blankly at me.  I swear I saw that thing blink at me.  Anyway a great place to visit if your in the mood for a tongue torta and some mariachi music.

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Elite '08

214

501

Stevey P.

Phoenix, AZ

When I want to feel REALLY white, I just roll on down to Ranch Market to confirm my suspicions that, yes, I am in fact not as Hispanic as I think I am.  This store is what Food City WISHES it was!  It takes the best of Mexican specialty stores and eateries and combines it all under one roof.  Shoppers here are mostly Hispanic with a few adventurous gringos thrown in here and there.  But workers there are friendly and know English - some better than others.

Holy crap!  I can't believe it's taken me so long to review this place.  I only go here ALL the time for cheap delicious down-home Mexican food, cheap produce, and Spanish rice like Grandma used to make.  I've been going to Ranch Market for about 10 years at their stores in Bakersfield -- where they first started.  I used to make fun of my mom for going to lunch here.  Heh, look who's laughing now.  I'm addicted!

The food here is no-frills authentic and seats inside are picnic bench style.  It's not uppity Mexican fare like Barrio Cafe, but it's not Filiberto's diarrhea fare either.  Everything from chile colorado, chile verde, calabasitas, sopes, mole,  tortas, carnitas, chicharrones, tamales, ceviche.  You name it, they have it.   And that's just in the deli.  They have a panaderia with all kinds of cakes, flans and pandulce (sweet bread).  I LOOOVE pandulce.  They even have a jugeria (juice bar) tortilleria, and a counter for fresh cheeses and cremas.

And the produce?  Cheap and abundant.  I got some bananas and tomatoes just a little over one dollar.  Don't think about getting any organic veggies here.  This isn't the place.  This is also not the place for low-fat shopping either.  But it is so many other great things that the other stores aren't.

Best of all is the atmosphere inside - it is REALLY festive - like you're at Tia and Tio's fiesta.  Mariachis and bands abound here during the weekend.   Dang!!   Fry's, Safeway, Basha's - take note, por favor.  You're on notice.

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Elite '08

24

164

Gayle G.

Norfolk, VA

Get your passport, we're going to Mexico.

Can't find your passport?  Still waiting for it from the State Department?  No worries, pack your bag and head to the Ranch Market!

This place is the best!  The food court is wonderful with so many tasty dishes.  And the produce department is crazy!  2 lbs of grapes for 99 cents, 8 cucumbers for a dollar, 17 cents for a bunch of cilantro, 7 -- YES, SEVEN pounds of watermelon for 99 cents.  You can go crazy with produce and not break the bank.  

The tamales are huge and the tortillas, oh the tortillas.

Don't be frightened, don't get intimidated, it's just a grocery store people!

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Elite '08

35

485

Calamari F.

Phoenix, AZ

Open an AJ's in Tijuana, and this is what you'd get.

You note in the store's Web-site photos how the place looks mobbed body-to-body with people frantic to get their Mexican peach soda (made with real sugar, not that high fructose corn syrup crap), bulk queso, multi-colored conchas, rolls of tripe, green-chili frozen burritos, beautiful avocados, and cinnamon Eggo waffles not sold at your local Fry's?

They're not kidding. On a 110-degree Friday night, when a gringo supermarket would be an echoing cavern sprinkled with desperate yuppies hoping for last-minute dates with NPR-listening strangers who have unheated swimming pools, Phoenix Ranch Market was hopping, bopping, rocking out to a live mariachi band, stocking up on tomorrow's breakfast, buying gold-filled jewelry for girlfriends, hawking skewers of chocolate-covered bananas, and breaking out in tented stalls of toys in the parking lot. The grocery store was drawing a bigger crowd than First Friday.

I'm crazy in love with the concept of actual spicy food from the actual grocery store.

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92

302

Mr K.

Phoenix, AZ

Today I wanted horchata.

Today I found horchata.

And a whole lot more.

Thanks to Massv Genius on Yelp here, I was handedly convinced to walk into and experience the Phoenix Ranch Market.

Man, what an assault on the senses when you walk in through the left entrance. An Elvis Crespo merengue track blaring from the store speakers. A giant food court in front of me - a section for cakes, another for other pastries, another for tacos/burritos, and many more, including the aforementioned jugeria (Spanish for jugeria). A guy dressed as a pantomime making kids balloon animals. And this is only 10% of the entire store!

I was kind of petrified because I didn't even know where to begin. I wanted to eat everything. I wanted to drink everything. I wanted to do grocery shopping now even though I had 4 more errands to do.

Horchata.

And so I went to the jugeria and ordered a large cup. Wow. I was chillin' on cloud nine with the first sip. I then took a leisurely jaunt around the rest of the store.

This place is MASSIVE. And extremely colorful. I can see people making a day of it. It's like a grocery store and a street carnival all wrapped up under one roof. But that's not all.

Mariachis!

Yes, Mariachis stationed by the other entrance, next to a display of "Ingles Sin Fronteras" CDs. This store is a kind of wonderland, with an adjoining section with a more sit-down restaurant plus stalls selling arts & crafts from Mexico.

I will definitely be coming back here many, many times.

This is it. My Mexican Disneyland.

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2

5

Katy C.

Phoenix, AZ

MERCADO DEL PARAISO. That is not my review, but rather what is written on the side of the Ranch Market building. After reading other reviews of this place, I already had a feeling it was going to be good...but the Paradise Market...hmmm... Made me ask myself what my idea of a paradise market would be. ( In case you were wondering, it would include Gael Garcia Bernal, Alejandro Fernandez, Juanes and other latinos guapos pushing shopping carts... shirtless.)

Anyway...focus!...Walking in from the parking lot, I could already hear lively music spilling out of the store. My blood started to sizzle with excitement. Then, right after crossing the threshold, I beheld a thing of dazzling beauty- carts and carts of aromatic and fresh pan dulce. I knew this place and I were just beginning a long and promising relationship.

My roommate and I wandered around the pan dulce display cases, salivating, pointing, giggling. We opted not to purchase as we have way too many holiday sweets left over as it is. We continued on to the jugeria where I had the best horchata I have had in a long, long time. Too much of the time horchata is watery. The Ranch Market horchata was so flavorful and creamy. I drank it just like a little kid who doesn't even let the straw leave their mouth for a moment.

We then wandered throughout the whole store. I know I probably looked awe-struck because it is overwhelming. It is bustling and frenetic and packed full of food treats, smells, conversation...LIFE. Be sure to pass by the tortilleria and take in the smell of freshly cooked tortillas. Also, don't miss the meats! Chicken feet! Tongue!  Tripas! Oh yeah! AWESOME!

Who the hell would ever want to go to a Safeway again when shopping can be this entertaining?

I'll be sure to go back soon for some pan dulce, a raspado or some lunch. More than anything, I'll go back for the experience because that's what this place is- a cultural experience.

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3

20

JVR T.

Los Angeles, CA

white people dash into the grocery store to pick up a bottle of chard to go with their olive garden take-out, mexicans go to the grocery store to shop, eat some food, buy some bootleg cd's and see their cousin at the checkstand and make a day out of it. PHXRNCHMRKT embodies this tradition and so much more. the entire left side of this megastore is like 15 excellent restaurants all smashed together. after you order your food, walk to the jugeria (spanish for jugeria) and order a large horchata mixed with strawberry.

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