Vine Ripe Market
Categories: Grocery, Ethnic Food [Edit]
Neighborhood: La Mesa8191 Fletcher Pkwy
(between Jackson Dr & Marengo Ave)
La Mesa, CA 91942 (619) 462-9900
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
13 Reviews for Vine Ripe Market
This place creeped me out for some reason when I first went into it. Something about the people working inside or the people in it made very uneasy.
However, the sign twirlers out front dressed as various vegetables are irresistible, which earns this place one star.
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I miss living across the freeway from this place...
They have such a great variety of cheeses, olives, and I love their unusual sodas!
Lots of interesting foods to choose from if you're the adventurous type - plus, it's the only place I know you can get lavash... (a soft, thin flatbread that you can make wraps with)...
I like-ah la-vash!
Their hummus is really good too and YAY for having stuff like frying cheese ^_^ so you can make your own Saganaki at home!
The minus two stars comes from having the staff flake out on me several times when it came to special ordering a certain product that they took out of inventory... they said it was possible - but were SO disorganized and clueless that I basically gave up after a month and a half.
Lamesauce. for sure.
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I hit Vine Ripe up for the olives and taramosalata, plus there is always some sort of ridiculously cheap produce deal going on. It's not the cleanest place in the world, but certainly not the dirtiest ethnic market either- kind of in between which suits me fine.
The olives are bomb, but I of course always get way too much and have to pawn them off on the folks or take them to work. I got some caviar in a squeezable toothpaste tube a few months back, which worked great for a picnic.
Lots of pickled veggies from the middle east and eastern Europe. I love the frozen section with the pile of peeled lambs heads- might get one of those for next Halloween...
Awesome deals on regularly packaged pita bread and the stuff they bake themselves in the little bakery section is excellent, especially when still warm from the ovens. Pretty good ethnic store overall and worth checking out when you are in the area.
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I don't step into the market, but I try to go to the cafe at least once a month. The food there is really good. I used to work down the street and that's how I discovered it. Back then, I would be there once a week!
Every dish I have tried there has been delicious. From their lamb, fish plates, and chicken. Even their pasta plates are good. I was in the neighborhood today and I had the pasta with chicken.
Remember to ask them for a side of their hot sauce! So good!
Little Italy could only wish they had this place there! =) (Read my other reviews)
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i have an infatuation with shopping at international markets.
vine ripe is a mediterranean market/deli that's very close to my house and the neighborhood is all the better for it.
everything at the deli is so engrossed with flavor that i couldnt stop eating even though i didnt want to look like a glutinous fat white american.
the market has awesome selections of produce, fresh herbs, and bread. everything is very affordable so you cant go wrong. i bought a giant bushel (bushel works? yaddamean) of fresh dill for 89 cents. i love fresh dill. and fresh bread.
there's a mediterranean bakery inside the market that is to die for.
they also have an awesome selection of cheeses... if you're feeling adventurous. i bought a danish cheese that didn't have any english on it and it turned out to be really good when you're stoned but damn gross when you're sober. but everything's good when you're stoned.
anyway, it's a great place to shop for creative flavor combinations.
I work in Alpine, and there aren't a whole lot of lunch options out there. Every so often, around lunch time, someone offers to stop by Vine Ripe on the way to work. We are on that like white on rice.
Vine Ripe has everything you'd expect from a Middle Eastern restaurant: shawerma, gyros, kabob, etc. My personal favourites are the falafel sandwich, and the grilled tilapia platter, which comes with pita bread, hummus, and rice. So far, we've found everything on the menu to be very good. One word of warning: their food has a lot of garlic.
The cheapest, yet the most delicious Mediterranean restaurant in San Diego. If I am on that neighborhood, I make sure to make a trip over there. Their Telapia Grill Plater and Gayro Platter (Chicken/Lamb) are my most favorite. I love their Hummos and Salad also. I never tried their Kababs, but my friends always get them and they are indeed a big fan of that too.
This is one of the restaurants where you spend less then $10 and come out with full satisfaction. Highly recommended.
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we eat at the grill a few times a month and love the food... their kafta is some of the best I've had and I love the kabob salads and dinner plates. Good prices and generous amounts of really fresh food. Take out is a good idea, since the atmosphere is really plain. I shop at the market for arabic goods, spices and baked goods. I don't think the meat and produce is very awesome. The olive bar in the back is swell though!
This place is now a favorite of mine to procure items for healthy, heart-friendly, and of course tasty meals without breaking the bank.
Highlights are as follows:
+The bakery has the tastiest, and freshest pita bread for only 99 cents/package of eight. Beats any commercial version in taste and price.
+Any place with a self-serve olive bar is a-okay in my book. And they've just got barrels/vats of all different varieties to choose from.
+Their selection of feta cheeses is just as incredible; french, bulgarian, greek, sheeps milk, goats milk, etc., etc.!
+Large, meaty lamb shanks for a little over $2/lb.!! Braise a few of these bad boys in a big dutch oven and you'll be guaranteed a place in heaven if you serve these at a dinner party.
+Large selection of different cuts of meat in general - especially lamb - for great prices. This is where we get our ground lamb for lamb burgers. Yum!
+Lusciously ripe black figs.
+Cheap, fresh produce.
+Hard to find, exotic spices in whole and powder form.
+Great prices on Free-Range chicken.
+Delicious, fresh hummus in the refrigerated deli section - tastes nothing like the tub of stuff you find at Costco.
+Fig jam and other interesting preserves.
+The owner is a huge man intimidating in size, but he has a heart to match. You'll see him all over the store greeting customers with a huge grin and a wave hello. You can spot him doing everything from sweeping the floors to performing chashier duties. He's also happy to answer questions about mediterranean cuisine. What a sweetheart!
Just a few negatives which makes this a four out of five star place:
-The meat isn't always fresh. You have to check the label and just on the safe side, do a sniff test.
-Their dairy section isn't always stocked. My favorite mediterranean yogurt which is the only stuff I use to make tzatziki sauce is hard to find depending on the day of the week.
-Not everybody is as nice as the owner, but neither are most of the people at Von's or Ralph's.
Just as the other reviewers noted, the attached grille is great too. Fresh food, nice prices, but the service is a little on the slow side, so eat before you shop or put in an order before you check out. I love their gyro platter.
Also, they're just never too busy. The longest line I've ever stood in was two people deep. Always a plus! I suppose I'm not doing myself a favor with this review...
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Didn't have the selection I thought it would. A lot of the stuff looked pretty old. Also the name is misleading as it sells Arabic stuff and is not like some organic produce place.
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I love this place! The hummus is garlicky and delicious, the kabobs are tender and juicy, the kafta is spicy, the salads are crisp with tons of feta and the prices are great. I'm not a big fan of the gyro but my friends love them. Next door is a great mediterranean grocery store!
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Great food at the Grill/cafe, which is attached to the grocery store. I agree with some of the other reviews that the market side is disappointing -- the produce, although inexpensive, doesn't look fresh enough.
But the chef at the grill is awesome. I especially enjoy the hummos, baba ghanouj , and tabbouleh. You can buy these dishes separately for about $4 each, or order the vegetarian platter for $9 which includes the above plus falafel, spinach pie, and stuffed grape leaves.
You order at the counter and then wait ... and wait ... and wait, especially if it's busy. I usually call in my order and take it home. They do have patio seating available (with heat lamps for cold weather).
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there's pros and cons to this place. i'll start with the pros.
PROS:
the grocery carries a huge variety of sweets, spices and ready-to-make mixes
their selection of syrups is also pretty great
the produce looked fresh and there was a good variety. that can be a rare thing in specialty grocery stores.
there's a whole section of the store dedicated to olives. i don't personally like olives, but lots of other people do.
the staff at the restaurant is friendly.
the restaurant is very reasonably priced.
they had almond ice cream.
the greek yogurt was tasty.
CONS:
the frozen food selection is pretty sad. especially the ice cream. they had 2 kinds of rose ice cream. one had all kinds of chemicals and the other was stuck to the one on top of it by sticky red goo. yuck.
service was pretty slow at the restaurant.
my grape leaves were too tomato-y for my personal taste, and kinda mushy.
the sauce on my pita was a bit too thick and creamy. the pita itself was pretty oily.
i would come back for certain items in the future, but it won't be on the top of my list.
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