12141 Westheimer Houston 77077 281.558.8225 phoeniciafoods.com
What began over 30 years ago as a Mediterranean restaurant grew into a 55,000 SF supermarket, located outside the Beltway on Westheimer. A smaller version exists on Discovery Green downtown. But the original Westheimer location features a separate supermarket with dining options and the original restaurant next door. The casual restaurant serves everything that is available in the large supermarket, but for me the market is the fun place to go. Featuring not just Mediterranean foods but specialty items from all over the world, the Phoenicia market offers sit-down dining surrounded by long coolers of some of the most delicious food imaginable. Eat it there, and if you are lucky the pita conveyor belt is humming, slanting down from the second floor, delivering hot Middle Eastern bread to the workers next to you who are bagging it in large volumes. On one side is the bakery counter; past that, the butcher & seafood shop; near that is a seemingly endless array of pre-packaged foods which can be taken home or…eaten on the spot. Phoenicia, unlike any other market we are familiar with, has a wholesale counter right by the checkout cashiers, and restaurant owners can be seen with huge carts overflowing with bulk items on the way back to their own kitchens. To stroll the wine department here, for example, is a trip to countries which you did not even know grew wines…and prices are reasonable, inspiring the curious shopper to buy and try. After lunch, you can stock up on bulk olive oil and other staples at bargain prices. * What follows is only a partial list of items for sale for on-premise meals or take-home: Babaganoush * Chicken & nut couscous * Cucumber salad * Eggplant Ikra * Hummus * Olive tapenade * Slow-roasted lamb shank * Skewers * Rotisserie chicken * Herb-crusted salmon * Seafood saute * Meat & vegetarian grape leaves * Boxed lunches * Feta pesto salad * Green cabbage salad * Lentil salad * Pomegranate tabouleh * Red beet salad * Seafood salad * Tuna salad * California artichoke salad * Armenian beef dolmas * Chicken salad * Curried chicken salad * Chicken liver pate * Sausages & salamis * Walnut or pistachio baklava * Anise and sesame cookies * Date rolls
