I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® and Mariano’s #cbias #SocialFabric
I’m kind of a grocery store snob. Wait, not kind of, I AM a grocery store snob. When I walk into a grocery store I like to be inspired. Whether it’s freshly baked bread, produce that looks like it belongs on the cover of a magazine or a hot foods section that tempts me into not cooking for a week, I want to leave the grocery store being excited about the meals I’m going to make. In the Chicago area, the one grocery store that I find fits all my needs and wants is Mariano’s.
Until last week, I had to drive about 45 minutes to the Arlington Height’s location. Not any more! On April 15th Mariano’s opened their latest location in Harwood Heights. While I’m still holding out for an Oak Park location, I’m ecstatic that I’ll have a store even closer to me! That means I’ll be able to shop at Mariano’s weekly instead of going there only once a month.
I’ve learned through experience that the best time to go to the grocery store is a Friday or Saturday evening. Maybe I’m showing my lack of social life but trust me, this is prime time for grocery shopping. The stores aren’t as busy and you usually get extra special attention from the staff! The Mariano’s Harwood Heights location was still busy, but it was much easier to find a parking spot AND a shopping cart vs the last time I was here.
There are so many things that I love about this store, I’m not sure where to begin. From the sushi bar to the bakery, I found myself wishing that I had about 2 extra hours just to hang out. I wonder if the founders of Mariano’s envisioned that when they created the store. Instead of hanging out at Starbucks drinking coffee, I could completely see myself lounging at Mariano’s, snacking on all the delicious hot, prepared foods while I worked. Hmmm, I wonder if they have wifi…. This is definitely #MyMarianos.
As I roamed around Mariano’s, I quickly remembered I had a purpose for going to the store. Sure, I wanted to check out what they had to offer and how it compared to other stores but I also needed to pick up some groceries for the week! I think many people think Mariano’s is expensive and shy away from shopping there. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Mariano’s has the cheapest price on organic milk that I have seen in any grocery store and I feel like I’ve been to them all. Even the big box stores can’t compete with Mariano’s organic milk prices! And with my Mariano’s rewards card, I get access to exclusive savings and if I ever get my tail in gear and start using coupons, I can take advantage of their double coupon offers on Wednesdays.
I won’t be home for Cinco de Mayo because I’ll be at the premier of Iron Man 3 in Los Angeles, so I planned an early celebration at home with my daughter. I thought it would be fun and easy to have a taco bar. She is my little chef and loves to help me in the kitchen so I knew she would enjoy helping me assemble our tacos. With Mariano’s International foods aisle, I was able to get almost everything I needed in one aisle of the store.
Tacos are simple and easy to make. I like to make mine a little different by making double decker tacos. I had choosing between hard or soft shell tacos so I’ve decided, why not have both? With the addition of refried black beans instead of pinto beans, this is the perfect dinner for me. I get my carbs, veggies and protein in one neat little package. My daughter likes it because she gets to pick and choose what toppings go on her taco. Unfortunately I didn’t get any pics of our double decker tacos because of a certain black dog who likes to counter surf. I shall refrain from mentioning any names. So instead, I used two flour tortillas. Just imagine the inner shell is a hard shell!
- Hard shell corn tortilla
- Soft shell flour tortilla
- 1 lb hamburger
- 1 pkg taco seasoning
- 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
- shredded cheese
- 1 mediumHaas avocado, diced
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- 1 can Black refried beans
- shredded lettuce
- sour cream
- Cook the hamburger and add taco seasoning according to directions.
- Heat refried beans in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently.
- While hamburger & beans are cooking, dice your vegetables and place each in a separate bowl.
- Warm flour tortillas in a skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes on each side. Spread black beans over tortilla and then wrap it around a hard shell corn tortilla. Fill it with the toppings of your choice and serve!
I really have no need for another grocery store. The Harwood Heights store has a great variety of organic and specialty foods, in addition to every day foods at great prices. No longer do I need to run to the health foods store to pick up a few things, the discount store to get the staples and then the normal every day store to get my meats. I can get everything I need at Mariano’s. So when I’m having one of those days where I want to eat everything, I’m pretty sure you’ll find me hanging out at Mariano’s. Now to check on that free wifi….
Stay Social
Make sure to become a fan of Mariano’s on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. They also have their website where they feature new content weekly. Every time I visit their site I am inspired to try a new recipe!
