La Loma Produce No 8

This store has many positive attributes, but at the same time they lack many necessary principles that truly allow a business to flourish. They carry many hard to find latin/​Hispanic items like cheeses and snack foods, as well as quality produce for less than their competition, but fail to treat the customers the way a backbone of a company should be treated. My wife and I stopped in to pick up a few grocery items and as we walked in, the less than busy cashier failed to greet us or even heed our call for service, but as soon as a family member of hers arrived, nepotism rose to arms and she and her own people were swiftly serviced. I don’t expect to outrank any other customers for service, but a number service or basis upon arrival should be in order. I will return to this store, but I wish the store owners taught their employees how to prioritize consumer needs.

My honey introduced me to this place. She used to live nearby, so whenever we are up from Fresno, we always stop by here.
It’s all about the tamales here. They have the best Salvadoran and Nacatamales you will find. We stop by and grab a couple dozen since we are not often in the area.
It’s worth the trip up there.

Small Crowded little store with all the right items, they have a meat market, pastry pantry, veggie stand and a few aisles of housecleaning items and canned goods. Almost anything you might need, the butchers marinate the meat by request and sometimes let you pick the fruit or veggies they use depending on the butcher and the meat.

So I needed some fruit to accompany my cottage cheese and granola today…
La Loma never ceases to amaze me. Some Mission produce markets have veggies/​fruits that are flavorless, but this place is not one of those, thus the stars.
blackberries — 99 cents
strawberries — 99 cents
(tasty tomatoes — still $ 1 for FOUR pounds)
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out the door: $ 2.98 crazy 1980 style prices
I so dig this place. You just have to deal with the drunks that likely will try to hit you up for some change or just talk about your ass in Spanish. That’s always lovely in the morning.
If you have not been here, you must give it a shot. The lady at the counter doesn’t smile much but when you see how little you will pay, you might have an internal smile.

5 stars for the Tamales made Nicaraguan and Salvadorean Style.
Always fills me up and Tb for breakfast.
Their produce selection is great too.

Must mention the super large Nicaraguan tamales, literally a meal in itself. Added amenity: covered bicycle parking!

This is my secret tamale spot. They have these big bins at the checkout counter with delicious tamales under $ 2. They have both the Mexican and El Salvadorian style tamales. The El Salvadorian Pork is my fave, they wrap it in a banana leaf and put olives in with the pork.
There are sooo many places for tamales in the mission. This place works for me during the work week because it is the most efficient: park, jump out, grab tamale, leave cash, jump back in car. No crazy line to wait in, love it.

It’s an automatic five stars to any place where I’m greeted with «hello amigo!» as I’m browsing really cheap, really delicious fruit. I love the mission!

This place is tiny (and crowded!) and sells dry tamales. I prefer shopping at Casa Guadalupe across the street because it’s much bigger and therefore has a wider selection.

«You guys suck!»
(spit)
Retreat back to the alley, clutching the tattered remains of a blue felt blanket. Dirty.
As I came up to my fave place to grab fresh tomatoes and cilantro for the salsa that cajun spicy enjoys (thanks patrick m ;) I was faced with a bum who had just finished yelling obscenities to the clerks restocking the onions.
My typical recipe for salsa runs something like this:
Roma Tomatoes (the flesh is firm)
White onions (crunchier)
Garlic
Cilantro
Anaheim Chiles
Jalapeño
Serrano Chiles
Limes
In so saying, I located all items here, and when I finished at the counter, she gave me a total of $ 3.80.
«That’s it?» I asked, incredulous. I counted 20 items before me, all fresh produce.
«Si, señora» she responded, smiling.
A man just finished placing warm bread pockets in the bin next to me, visions of savory torta swimming in my nose.
Perfect place to pick up on the spur ingredients for the fresh salsa…

I had recently went produce shopping in the mission and I remember that my mom would always go shopping here when I was alittle girl. My sister and I were dragged here to do our shopping for the week.
When I recently came here to do my shopping not much has changed not even the prices. Although they did do alttle cosmetic decorating which is nice. I love getting their gesso fresco and their fresh warm corn tortillas.
I can appreciate this place it is a classic part of the Mission in San Francisco.

*** Updated 12÷15÷09 ***
There must be a dozen of these «La Loma» produce stands in the city, but for some reason the Food Lover’s Guide called out this one. Which is fine, because it’s pretty quintessential for the Mission. Latin-​centric stacks of fruits and veggies lining the sidewalk, not just to look colorful but because there’s no room in the postage-​stamp interior. What really makes La Loma stand out, though, is the availability of made-​on-​site-​and-​still-​warm corn tortillas, crema mexicana, nutty dessert tamales, and the like.
Mexi-​produce tip of the day: Ever wonder what kind of chile those cans of «diced green chile» are made from? It’s Pasilla, aka Poblano. So now you have no excuse not to start buying them fresh from places like this.