hummus in Mexico -- truth or legend??

Let me start by saying: now that I have to do it myself and can't leave it up to Mommy's expert judgment, grocery shopping has become incredibly interesting to me. On our weekly shopping trips, I get excited looking for things that might be good / easy to eat during the upcoming week. This is fun to a point, but the poor quality of our shopping options is becoming annoying. Let's just say that my experiences in Mexican grocery stores have made me nostalgic for Stop & Shop (yes, it's that bad). If I may generalize, Mexican food is not that healthy for you and what the grocery stores here lack for in staples (French bread, sugar snap peas, brownie mix), they do not make up for in their own unique produce (even though I can buy 3 limes for $0.10, which I kind of love). To my spoiled (but not too snobby) palette, it's pretty unacceptable.

Specifically, I am craving hummus. BADLY. My friends laugh at me and say I am never ever going to find hummus in Mexico, but I personally don't find the notion to be that ridiculous. Monterrey is the most affluent city in the country and at the Tec we are near the border of San Pedro, which I'm told is like the New Canaan, CT of Mexico. My logic follows: this country MUST contain at least a handful of grocery stores that sell hummus, and if it's sold anywhere, it's got to be here.

Unfortunately, my hopes have not panned out thus far. The first few weeks we shopped at the closest grocery store to us, Soriana. Let me put it on the public record: Soriana is a JOKE of a grocery store. They must restock like, once every two weeks or something because half the time we go there there is nothing to buy. One day the entire pasta aisle was 80% empty. What self-respecting grocery store does not have PASTA in stock?! For whatever reason, this angers me to no end. Suffice it to say, there's no chance in hell you'd find hummus at Soriana.

Some of our friends had been to the Super Wal-Mart down the street and said it had a considerably better selection. Armed with this info, my roommate and I gave it a try this past weekend. They were right -- it was well stocked and everything looked relatively clean and fresh. Optimistic, I headed toward the produce/deli section and decided to give my hummus quest a go. I approached one of the women giving out free samples and asked her if she knew where I could go to satisfy my craving. "Yes! Over there!" she exclaimed in Spanish, lighting a candle of hope inside me. When I looked "over there", however, there was no hummus in sight.

Reluctant to extinguish the flame, I decided to try the next sample lady. This one only gave me a look of confusion when I referred to "hummus" in my terrible accent. I gave this totally awkward explanation of hummus in Spanish: "It's like, a thick sauce ... with Garbanzo beans ... and oil ... you eat with pita". Shockingly, she understood what I meant and replied, "Not here. H-E-B will have it." I guess the first woman just wanted to shut up the bratty American girl.

After further investigation, I learned that H-E-B is the best grocery store in the area, but that no one in our group has had the good sense to go there yet. It is even closer than el Super Wal-Mart and holds great promise for the future. I am anxious for this weekend, when I will make my first voyage there and determine once and for all if there is hummus within a $4.00 taxi radius of the Tec. Stay tuned for the conclusion of this HIGHLY SUSPENSEFUL SAGA . . .

And for your entertainment, a picture of the sweet view outside of el Super Wal-Mart: