There are many Latino restaurants in Wilmington. However, one of my favorite ways to enjoy Hispanic foods is by visiting the Los Portales grocery store, located at 912 South Kerr Avenue. While many people know Los Portales from their three restaurants located throughout the City, the market is a hidden treat for high school students looking for a great snack. Visitors can find food brands from Latin American countries such as Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Venezuela.
With a butcher shop, tortilleria, and bakery, you can find many types of food with a Latin style and flavor at affordable prices. There are fruits, candies, and–my favorite–their bread. From sweet to savory to colorful to plain, they have a wide assortment of delicious bread baked fresh every day, including shells, horns, and bolillos (small baguettes). Los Portales’ dessert-style breads offer the perfect level of sweetness combined with a refreshing taste - especially compared to processed baked goods often found on American grocery store shelves.
They also make fresh tortillas daily. If you are only used to the tortillas wrapped in plastic found on grocery store shelves, it is definitely worth trying their fresh handmade corn and flour tortillas right off the griddle. You can find savory foods at the take-out counter including roasted chicken, tortillas, tortas, rice, and carnitas during the week, and on the weekends they have baked chicken, chicharron, beef, and lamb barbecue that I would urge you to try. The store’s Yelp reviews repeatedly compliment their delicious hot food.
If you prefer a healthy snack, there is a huge produce section with fresh fruits and vegetables from Mexico and other Latin American countries such as avocado, fresh chilies, bananas, tomatillos, guava, and cacti.
Los Portales is truly an exciting cultural experience full of sights and smells. Colorful piñatas and other paper decorations adorn the store, and the smell of baking bread makes your mouth water. With a 4.6 out of 5.0 Yelp review, you won’t want to miss out on visiting the Los Portales supermarket for a taste of Hispanic food right around the corner from Hoggard.