Tortillas: Hot off the press at Lily's Mexican Market

Fresh, warm tortillas are a luxury that you can now enjoy any time that you can drive to Dobbin Road.

Lily's Mexican Market is doubling in size, expanding next door into the space that Second Hand Books vacated to move down the shopping center. Lily's is adding a takeout counter to go with the existing butcher, and, in the last week or so, they installed a tortilla machine. The long metal machine presses dough and kicks out soft, warm tortillas, which cost about $1.50 for a bag of about 30. (Update: Now, you can buy takeout tacos that are out of this world. And you can drink horchata.)

Less than $2 for tortillas that are soft with a light smell like corn-on-the-cob grilled on a barbecue. They're a treat and an authentic flavor that you just can't get from factory-made food, and they are strong -- stretching, not splitting, around the filling. Wrap up any taco makings. Try the fajita meat from Lily's butcher. Try the cactus pads in the produce section for easy cactus tacos. Or borrow Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless from the HoCo Library and explore Mexican food like I recommended in February.

The expansion improves a store that already offered a selection of Mexican and Salvadoran goods. With Caezar International for Middle Eastern's food, this is the class of local markets. Fajita meat and three kinds of chorizo at the butcher. Mild, soft cheeses. Jars of cactus or spicy, yellow aji peppers. Fresh cactus, avocados and other produce. Bags of corn meal. Mexican sodas and candy. The extended selection of Goya beans and sauces. I had an orange empanada Sunday morning from the bakery display case, and it was delicious -- a soft pastry with a filling like the best orange marmalade.

Now, Lily's is the standard for any ethnic market around. Great selection. Professional employees. You can get someone on the phone to answer questions in English or Spanish. The butcher was pleased to explain the difference between Mexican and El Salvadoran sausages. You could go to Lily's for basic ingredients, or you could treat it like takeout and buy tortillas, meat, salsa, cheese and some vegetables to chop.

You can even go if the only cooking that you do is reheating. Try the tamales in the freezer section. They're corn meal tamales wrapped in corn husks. They'll stay in your freezer. To make them, you just let them defrost in the fridge, then steam them for 8-10 minutes. Mrs. HowChow savors her memories of tamales at the the farmers market near the UCLA hospital. These aren't as perfect as her memories, but they're delicious served with salsa.

If you like Lily's, then go explore other ethnic shopping in a post about Middle Eastern, Indian, etc. markets.

If you want more Mexican shopping, then consider the Panam Supermarket in Laurel. Panam has full produce and butcher sections, offering a greater selection than Lily's. If you want another Mexican adventure, check out "The Taco Truck" (Pupuseria Lorenita's).

(Update: I had an old address here. Lily's is at 6490 Dobbin -- in the same shopping center as the DMV.)

Lily's Mexican Market

6490 Dobbin Road

Columbia, MD 21045

410-772-5459

An earlier profile

NEAR: The DMV off Dobbins Road just south of Rte 175. Look for the intersection with a Blockbuster. The shopping center with the DMV, Lily's and Sushi King restaurant is across Dobbins from the Blockbuster.