# Grocery Stores around the country.....



## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

My idea of a good time is to walk through grocery stores when I'm traveling....(farmers markets, bakeries, etc) after this last visit to KY I bought some Morton's sugar rub for hams, pickling salts, various cornmeals.....funky sorghum/cane/honey mixed....

When I visit NO it's Community dk roast coffee, andouille, red beans, olive salad, ham bones from Mothers, pecan rice or Stansil's rice

When I'm in NYC it's breads, teas, cheeses.....

So I'm sure if someone came to STL they'd want something we have here that's hard to find elsewhere....what do you find in other cities' stores?


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## cheri (Apr 5, 2006)

Spices, in ethnic markets, I visit them everywhere I go, I just left SF where I visited Rainbow and purchased the best Bahrat seasoning ever. In Vegas I purchased Kabob seasoning and white pepper 6 oz for .99! I love that Turkish kabob seasoning and cannot wait to get back there. With the internet I can buy anything, but I love the thrill of the hunt. If you ever get to LA let's take a field trip together, you sound fun!


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## tango (Nov 28, 2006)

Here in Eastern Washington we have a multitude of fresh produce. This region is well known for apples. We have the famous Walla Walla sweet onions. Also we have a growing microbrew industry and many wine producers. Be sure to tour them when you visit the Columbia basin and Yakima valley. :chef:


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## sgmchef (Sep 30, 2006)

Hey shroomgirl,

I am right there with you! Travel and grocery stores are the only way to go! Here in Virginia it is a store called Ukrop's. They are primarily in the Richmond area, but have a few others in the state also, less than thirty total. 

Ukrop's has their own peanuts packaged for them from one of the VA plantations. If you haven't had plantation style #1 peanuts, you haven't had real peanuts! Planter's doesn't count as real peanuts if you have had the real thing. You can order them on-line from most of the plantation operations here in VA. I was one of those that thought that peanuts were peanuts until… Well you just have to try them. Just do a search for VA peanuts or you could just go here if you choose http://www.plantationpeanuts.net/ as my sister and friends really like them and get the 22oz Gourmet tins regularly. My friends and relatives back in Wisconsin all order them all the time now, as will I when I relocate to the Badger state! 

I was stationed in Europe for over ten years total and I definitely visited grocery stores in every city of every country I went to. My sister loaded up on "Microwave Spotted Dick" in England! 

GOOD TOPIC!
Regards
SGMChef


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

This is one of my most favourite shops in my home city of Edinburgh
Valvona & Crolla - Welcome
If any of you get over here, put it on your itinerary!

Travelling around the UK I try to pick up locally produced goods - good cheddar from Somerset, saffron bread/cake and Cornish pasties from Cornwall. Ayrshire bacon (IMO the best in the world) when I brave the west coast of Scotland! Heather honey from the gates of small cottages in the highlands of Scotland. The list goes on......


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

I'll bet you guys think that here in NYC, I can get just about anything. Well, you'd be wrong! Sure, I can get a lot of stuff, but boy, would I have to pay a lot for it.  So I love checking out groceries when I travel. One thing I'm always on the lookout for is _hot sauces_. And items that my local stores have carried but don't any more, like pure cranberry concentrate. (Those are both why I wear red so much when I travel -- in case a bottle breaks in my bag. :lol: ) And even if I can't bring anything home, I love to just look. :look:

When I was in Dallas a couple of years ago, I brought back a bag of Mexican limes, some beef jerky from a butcher in the Deep Ellum neighborhood, a can of salsa verde (that I make, but I like to compare mine to commercial ones and get pointers) -- stuff like that. From London last fall: dried mushrooms from a stand at Borough Market. From Seattle: porcini powder from the Italian grocery at Pike Place.

I still remember that on a trip to Columbus, Ohio, 30+ years ago, when my parents and I had to kill time, we headed across the street to a supermarket (see where I get it from?  ). For those of you who don't know, Columbus is one of the premier test markets in the country -- if it's a new product, they see how well it does in Columbus first (NYC is about the LAST place to get anything new, and if it doesn't sell with a boom, it's gone soon.  ). What do I remember seeing that I'd never seen before? Red leaf lettuce!

For those who come to NYC, if you want to stay in Manhattan, you have to check out Chelsea Market (right, shroom?  )for a variety of fresh foods, baked goods, and different ethnicities); the Union Square Greenmarket (best in late summer, but they're open all year); "Curry Hill" -- Lexington Avenue in the mid- to high 20s, where there are still Indian groceries including Kalustyan's which you may know from online/mail order; Chinatown, of course; and Ninth Avenue in the upper 30s to the 50s, with a few remaining ethnic places including West African. There is also part of Atlantic Avenue in downtown Brooklyn for Arab food (Sahadi in particular); a much better Little Italy in the Belmont section of the Bronx (Arthur Avenue); another Chinatown in the Sunset Park part of Brooklyn; and Pan-Asian in Flushing, Queens. There are other areas, too, but I haven't explored them yet.


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## allie (Jul 21, 2006)

I just returned to Indiana after a week long visit to my family in southeast Georgia. I went to a local grocery store for cane syrup because I can't get it here. While there, I saw some Cheerwine which I dearly love and also can't find in this area. I also bought a can of boiled peanuts. Yes, fresh are the best BUT when it's the wrong season and you can't even get a canned one at home, you make do! lol The last one is sad, but true, I went to Walmart to get Keebler Wedding Cookies. That was my favorite from childhood and again, they aren't available in my area. That was the most disappointing! I made Mexican Wedding Cookies at Christmas that tasted much better! Now if I could just figure out how to get that hint of chocolate and coconut in my own cookies. I think Keebler has changed their formula because these just aren't the same.

If it didn't take me 15-16 hours to get back home, I would love to bring back fresh produce. We didn't have room for a cooler in the car and I didn't want anything to spoil or wilt before we got home. You just can't get good greens in Indiana! lol


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Sorry, Suzanne, but I have trouble working up much sympathy.

You know on those cooking shows how they're always saying, "available in any market?" Yeah, that might be true when Chelsea Market is right downstairs, and, even in a pinch, Gristedes probably has what you need.

Try the hastings, sometime, where almost _everything _beyond basic salt & pepper involves a major trip, because nothing is available. Seriously, the closest thing to exotic found around here is the "ethnic foods" aisle at Walmart.

When I travel I haunt the central markets and ethnic and specialty shops not just because it fun. For me it's a necessity.

And can anybody tell me where one of those newish mango slicers is really available? My markets aren't among the "any market."


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

This is one of my passions that my husband doesn't get. We were recently on a Caribbean cruise and stopped in Limon, Costa Rica. We didn't sign up for an excursion but chose instead to check out the downtown area near the dock. (We were cautioned not to roam far.) I had asked where the market was and found it easily. DH chafed while I pored over the bins of habanero and scotch bonnet chilis; chunks of sugar; plantains and bananas and all the other wonderful produce. 

On a trip to France about 9 years ago I wanted to see what was new in the LeClerc near our Paris hotel. Much to my surprise I found La Preferida refried beans and taco sauce, as well as tortilla chips and ingredients for making chili- none of which I'd seen 10 years earlier. I was amazed to see how many American food labels I saw later that trip in the Tesco in London. (I will refrain from a rant about the cultural significance of these findings.)

One of the best market trips I've had was in the Mercato Centrale in Florence, Italy. The produce was like jewels and the aromas were intoxicating. I brought home porcini mushrooms, and enjoyed one of my favorite fruits, fresh figs, on the spot. :lips:


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## tigerwoman (Jul 18, 2002)

we travel alot and markets including supermarkets are our "museum of the living" I love the markets in France, even LeClerc the supermarket is way cool. We ended up buying a whole leg of spain ham and hung it above the fireplace in the old farmhouse we stayed at for the month. Everynight we'd have some ham and port or wine yumm and it was ridiculously cheap. Too bad you cannt bring those things back home. 

In Southeast Asia Bali in particular both the outdoor produce and sundries market and even the supermarkets are facinating. 

I would say we have been to markets and supermarkets in Greece, Turkey, Israel, France, Spain, Portugal, Bali, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Java, Lombok, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica to name a few... Yeah we love to travel on our stomaches.

Living in New York there is a pleuthra of great sources. Besides the many that Suzanne mentioned - and we use the green market at Union Square and Chelsea Market extensively for the catering business, there are some great areas and markets in the outer boros. In fact I often take vistors and even local NY friends on what I call a food safari.


Since Suzanne covered alot of Manhattan, I'll do Queens

I live in Queens, Forest Hills to be exact, and in my hood there are alot of Russian, Uzbeki, and Israeli Stores that sell great stuff from deli items - lots of pork products, cheeses, capanata in jars, korean carrot salad (a hold over from the soviet days I guess when the communists were all buddies)

A great find has been the Russian Candies - interesting flavors and gorgeous wrappings and graphics on individual chocolate and filled candies sold loose by the pound between 4-6#. There's a fabulous store that sells alot of Israeli products, as well as salmon caviar, fresh pita, prepared hummous as well as their own, fresh roasted coffee, nuts and dried fruit, spices by the pound so you can just get a small amount. 

Then if you go to Elmhurst there are numerous Asian stores, restaurants and supermarkets with so many different ingredients I wish I had a translater sometimes. We've even found an Indonesian store and they sell this amazing dried block that becomes a good peanut sauce with lots of flavorings including a very distict lemongrass. I've used it as a coating on grilled shrimp, since it crumbles to a powder (which you are supposed to mix with water to make peanut sauce) The asian in general are into alot of packaged foods and seasonings. Funny enuf, there was a vendor at the weekly market in the south of France selling some of the same items we had brought with us for my niece like chili jam, peking duck seasoning, hoisin etc - down to the same brand even.

Then there is the Patel Brothers chain of supermarkets. I believe they have stores across the country. The biggest one in NY is in Jackson Heights which is a very multi ethnic community with Indian, Pakistani, Pan Latino, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indonesian (the store I mentioned) and more....

Then there is the Flushing Chinatown, which covers many asian cultures and on the fringes of it there are many pakistani supermarkets and bodegas. The food choices are boggling. But if you want good BBQ NY isn't really the place to be...and good BBQ is an art form unto itself. Then of course you have the carribean neighborhoods of Queens, with everything from Jamacian Jerk and Patties to Trini Roti and Curries. And the fruits, vegetables and spices change again. There is a chain of supermarkets called Western Beef - in fact there's one across the street from Chelsea market, but mostly they are in very ethnic neighborhoods and cater to whatever groups lives closest - so when you need hard to source produce and canned goods/spices they are another source to check out. They don't carry the same thing in each store.

Parts of Eastern Queens that border with Long Island have become very Indian and you find restaurants and shops and bakeries all over the place. 

Astoria has middle eastern foods - there's a fabulous bakery called Laziza's of NY, also well known for Greek Food, Titan Foods is a fun store to visit with 10-15 different kinds of olives 6 kinds of feta, etc. Best find there has been a 1 kilo tub of total greek yogurt for $6.25 man I love that stuff especially with some of the phillipino honey lime stuff drizzled over the top. 

That's a cool product we found in the Asian supermarket. It's a special Phillipino lime probably similar to key lime from the smell called Kalamansi Lime
mixed with a honey - it's a concentrate to make a drink but we use it in lots ofthings from crab coleslaw to fruit preparations as well as a drink if you aren't feeling that great.

It's fun to have so many choices in your own backyard. Of course I cann't go pick Meyer Lemons off the tree like my friend Ron does but hey, I can have pizza at Nick's or DiFara's.


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## tigerwoman (Jul 18, 2002)

I loved the market in Limon even though the town was kind of run down- and the whole of the Carribean coast of Costa Rica - I was there with my son when he was in middle school and we did alot of cooking which was fun. I like the way they incorporate coconut into their cooking like the black beans and rice with coconut in the beans.

Oh and I forgot the markets in Morocco which was my most recent trip. The produce especially the oranges were incredibly sweet and juicy and Fresh. and the look of the spices and the way things are displayed makes me so excited. Food porn really. Turkey too has these incredible spice markets with pyramids of gorgeous colors and aromas.

And watching the tortilla factory in a small town in the Yucatan - going to the market in Teotitlan outside of Oaxaca with our hostess, a rugmaker, who was teaching us cooking and we taught her how to make lasagna, since her husband who often sold their rugs in San Migel loved it.

I had a bizarre experience in the Atlas Mts in Maroc - it was right before a major holiday called Eid (pronounced aid) where every family is basically obligated to buy a sheep to slaughter and eat. This outdoor market was 97% male and I was not very comfortable walking around taking photos and got many dirty looks. The following day I saw someone in Marakesh loading a sheep into the trunk of a taxi outside of the big supermarket. That's what makes it the musuem of the living.

I am very keen to take a long trip in India - both to eat and experience the cultural and markets there. 

The world can be our oyster - food represents so much in so many cultures.


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## cheri (Apr 5, 2006)

My husband is right up there with me, he goes for coffee and hot sauce.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

I always knew Cheftalk was "my people"......my family thought I was a nut for years, who takes an hour+ to go through an out of town grocery store.
And thinks that a really good day is bopping from market to market with several bakeries thrown in for good measure.
And does it on vacation.

Allie, don't let alittle journey stop you from shopping at a farmer's market.....shoot, I've shopped at Ferry Plaza and brought produce/honey/cheese etc home on the plane, funny how the airport personnel did not realize what was in their own town. I've loaded down with produce and killer raspberry jam from Santa Fe's market....wanted to bring home some of the heirloom chickens...next time. Or Union Market, hauling all kinds of products through Manhatten with my cheftalk buddies....the unfiltered unpasturized apple cider sure got heavy (that was prior to crocs)...I picked up fun shtuff at the Italian market in Chelsea...ferrotto, dried fish roe, some squid ink, some peppers....Shoot I've even bought bigger luggage across from Murrays to be able to haul more shtuff home. There was a phenominal Italian market that had housemade mozz that was a dream, scazmora, several types of parmesan (fall/spring), aged basalmic cheap, various olive oils. 

I've hauled coolers back and forth, mainly New Orleans and yeah CBD market is on the list....meyer limons, creole cheese, real butter, seafood, cane syrup...the real deal.....sausages, oh man Schnexyders andouille is wonderful as is most of their product....sigh......

By hook or crook it gets home, I've started packing post boxes with set rate and postage so I can easily ship shtuff from wherever I am.

Stocking up on White Lily for biscuits whenever I get close to the south.

I spoke at a farm conference in Col. Mo last Nov and hit the farmer's market prior to going to the conference. Loaded up on wintersquash, pecans, apples.

Food is a common denominator....and it's so fun to explore and play with. Oh yeah the word just came out Morels are in season and they are plentiful. I saw 2 gls a couple of days ago. Just had a shroomer e-mail for my morels and cream recipe, every year I swear they want to know how to make morels and cream.......um that would be morels and cream. That's why they love me so much, I can cook.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

and pretty soon you get to know everyone. 

Thus: "I spoke at a farm conference in Col. Mo last Nov"

If that was the Small Farm Conference & Trade Show, Shroom, I spoke at the same event. Did a whole thing on growing heirlooms for the market.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

Other than independent small ethnic grocers, I like Joseph's market in Crystal Lake IL. They have an aisle for everything there! I'd describe it as an independent melting pot large enough store. They always have a good discount produce cart! The avocados are always ripe, the figs just perfect, fantastic selection of good cheeses without fancy prices, onsite bakery, great deli meats, authentic Italian/Spanish/Basque/French/German/American cured meats, great butcher that does Chinese/Mexican/American rib cuts to order, etc. You get the picture. I go shopping there everytime I'm visiting the inlaws.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

I've talked at the Small Farm Conference a few times, this year was on how to sell to restaurants. Sat Morning was the last farmer's market of the season for Columbia, it was cold and there was alot of great stuff. Got my priorities together and got up at 7am headed over to UpRise Bakery and followed them to the market.

Cordi Bros used to rock my world. Stores in Walnut Grove and Berkley were a treat....heirloom dried beans 20+ years ago. Fairway Market in Harlem....cryovaced beets from France and asceptic olive oil years ago, really fun walk-in fridge with meat and dairy. 
Zabar's, Balducci prior to selling, Garden of Eatin was an amazing flukey find....years ago I wandered in on my way to the airport and saw so many wild shrooms, tried aged gouda for the first time, saw some of the most interesting go-food in NYC......
Grace's Market, oh Portland has some cool ones too. Central Grocery in New Orleans and of course Schwegmans where you pop a beer to "make grocerys".
Houston has some fun ethnic ones, as well as some of the toniest stores I've ever been in....now what was the name????!!! think think....black and white prodominate colors......hmmmm oh Pan can you help out here I'm sorta lost....
Fiesta was a delight.....hmmmm oh yeah Southern Season's in Chapel Hill, gotta be one of the top 5, and I count it as a grocery store....walls of chocolate....walls....chocolate......
Eli's Garage is fun, good yogurts from Europe.

Co-op funky places are a hoot too.....
When my kids were young I had a Sat route that included 150 year old pretzel place that had little nubby rye salt pretzels 12 for a $1 by a scruffy guy in a wife beater that was scooping um out of the water vat.
Off to Soulard Farmer's Market which is very very live.....live chickens, bunnies both pets and food.....about 100 stalls with an inner corridor that has killer brats cooked to a crisp....farmers and brokers it is a discount market where you can hear many different languages within 50 ft.
Then on to Pan Dora's Bakery for orange poppyseed bread called hobbit loaf my middle child adored and other fine treats.....since closed.
Cruise on down to Jay's on S. Grand for any and all ethinic food....especially Asian but not limited at all.
Make our way over to the Hill for ice box cookies,Italian cream bread, Volpi's sausages and anything Italian.
Head home with a loaded car and satiated children. Try to figure out what to cook first.

Washington DC has really fun markets also. OLD ones.


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

KYH- I certainly wasn't asking for sympathy! :lol: Just pointing out that what really IS available "at any market" -- meaning pretty standard American processed stuff -- is not always found here, mainly because our stores are so much smaller. (Witness the fact that Wal-Mart just gave up on opening here; the hassles were too much for them!)

I have a theory (and I'm sure it's not original) that if you really want to know what a town is all about, visit its supermarkets. How extensive and well-stocked are the "ethnic" aisles? And what unexpected items are mixed in on the regular shelves, such as breads? That gives you powerful clues about the population makeup, even without seeing any shoppers. If there is nothing but "white bread" available, then there is not a critical mass of "others" with sufficient economic power to be recognized by the establishment. This is different from the appearance of ethnic groceries that cater only to specific populations; their presence indicates a genuine need, but not a strong enough power base to be recognized as an economic force. To me, those observations are much more powerful than looking at the makeup of the local government and maybe even the local newspapers.

Anyway: thank goodness for the Internet! That is truly the global marketplace. 

And as to that mango slicer: I know I just saw something about it -- might have been a couple of weeks ago in the NY Times (Dining & Wine - New York Times), or online. Definitely not "in the flesh," though.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

that if you really want to know what a town is all about, visit its supermarkets. How extensive and well-stocked are the "ethnic" aisles? And what unexpected items are mixed in on the regular shelves, such as breads?


Yep, great minds think alike. Especially flat breads, are they mass made or "handmade" by Mom & Pop producers. Are there alot of small producer products on the shelf. 
I equate that to Farmer's markets also, are they attractive, do they have a customer base, is the signage good, do they certify organic, do they have recipes, samples, cooking demos, is there a community space, is it an alive market, is there a balance in products, do they have interesting products or just "bigger is better dirt farms", is the meat fresh or frozen, are there events.....oh what you can learn from a farmer's market tells you alot about the community at large.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Part of the situation in New York City, Suzanne, is that until recently there were no supermarkets or box stores. They were against the law. So New York became a Mecca for small, specialty food stores. 

Schroomgirl, sounds to me like you're describing central markets rather than farmer's markets. Nothing wrong with central markets, so don't get me wrong. But farmer's markets are both defined and operated by some rather strict laws, and many of the things you describe are not allowed. In many venues, for instance, samples (other than whole items) are not permitted, and cooking demos are absolutely verbotten. 

Meats of any kind---fresh or frozen---also are banned at many farmers markets, and processed and value-added products are strictly controlled, either by law or by that markets' bylaws. 

Then, too, there can be the question of which market you attend. Take the Lexington (KY) Farmer's market, which is held four days a week, at three different locations. The main market, on Saturday, appeals primarily to a foodie customer base. Tues. & Thurs. is a more ethnically diverse (and poorer) base. Sunday is more of a healthy-foods base. So, if you drew conclusions about Lexington by attending just one market, you could be seriously off.


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## cheri (Apr 5, 2006)

So whose DREAM acation would be to travel all across the US going to everyfood festival possibel, attending small flea markets and farmers markets? Am I the only one that dreamed of attending the fancy food show as a child, walking by Moscone center? I know I'm not the only one who knows crazy food facts and things about a country based on their food history, like the varied ways different ethnicities cook pig entrails or chitlins?:lol:


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## ninja_59 (May 2, 2004)

I,m pretty lucky here in Montreal, we have practically everything, very etchnic


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Schroomgirl, sounds to me like you're describing central markets rather than farmer's markets. Nothing wrong with central markets, so don't get me wrong. But farmer's markets are both defined and operated by some rather strict laws, and many of the things you describe are not allowed. In many venues, for instance, samples (other than whole items) are not permitted, and cooking demos are absolutely verbotten. 

Meats of any kind---fresh or frozen---also are banned at many farmers markets, and processed and value-added products are strictly controlled, either by law or by that markets' bylaws. 

Then, too, there can be the question of which market you attend. Take the Lexington (KY) Farmer's market, which is held four days a week, at three different locations. The main market, on Saturday, appeals primarily to a foodie customer base. Tues. & Thurs. is a more ethnically diverse (and poorer) base. Sunday is more of a healthy-foods base. So, if you drew conclusions about Lexington by attending just one market, you could be seriously off.

Until Last month I managed....co-founded, ran, etc a growers market in Clayton, Mo. Clayton Farmer's Market....middle of affluent STL.

Growers only, cooking demo everyweek with burners in the middle of the road, until last year raw milk, farm eggs, fresh meat (chickens) but mainly frozen, samples by farmers with a premit from the Health Dept....but I sampled out demo shtuff every week. At least 3 events a year....kids day, peach ice cream day and heirloom tomato fest......visiting chefs, lots of fresh prepared food.....
Omelet booth was run by Dietitic students from SLU....cooking in the middle of the street!!!!
I'm not sure what will come up but google Clayton Farmer's Market or Julie Ridlon and see if photos/stories show up.


Oh and i love Bardstown Farmer's Market in the parking lot....I was there one Spring with morels, stinging nettles, cheeses, spring veg....fun selection.


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Just curious: what is your source of this information?? And how recently is "recently"?

Sounds like *farmers' * markets I've seen in other localities, as well as in those in NYC that are run not by the city but by the Council on the Environment (a privately funded not-for-profit), or by the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation (a CDC).

But not at all; as you say yourself, rules vary.


And this is why writers like you need editors like me! :lol:


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## jayme (Sep 5, 2006)

Wow has this been good reading on this thread.... heck I can spend 1 1/2 hours in a typical grocery store...LOL Here in Sacramento, we have a large Russian population, so there are many markets that call themselves European Markets that sell russian foods, and we have many middle eastern markets also- there is one next door to my school- dried fruits, figs, tahini, lavoshe bread, etc... all kinds of interesting items! A big seller around here is wine- from both the Napa Valley as well as local vineyards... I guess that is the new trend now- outerlying areas are opening up new vineyards all the time. Amazing how big and yet how small the culinary world is......


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

>And this is why writers like you need editors like me! <

No, Suzanne, it's why writers like me marry copyeditors.  

Seriously, while it's hard to believe from that post (which, just to mitigate, was written coming down from 36 no-sleep hours), most editors will tell you I provide some of the cleanest copy they recieve. 

But I sat behind the editor's desk too many years to do otherwise.


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

Suzanne: 
Is this what you're asking about??


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Yup, that's what *KYH* is asking about, not me. Not my type of gizmo; I prefer a good knife.

KYH: you're not my husband! :look:

Are you? 

:lol:


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Talk about interesting grocery stores, Louisville KY has some really interesting co-op/more health centered grocery stores. I really like that little cosmopolitan town. 

Not been to Lexington.....sounds interesting.

My love affair with food stores goes back to childhood in Sacramento (yes it's a small small world) when we would shop at the produce stand, go to the Health food store, hit the winery, Raleigh's grocery and sometimes Cordi Bros, I can still recall going to a World Market type place for fun Japanese crackers and various other goodies. At 16 I was shopping in Memphis at the fish store, cheese shop, couple of bakeries, International store....and a cross section of groceries stores for various things they specialized in.....
At 19, my Mom took me to NYC for a week and said I could pick our agenda....chocolate shops....Krons, Tschelers (?), etc... Zabars, Balducci, Fairway etc....only at that time I didn't haul ice chests back and forth....there's only so much a non-foodie mom would put up with.

How about the rest of you, when did the passion for food hunts start in your world?

And I'm so glad you guys don't agressively edit my posts, grammer is not a strong point, neither is spelling and hopefully content makes up for all the horrible nails on the chalkboard typos.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Don't sweat the spelling and grammer, Shroomgirl. 

Look at my header, and look at Suzanne's, and you'll understand what's going on. 

And if not, the best way to comprehend it is with a riddle:

Why don't sharks attack editors?
Professional courtesy!

>Are you?  <

Not so's anyone would notice, Suzanne. 

But Friend Wife used to be a copyeditor, and I count on her a lot to check my spelling---cuz I'm the world's worst---a product of the New York school system when they tried to believe that English was a phonetic language, and actually taught spelling that way.

Uh, huh. And just how many ways can you spell the sound A, as in 8?


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

:lol:

All in good fun. Hey, if it all writers were perfect, I'd be out of work. 

Shroom -- and everyone else -- I would never edit your posts for spelling, grammar, or punctuation, for several reasons:
How you write your posts is what makes you YOU. And I don't want to change you one bit. 
I can't read your minds. Well, actually, I sort of can, but what if I'm wrong? 
There aren't enough hours in the day for me to do that, my own work, and take care of my household. :lol:
I look at posts with the view of "if I can sound it out and it makes sense that way, it's fine." Besides, some of the most knowledgeable posters here couldn't speel there weigh out of a papper bag. No way I'm going to touch their stuff. :look:


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

>if it all writers were perfect,<

You mean we're not? 
Sumofagun!


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

The grocery that blew me away is any of the Andronico's chain in Northern California. They are HUGE stores with a gigantic selection of gourmet everything and fantastic produce, wines, cheeses, meats, you name it. What's more, I thought the prices were quite reasonable.

My daughter's moved back east to Pittsburgh, so I can't visit her in Walnut Creek any more, and hang out at the WC Andronico's.  

Oh, well, she and her family are a lot closer.

Mike


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

That Walnut Creek-Berkley area has some really fine food stores....I wanna hit (is it?) salad bowl or some kinda bowl with a whole lotta varieties of produce, alot of articles on it last summer.....oooooo grocery shoppin' in Berkley......I remember when it was a big deal to hit Trader Joes, now we've got 5 in STL and each one is pretty special.

Ferry Plaza still has to be Mecca in my book......Frog Hollow risotto tarts still warm out of the oven, Happy Apple guy with dark choc satsumas, great preserves, fun shrooms, wonderful prepared foods, phenominal bakeries and that's just the farmers outside.....inside is Japanese teahouse, chocolate shops, shroom shop, Cowgirl Cremery, Olive oil Shops, equipment shops, possibly my fav fast food LULU's.....I wanna know how they get that DEEEP quiche to be that texture, several new places opened indoors that I've not experienced and so totally feel it's time to consider an visit out West this summer.


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

The grocery in Walnut Creek that really blew me away was Oakville Grocery (branch of a much smaller store in Oakville in the Napa Valley). I had been looking for Pomegranate Molasses, which earned me a lot of _really_ blank looks around the Chicago suburbs.
I walked into Oakville (my first visit) and found a clerk standing in front of a line of shelves. I asked if he had, by chance, any Pomegranate Molasses? He didn't even answer, or move. He turned slightly to his left , reached out with his left hand, and handed me a bottle of PM. I was deeply impressed, and returned every time we got to Walnut Creek to visit my daughter.

Once I said I would assemble a picnic brunch for us to take to a winery (Retzlaff, where I optioned my first case of investment wine) near the Altamont Pass. I went through Oakville and wound up with a $75 bill. It was a great picnic.
Great wine, too.

Couple years ago, Andronico's opened a big store in WC, and then Trader Joe's.

Oakville... shut down. 

Glad my daughter moved to Pittsburgh.

Mike


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

Tomorrow I'll be going to my favorite Italian market: Tenuta's in Kenosha, WI. Tenut's Deli 
My friends and I will dedicate at least one hour to browsing and buying. I'll have a cooler in my truck to store any perishables (Italian sausage, cheeses, prosciutto, etc. On my list: olive oil, pancetta, parmigiano. We'll see what else looks good!


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## suzanne (May 26, 2001)

Yeah, my northern California are all upset about Oakville closing (especially the supplier to whom they owed money!  )

And yes, Ferry Plaza is my idea of heaven. I thought the Santa Monica Farmers' Market was great -- but then I saw FP. Ooooooh. And even on a nonmarket day, the shops there are worth a visit on their own. But the special draw on farmers' market days is that my buddy Rancho Gordo is there with his beans and spices. 

Anybody have a suggestion of a neighborhood market or similar to visit next week in Chicago? Preferably reachable by CTA.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Are you going to IACP?


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## kay247 (Apr 11, 2007)

hi, i too would love shopping for ethnic foods and ingredients but have not got any where near by to visit, i make do by buying all my indian food and chinese food ingredients etc online from The Asian Cookshop they're great but i'd love to visit a shop like that in person to feel and smell the different food. I'm a big fan of sushi and that really has nt taken off yet in u.k that much!! Kay


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

hi Kay, where are you located?


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

My fondest memory of Walnut Creek (besides Oakville Grocery,) when we visited my daughter and her family, was the year-round Sunday Farmers' Market. Just marvelous fruits and vegetables, most of the year, and gourmet treats of all kinds. 

We were especially happy with a guy with a pickup who drove down from the southwest corner of Oregon. He filled the bed of his truck with ice and oysters, harvested the day before. Great stuff. Another brought salmon down from the Oregon coast, caught - he claimed - on Saturday and sold on Sunday. We tasted the salmon and believed him.

Since my daughter moved to Pittsburgh, we have to make do with the attractions of the Strip- the old market area with dozens of funky produce, meat, and ethnic stores as well as restaurants. It's a lot of fun, but it ain't California!

But, it's a lot closer. :bounce:

Mike


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I live near two Andronico's. They both are overpriced compared to other stores, sometimes by a wide margin. I shop there only in an emergency. As for size, they pale in comparison to Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, a couple of Albertson's, and so on. 

Their "selection" compared to what's available in other Berkeley stores is mostly limited to name brands, the deli products pale in comparison to a couple of the local delis in their own neighborhoods wrt taste, price, and quality of ingredients. Their cheese selection is nowhere near as good as that of smaller local stores, like the Pasta Shop or the Cheese Board. Their produce sections contain little in the way of organic produce. They sell their regular stuff at prices equal to or higher than other local organic produce, and their selection is almost non-existent compared to nearby Berkeley Bowl or Whole Foods.

I could go on, and detail some of thethings that really piss me off about them. The final straw was a few weeks ago when I needed a turkey thigh, and bought one from their poultry department. It was just a plain old turkey thigh, and I paid a relatively high price for it for the convenience. When I got it home I noticed that it contained a lot of back bone relative to the amount of thigh meat. $2.89 per pound for a piece of turkey back bone with some thigh attached. Imitation crab meat for $6.00 per pound while down the street a package of the same stuff sells for $2.00 per pound.

Andronico's? Feh!

Shel


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

You're probably thinking of Berkeley Bowl, the unequaled hands-down winner for produce in the area - both in terms of selection AND price. Come to the Gourmet Ghetto and see what food and food shopping can be.

Ferry Plaza is great - I love when the Frog Hollow guys are down there with their fresh picked a perfectly ripe peaches - GAWD!

Cowgirl Creamery makes some great cheeses. Sometimes we go up to Point Reyes Station and get the stuff at their factory store, where they sell some items not available elsewhere and can watch the cheese being made. There's a great little local cafe around the corner that has surprisngly decent food. Nice place for an inexpensive lunch or a filling breakfast.


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## abgstat (Apr 22, 2007)

This is great! There's actually normal people in the world, just like me!!  
I always say I'd rather shop for groceries than go to the mall! Down south I enjoy going to any store, just to poke around and see what they've got. Steen's and boiled peanuts are definitely not on the list of available items in Pennsylvania. In our town, our list is very short. 
Wegman's is about a 50 mile drive for me, so every now and then I coax my DH or DD into making a day trip with me. And I really can just shop all day.....I kinda get mesmorized walking up and down the aisles! 
I found a Trader Joe's in Indianapolis a few years ago, and then another in Tyson's Corner, MD. 
Delis in upstate NY....I'll stop every time to get a knish or pastrami sandwich.
My DD and I will be going to CA in July, specifically San Francisco, LA, San Diego and then to Rosarito, Mx, so feel free to shout out more good stores to stop at!

AB


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Shel, it is Berkley Bowl, thanks for clarifying. I've not been but had read some articles on it. 
If you are at Ferry Plaza stop in and see Dr. Art Lang aka happy apple man who has the most incredible dried satsumas and hidden beneath the counter are dk choc covered dried satsumas....Now my friend that is special. forget Scharffenberger and the other chocolate palaces inside FP, step out back.
I could spend hours and hours poking through the market, chatting with everyone, shopping to schlep across the country foods that are special to that area. I still have lavender honey from a couple of years ago.

Years ago there was a wonderful shop I wanna say in Walnut Grove that had heirloom beans prior to them being popular (about 20 years ago) they also had the fruitiest green olive oil that was so memorable. For years there was mailorder but they stopped shipping I believe. Any guesses as to the name of the shop?

There's a fillo dough shop in SF that is one of the only ones around that makes fillo by hand...oh man. when I was 16 they offered me an apprenticeship and I turned it down to do stupid teenager shtuff probably. Anyway it's family owned and very great. They do not ship their dough.

I've not been to Pt Reyes but it sounds like my kinda place. There's one cheese maker that names her cheeses after music.....it's also on my explore list.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

I gave up on S'berger a long time ago. They've always been no more than an average chocolateier, IMO, and since they were taken over by Hershey's, well, there's just no reason to give them my $$ any more.

AS for olive oil, there are so many places in CA making good, fruity green olive oil it would be hard to know just which one you're referemcing.

Not Pt. Reyes, Pt Reyes Station. two very different places, but each with it's own charm and interests.

For a real cheese treat, you've got to check out the Cheese Board in Berkeley, across the street from Chez Panise. Probably the best, most fully stocked cheese shop in the area, although there are some places, like the Pasta Shop, that may have some more interesting cheeses at times.

The thing about the Gourmet Ghetto is that there's little or no need to ever go into a regular supermarket. You can shop in specialty shops all day long. Apart for some staples, like milk or ketchup, I rarely shop at typical supermarkets, unless you include Whole Foods as a typical supermarket. And even there I limit my purchases to just a few items.

Come to Berkeley, bring your shopping basket, and we'll cruise the Ghetto ... La Farine for brioch and their wonderful rustic loaf, Acme Baking, Semifreddi, and the Cheese Board for wonderful, fresh from the oven sourdogh baguettes, AG Ferrari for some amazing Italian products, including some of the most amazingly delicious DOP San Marzano tomatoes, Berkeley Bowl and Monterey Market for produce, Magnani Poultry - you want birds, they got birds! - a couple of Halal markets, Tokyo Fish market for your sashimi grade fish ... and so much more. It's paradise for foodies.

Shel

Shel


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

Come to Berkeley, bring your shopping basket, and we'll cruise the Ghetto

Now that sounds wonderful, thank you for the offer.....I have a VERY big basket Shel and have been known to stop at farmers markets too. 

The store in Walnut Grove area had wooden floors and was a delight. I've had numerous olive oils since but none so vibrant green nor fruity.


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## slo_ted (Sep 8, 2006)

Just returned from a trip to Austin, TX. Naturally we had to spend some time at Central Market and enjoy their huge selection of every food imaginable as well as their awsome selection of prepared food. Another day we spent the entire afternoon in the new flagship store for 
Whole Foods located at their HQ bldg--5th and Lamar. Shopping there was a treat, and dining from their food court was spectacular! I would love to have either one of these stores within reach here on the Central California coast.


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Indeed! A good friend comes in to the Bay Area from Kansas every now and then, and off we go ..it's amazing how much stuff she takes back to Dorothyville. We spend an entire day at her favorite chocolate shops and Ferry Plaza, and at various stores in the Gourmet Ghetto. There have been times she's scheduled her flights to coincide when the rustic baguettes come out of the oven at La Farine, one of the great bakeries in the area.

I've brought home cases of BBQ sauce (before internet ordering) from Arthur Bryant's and Gates in KC, or a gross of bagels from my favorite bagel bakery in NYC.

Shel


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

She has got her priorities in line.....
tartine's breads are also a delight as are most of the bakeries at Ferry Plaza/market.
I too bought bagels (never a gross at one time) but discovered a decent recipe and make them when I'm jonsing for some great ones.
Pistachios from Iran, Bissingers chocolate covered raspberries showed up at my door in DeRidder, La. the end of July 100*+ weather ditto humidity.....
we used to buy gallons of real syrup from Bascoms 25 years ago before syrup became a grocery store commodity. You should see what I bring back from New Orleans, ok....NYC too oh and Santa Fe, San Francisco...ok ok my name is Julie and I am addicted to shopping for fun cool food products whereever I might be....if there are farmers markets within 100 miles I'm there. Dairies, U pickem farms, roadside stands, bakeries, diners.....
I pull over to go through interesting ethnic grocery stores and am not adverse to buying bizarro products just to see what they are like. Last week I talked a Mexican store into finding a translator into giving me a store tour with one of the cooks.....I'm fast talking a Pho shop chef into giving a tour of a neighborhood Asian grocery and giving a class on it.  Boredom is rare in my world.....too much to explore, too many things to try.....
Seems like there are jobs for foragers...


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