Surprisingly often, I am asked where I find a specific ingredient, or where I find all the finishing touches on my treats, sweets and desserts. While 90% of my ingredients can be sourced at plain ol’ grocery shops (I am a fan of Trader Joes , but obviously shop at “normal” grocery stores as well), these are the places where I find some of the “less readily available things”. Most have shops here in the greater Boston area, but some are online ordering as well.
– Formaggio Kitchen, Cambridge, MA: Cheeses galore, oil, condiments and rare baking supplies. Also, Julia Child loved this place.
– Stonewall Kitchen, Wells, ME: Jams, Jellies, Sauces and all those little finishing touches
– Pappadelle’s Pasta, Seattle, WA: love the unique pasta flavors and shapes!
– Fancy Flours, Bozeman, MT: If you’ve ever wondered where I get the final touches for my sweets, it’s from here.
– O&Co, Boston, MA: Best Olive Oil that I have ever tried, particularly the basil infused one
– Savenor’s Market and Butcher Shop, Boston and Cambridge, MA: Some of the best cuts of meat and specialty meats around. Another one of Julia’s places.
– King Arthur Baking Company: Best baking products on earth and an amazingly cool company as well! Their classes in Norwich VT are worth the drive too!
– Burlap & Barrel: Perhaps the best places to find single-origin spices on the internet. Fresh, flavorful and ethically sourced. I simply love this company!
– Shubie’s Market, Marblehead: Shubies is my go-to place for well sourced wines, ciders, and beers, as well as artisan cheeses, locally-made snacks and unique kitchen products. And it’s a good excuse to go to Marblehead, one of my favorite towns in the world
– Sur la Table: I’ve always prefered Sur la Table over other kitchen shops, and became completely biased to this whilst living in Kirkland, WA, only a fe hundred feet from their flagship store. Now I order their stuff online, but they are still nevertheless a great retailer.
– Anthropologie: OK, so Anthropologie isn’t really a kitchen store, but their seletion of dishes, cermaic cookware and best of all, their kitchen linens (dishtowels, aprons, napkins) are phenomenal, particularly for holiday plating (and photography)!
– Eataly, Boston: If I want to splurge on Italian cheeses, meats, high end ingredients and even fresh pasta, I go to the Prudential Center and shop until my budget fails me at Eataly (There is also one in Munich, which is equally as addictive).
– Food52: Amazing foodie community and a beautiful shop where I covet many expensive things!