Food, Drink shopping in North America
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A
South End Formaggio
Weave your way through this tiny store – past the shelves piled high with dry goods, past the eclectic selection of wines. Way in the back, you’ll find what you’re looking for: the cheese. The smallish case is virtually overflowing with artisanal cheeses: hard cheeses, soft cheeses, pungent cheeses, mild cheeses, spreadable cheeses, shredded cheeses. To really get to know your cheeses, join the cheesemongers for a Sunday-night wine and cheese pairing (per person $35).
reviewed
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B
A&P Market
Smack in the heart of the French Quarter, this is an economic alternative to the 'minibars' that commit hotel-room robbery in so many accommodations around town. A&P is convenient for cold beer, bottled water and snacks along with various sundry items. Best of all, it's open 23 hours a day (closing at 03:00 for just an hour of cleaning and restocking). A&P is also a fine place to go to stock up on Cajun spices and pepper sauces at lower prices than those at the Farmer's Market.
reviewed
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C
Aunty Lilikoi Passion Fruit Products
This mom-and-pop shop run by Tony and Lori Cardenas concocts the gamut of delectable passion-fruit jellies and other condiments, including prize-winning liliko'i-wasabi mustard. The liliko'i is the same variety you see growing wild on Kaua'i (with yellow skin and seedy orange pulp), but a pure fruit puree imported from Ecuador is used because locally grown fruit isn't available in such quantity or quality yet.
reviewed
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D
Cardullo’s Gourmet Shop
We’ve never seen so many goodies packed into such a small space. You’ll find every sort of imported edible your heart desires, from caviar to chocolate. The excellent selection of New England products is a good source for souvenirs. Cardullo’s crunchiest gourmet ‘treat’ is flavored edible bugs – that’s right, crickets, scorpions and ants, organically grown and charmingly packaged. That’s got to be a good source of protein.
reviewed
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E
Fruitlandia
Bring home some fresh traditional sweets such as ground, sweetened semilla de calabaza (squash seeds), tamarindo con chile (tamarind paste with chile), pepitorias (brittle sesame and peanut bars), candied limes, jamoncillo (milk fudge) and chilacayote (candied squash). Be sure to try the bright green biznaga (candied cactus), a local specialty.
reviewed
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F
Two Ladies Kitchen
For a delicious island take on traditional Japanese mochi (sweet rice dessert) and manju (baked adzuki bean-filled cake), stop at Two Ladies Kitchen. Tempting, beautifully packaged mixed boxes allow for sampling (with flavors like peach and passion fruit), but whatever you do don't pass on the specialty, strawberry mochi. This handmade delight is a prize possession.
reviewed
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G
Sip
This place hopped from the git-go, and hasn't stopped since. The wine selection includes many fine and economical choices, and you can just stop in for a glass.
But the real draw is the pleasant atmosphere. Neighbors seem to be in the habit of dropping by to say hello to the friendly proprietors. Friday nights are really alright when Sip has free wine tastings (starting at 18:00).
reviewed
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H
Hilo Seeds & Snacks
A closet-sized shopfront, Hilo Seeds & Snacks contains an overwhelming variety of 'crack seed', that bizarre Chinese dried-fruit snack that some find addictive and others find - well, try some yourself. The friendly owner will explain the types: plums dried with salt, vinegar, sugar and more, some medicinal and others mild. Mango with li hing powder is a sweet choice.
reviewed
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I
Elizabeth & Vine
Step gingerly in this independently owned liquor store that lacks space but has excellent depth when it comes to wine selection. You can find anything from table plonk to around US$300 bottles from the world's best vintners. Check out the 'manager's choice' rack in the front that offers insider gems at bargain prices. Chilean and French wines are specialties.
reviewed
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J
Pacific Herb & Grocery
A good place to get a sense of Chinatown is along S Weller St. Apart from the many restaurants, there’s Pacific Herb & Grocery, where the herbal-medicine specialists can tell you all about the uses of different roots, bones, flowers and teas. The shop next door is a great place to buy tofu at low prices – you can even watch them make it on the premises.
reviewed
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K
Whistler Grocery Store
If your accommodation has kitchen facilities, you'll need a place to buy your pasta and veggies. Not much bigger than a large convenience store, this long-time Whistler shop has a surprising array of nosh, although the prices are not always great. Its location - in the heart of the village and next to the liquor store - is hard to beat.
reviewed
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55° Wine + Design
A wine shop extraordinaire. Bottles at the front are stacked in white mod fiberglass pods above handmade glassware and accessories. Knowledgeable staff handle the winetasting bar by the refrigerated wine cellar that stocks 2000 truly international wines. Prices are high, but every bottle gets its own pillowed bag for safe take-out.
reviewed
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Yat Tung Chow Noodle Factory
If you look inside one of the half-dozen noodle factories in Chinatown, you'll see clouds of white flour hanging in the air and thin sheets of dough running around rollers and coming out as noodles. One easy-to-find shop, Yat Tung Chow Noodle Factory, makes nine sizes of noodles, from skinny golden threads to fat udon.
reviewed
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N
Artisan Wine Shop
Reflecting BC's wine-producing provenance, this swanky store showcases the tipples of Mission Hill, one of the Okanagan's most celebrated producers. A minitheatre walks you through the process, a tasting bar serves those who like to try before buying and an impressive selection of vintages is offered for sale.
reviewed
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O
Shung Chong Yuein
Shung Chong Yuein sells delicious moon cakes, almond cookies and other tasty pastries at bargain prices. This is also the place to buy dried and sugared foods - everything from candied ginger and pineapple to candied squash and lotus root. Come early before the counters are emptied by loyal customers.
reviewed
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P
La Boutique del Café
Selling the aromatic gold of 2000 small-scale chiapeneco farmers, this friendly coffee exchange can make a killer cappuccino or send you packing with bags of heady organic ambrosia. Try the Café Mam (around $90 per kilo), produced by an indigenous cooperative in the remote Motozintla area.
reviewed
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Q
Galco's Soda Pop Stop
Nostalgia buffs go nuts at this little corner store stocked with a peerless selection of rare and old-time soda pops, from Boylan's root beer to Faygo's Rock & Rye Cola. If want your kids to know what junk food grandma used to love, check out the old-fashioned candy assortment.
reviewed
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R
Erewhon Natural Food Market
The 'mother' of all natural-food stores supplies organic, hormone-free and sustainable anything to a hyper-conscious crowd that includes a sizeable smattering of celebs. Vitamin-pill poppers comb through multiple aisles while deli dabblers enjoy healthy soups, wraps and salads.
reviewed
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S
Kauai Chocolate Company
Chocoholics, get your fix here. Signature treats include the Krabs (with caramel, pretzels and macs), luscious fudge, Piko Paint (edible body goo) and lots of sugar-free options. For massive decadence, buy Da Brick, a 16oz hunk of macadamia toffee, caramel, chocolate and more.
reviewed
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Madame Chocolat
Gold-leaf ceiling, marble counters, big chandelier – with its Louis XIV looks this chocolate boutique is truly fit for a king. Holding court is Madame herself, aka master chocolatier Hasty Khoei, who will tempt you with truffles, bonbons and chocolate-covered Cheerios.
reviewed
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Peppers of Key West
For a downright shopping party, you should bring your favorite six-pack with you into this store and settle in at the tasting bar, where the entertaining owners use double entendres to hawk seriously mouth-burning hot sauces like their own Right Wing Sauce (use Liberally).
reviewed
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Bottles & Bins
Vince Poma's liquor store is the peninsula's top spot to pick up wine and nonstandard beers - lots of Belgians and Pacific Northwest microbrews - and in the corner his spirited wife Karlen serves up her love-infused deli sandwiches from 10:30 to 15:00 weekdays.
reviewed
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W
Comparte's of California
Comparte's has supplied mouthwatering truffles, toffees and chocolates to Frank Sinatra, Nicole Kidman and other chocophiles for over half a century. Their specialty, though, is hand-dipped fruits – try the apricots drenched in rich dark chocolate.
reviewed
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Le Palais des Thés
If you consider fine tea one of life's great pleasures, you'll find kindred spirits at this exquisite boutique. Friendly staff will gladly help you find a new favorite from among the 250 varieties of quality teas, each with its own distinctive character.
reviewed
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Y
Dejon Delights
A shop in Fort Seward that turns out some of the best smoked salmon and halibut in Southeast. If camping at Portage Bay pick up a fillet of just-caught king salmon and grill it on your campfire to the view of mountainous Lynn Canal. That is Alaska.
reviewed
