Beanie
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Posts posted by Beanie
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Tree of Life and United Natural Foods are national distributors that carry many specialty products. I have a small shop in the Mohawk Valley and they both delivered to this rural location. Negotiating power will probably be zero, order minimums will likely be high, and most products will be available only by the case. Depending on the size of the store and sales volume, this may not be a problem. It was for me. I agree that the Fancy Food Show is a must. Some of the products will be available only thru distributors, but many vendors will ship directly to stores. Also, the Fancy Food Show runs a workshop on "how to start a specialty food business." With growing interest in buying local, I'd suggest tracking down locally or regionally produced items. If the store will be in NYS, check out the NYS Dept. of Ag and Markets "Pride of New York" web site, here, to search for local products.
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I love Giuliano Hazan's Classic Pasta Cookbook. (Yes, he's Marcella's son, and the recipes are similar to those in her Classic Italian Cookbook.) The book is an excellent primer on pasta shapes and their compatible sauces, though the book is not just for beginners. I've tried many recipes with great results. Check out the Amazon reviews.
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Rob,
The American Almond Products Co., pictured in Andie's post, has a retail line under the name Lovenbake. I saw it at the Fancy Food Show a few years ago.... really nice products. This might be something to carry in your store.
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Our middle school wants to buy a popcorn machine to use at school events and for rewards, ie "Popcorn Fridays" I don't know anything about popcorn makers. What does one look for in a popcorn machine? Have one you love? One you hate? Easy to use, quick turnaround, and easy to clean are key features.
No direct experience, but what about one of these? I've seen them being used at various types of public events. Maybe it could be customized with the school's logo.
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Just about 30 years ago, one of the factories I visited as part of the postgrad production engineering course I was on, made Ritz crackers (amongst other things).
Someone (might have been me) asked if any biscuits got broken and what happened to them.
We were told that the broken biscuits, together with any that were slightly over or under-baked, were ground up to crumbs and remixed into the dough. IIRC, something towards 10% of the dough might have been recycled or circulating load.
One thing that made the memory stick was the guide's claim that good crackers (or even biscuits) simply couldn't be made without adding back ground up biscuit crumbs. (Sorry, no idea how finely ground, but I'd guess pretty damn fine. Maybe like through a home flour mill?)
Anyone else ever heard anything like this?
Or do it?
I've heard of using old bread to make rye bread. Click here.
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Our wonderful hzrt8w has many great dishes (with pictures) where he has made the dish step-by-step --- all in a flat pan.
(They use to be listed in the topic section on top of these posts. Where are they now?
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I'm in the general vicinity of Saratoga Springs for the next five weeks; does anyone know where I can find bulk Valrhona? I need to get my hands on some Caraibe and cocoa powder.
Try Adventure in Food Trading. It's located in Menands, just north of Albany.
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Is there never any kosher butter? I didn't realize that butter couldn't be kosher, as may cookie recipes such as jewish shortbread do have butter in them.
Butter can be used, but dairy and meat can't be consumed in the same meal. Here's a primer on kosher dietary laws. Scroll down to the section on "General Rules."
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Trader Vic's still exists. In fact, a recently opened one in my area is pretty much right across the street from a PF Changs.
We went there out of morbid curiosity. I remember liking it when I was about 12, mostly for the atmosphere, but as an adult, I found it kind of insultingly expensive for mediocre, boring after a few bites food. The cocktails were the best thing about the place, and even then, ehh.
I went to Trader Vic's in the Plaza Hotel many years ago. Do the cocktails still have little umbrellas in them?
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Does anyone besides me have memories of the store before they moved to East 52nd Street? It was, as I recall, on Third Avenue and 33rd Street.
Correct. Here's the store's history. I recall a small store cluttered with utensils hanging from the ceiling. Fred Bridge dispensed valuable advice to customers he deemed *worthy*, i.e., serious about cooking. I was a poor student at the time, but he advised me to purchase a Sitram saute pan and Wusthof chef knife, both of which I continue to use on a regular basis and are as good as new.
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That's kinda sad, but inevitable. When I lived in NYC I spent more than a couple of afternoons strolling the aisles, and picked up my first piece of Paderno there. I hope they do well in their new spot...
And I bought my first piece of Sitram. Best cookware purchase I ever made.
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Thanks for the feed back. I've had a really good experience with vanilla beans from an ebay vendor and this looks like a great place to order saffron.
I've ordered from this company several times and love their saffron and vanilla (beans and extracts.) I also purchased a paella pan that I've enjoyed using (though I have no means of comparison since I've never used any other.) They usually send free samples too. Great company!
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I just received an email from Bridge Kitchenware announcing their move from NYC to East Hanover, NJ. There's an inventory sale from June 25th through July 3rd. Truly the end of an era.
From the email:
After 62 years in New York City Bridge Kitchenware is moving to New Jersey.Why leave NYC? “When my wife and I both work we only see our children for five minutes, and that’s no way to raise a family. It was really tough on them this past December. We are putting our family first and moving for a better quality of life for our kids,” explained Steven Bridge. “New Yorkers can still shop with us on-line and receive it the next day. For our customers outside of New Jersey there will be no sales tax, just shipping fees. We hope our customers will understand and support our decision.”
NYC STORE MOVING SALE:
We are currently running a moving sale in our NYC Store, and the pricing has been extended to our website as well. Shipping will be delayed, as our primary goal for the week of June 25th - July 3rd is to wait on customers in the store and lower our inventory prior to our move.
Orders accepted up until July 3rd will be shipped the following week. Orders placed from July 4 - July 15th will be shipped starting July 16th in the order they were received.
Store Hours:
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
through
Thursday, July 3, 2008
NYC Store Hours: Monday-Friday 9am-6pm;
Saturdays 10am-4:30pm; closed Sundays
East Hanover, NJ Store:
Bridge Kitchenware is creating a small store front showroom where they have their warehouse in East Hanover, NJ. “There are multiple rooms, which gives it the charm of my father’s old store of 52nd Street,” said Steven Bridge. “Our business plan will be to return to our grass roots of focusing on the professional chefs, as well as offering these items to the home chef. We will have many new products after we are settled, including a full line of Sambonet tabletop products from Italy." After we close the NYC store on July 3, we will have a "soft opening" in NJ starting Monday, July 28th with a Grand Opening sometime in September. Orders on-line will continually process as normal.
New Address: 49 Eagle Rock Avenue
East Hanover , NJ 07932
For directions please see our website.
Phone: We are still keeping our main
New York telephone number
(212) 688-4220 until December 2009.
Our local telephone number
is (973)240-7364
Hours: Monday-Friday 9:30AM-4:30PM ,
Saturdays 10AM - 1PM. Closed Sundays
(NOTE: Closed Saturdays mid-June through
Labor Day).
Website: www.bridgekitchenware.com
Note: Login as a user and receive better pricing, private sales and announcements.
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Update: last week I purchased 5 containers for the specific purpose of following up on my previous post. I purchased 2%, 0%, and "total" plain yogurt and two with the side packets of cherry -- all made in NY. I didn't try the lemon or honey yet. Without exception, all were excellent, thick, creamy, not grainy or watery. The cherries were a little too sweet for me, but I've never liked the fruit that comes with yogurt (though these were better than most brands.)
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It took long enough, but thanks to our own docsconz and his son, L.J. Sconzo, a new chapter of Slow Food has been founded in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. You can read about it here.
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The logistics are easier if you import from Greece to a NJ port and then distribute the product out. It's harder from upstate NY because it's just so far out - the infrastructure isn't good. In the metro area, trucks can piggyback their pickups. Upstate, you have to spend one day going out for product and that makes it harder.
Huh???
The transportation infrastructure in this part of the state is excellent (to the chagrin of many of us who hate truck traffic), which is why Fulton County, where Fage is located, has been very successful in attracting many new companies ... And just last week the Swiss company, Hero, broke ground on a multi-million dollar plant for Beechnut Foods in neighboring Montgomery County. Both counties are 5 minutes away from the NYS Thruway and centrally located to NYC, Boston, Canada and the midwest.Back on topic ... though I personally detected no difference in the local product, I plan to monitor it and will definitely contact the company if I find quality control to be an issue.
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My experience has been totally different. I bought a container of 2% plain that was manufactured in Johnstown and it was thick, creamy and delicious, exactly like the container from Greece that I bought a few weeks ago. It was not grainy or watery. I also bought a container of cherry that was made in Greece, but "distributed by FAGE USA, Johnstown,NY" (it was delicious.) My supermarket also had a cherry that was manufactured in Johnstown, but I didn't try it (yet.) I hope this transition/quality control issue gets resolved. I live near Johnstown and having FAGE move to this area is a great boon to the local economy.
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I loved creamright, sygyzy, but they have only real vanilla.
And thanks for suggesting ebay, Glori
Vanilla just gets "cooked" by the heat generated by the saponification process and it changes and loses a lot of its scent--vanillin holds up to the heat and ends up smelling really nice.
still looking...Zoe
Here you go. Google "vanillin for soap making" and you'll fine alot more.
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I don't think anyone at Applebee's or chili's has ever noticed me dunking my own tea bag into the hot water i paid for.
I have no problem with a customer using his/her own tea bag if the cup of hot water is paid for. I have a serious problem with a customer walking into my store, teabag in hand, taking a paper coffee cup from the self-serve station, asking me to fill it up with hot water and turning around to walk out without even asking if there's a charge, then ranting and raving when told it is not free. Believe it or not, this has happened. Never saw the customer before or after. Good thing.
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Sorry, no help from me but I'm interested in replies. I have a Jenn-Air range and can't unscrew the oven bulb (I can hardly reach it) or the grease trap jar.
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We also do non-organic breads, sweet goods, sandwiches and pizzas at our store ... they're hit by the hikes in non-O flour (almost 50 per cent) as well as dairy (western Canadian farmers are trying to catch up to the east), canola oil and eggs, not to mention the propane for the ovens.
Glad to see I'm not the only one noticing propane prices. I'm still in a state of shock from my last invoice, over $4.00/gallon (compared to 85 cents a few years ago.)
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Hi Annie,
Funny you should mention this. We've been freaking out too and have had to make changes. We deal with several suppliers and the wholesale price of flour -- organic and non-organic -- has doubled over the past year. There are also shortages, more out-of-stocks than usual. It's affected us in several ways:
(1) 25% increase in cost of bread delivered to our cafe from a local Italian bakery. We recently increased sandwich prices, so we'll have to "eat" the higher bread cost for awhile (no pun intended.)
(2) Our shop has a bulk baking section and we just discontinued carrying organic flour due to price increases. 50 lb. bags of organic artisan and whole wheat are running around $52 wholesale, up from $27 one year ago. My customers are more sensitive to price than the organic label, so I decided to substitute with non-organic flours. I substituted KA organic WW with Wheat Montana Prairie Gold. It's not organic, but is chemical and GMO-free and almost half the price.
(3) I supply ingredients to a farmer/friend of mine who bakes bread to sell at farmers markets. He uses KA Special bread flour. The supplier was totally out of stock last week and we spent Monday calling all distributors within 50 miles to get info on pricing and availability. Everyone was whining about flour prices. Luckily, our regular supplier got in a shipment from King Arthur on Monday, so we're all set for the next few weeks. The supplier told me there's a shortage of Gold Medal AP and limits are being placed on customers' orders.
So, tell your boss to relax. The only thing (s)he can do is raise prices, which everyone else is doing, make smaller loaves (see the shrinking mayonnaise jar thread), or use non-organic flour. Can you get locally produced/milled flour? If so, you can pitch the "local" theme rather than "organic." But if your customers demand organic, they will have to pay the price. Every product containing wheat is going up.
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A couple more companies to try for organic beet sugar: Danisco in Denmark and Sweden (product info here), and Suiker Unie in the Netherlands.
Thanks, and I shall check those out to see if they have any US distribution!
I'm really impressed with the lengths you're going to to get an organic sugar that tastes right. I guess you're going for a USDA label of 100% organic ingredients?I don't know if we are going to aim for 100% organic. It depends on whether we can find suitable organic stabilizers, or find ways to do without them. Right now, our best sorbets are dependent on citrus pectin, agar, or gellan, for which I haven't yet found certified organic substitutes. For ice creams and gelato, we've got some stuff that works without stabilizers, but there is still room for improvement.
Have you checked out this company for organic stabilizers? They provide excellent customer service and technical support as well as free samples. Check out their FAQ page here. They respond to email requests very quickly. Good luck.
Single deck commercial steam injection oven?
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
And for alot less, you can buy the Steamfast generator alone, a separate baking stone, and a lid. Drill a hole in the lid and there's your bread baker.