Quality food shopping for the home cook?

[JPW]

Greetings all,

My first post on the DC board, so please allow me to introduce myself.

I'm Joe.

But seriously, came across the site from the Rick Bayless article in the post the other day. It's what I always dreamed of. Food, good food, is very important to me. I spent a fair amount of time in my youth working kitchen and bar (long enough ago that I tended bar for Todd English on martha's vineyard when he only had the original Olives and the pizza place). Since then, I've been a home cook and (when finances allow) restaurant junkie.

Been in DC (Silver Spring actually) for just over two years. Pocketbook and personal tastes tend to run more towards the mid-range good honest food than the elegant. However, I am saving up my pennies (OK dimes and quarters) for a dreamed of trips to Citronelle and Laboratorio de G. The Jaleos are by far the favorite local "everyday" type restaurants for my wife and me. Love the food at Zaytinya, but find the atmosphere a little too impersonal for my tastes (must say though that the design is beautiful, just not the type of atmosphere I personally find comfortable). We also enjoy Firefly greatly for slightly less frequent visitations. Spend most of the rest of our dollars in DC's super-abundant ethnic restaurants - for example -- T.H.A.I in Shirlington and Roger Miller in downtown SS.

My main question today is where to find the best ingredients for the home cook around DC. Where I grew up in Pittsburgh we have an area called the "Strip District" where many of the best local purveyors for restaurants are. They also all have retail outlets in the front. I've been to Eastern Market once or twice. Buy most other special things I need at Whole Foods in SS, which I find annoying -- prices can be somewhat ridiculous, cheese section big but I find the selection rather unispired, and the produce section STINKS.

Any ideas? Especially looking for a top notch butcher, green grocer, and bakery (boy do I miss the little place in Del Ray behind the Giant on Monroe that I went to all the time when I lived there). Tend to do mainly Mediterranean and a fair amount of Thai/Vietnamese with a little bit of "other" thrown in.

Sorry for the long post. Look forward to the responses.

[hjshorter]

Hi Joe.

There's a great little Thai market on Thayer Ave in downtown SS, also has a carryout which isn't bad.

For produce, if you're anywhere near Takoma Park, they have a good farmer's market. You may have better luck with produce at the Whole Foods in Rockville or Gaithersburg. Also worth the drive is the Freshfarm market at Dupont Circle on Sunday mornings.

Go to Wheaton and check out the Chinese and Kosher groceries there, like Han Ah Reum on Georgia Avenue, or come on over to Rockville and shop at Kam Sam or Maxim. Korean Korner, at the intersection of Randolph Road and Viers Mill Road, is worth a visit too.

Happy Hunting.

[Al_Dente]

Welcome to eGullet, Joe-- I think I've been to the strip district in Pittsburgh once, albeit briefly. I can't really think of something similar around here. You might try the DC Farmer's market off 6th and Florida NE. The have an excellent Italian store there at least.

I often find myself having to visit 2 or more grocery stores to get all I need to make any kind of involved meal. I live in Alexandria so it isn't too unusual for me to go to Sutton Place, Giant, and then maybe trek over to Arlington for Whole Foods. I have yet to get to that bakery you mention, but I know right were it is. Perhaps I'll give it a try this weekend.

I work in Silver Spring-- doesn't have a lot going for it shopping-wise, but there is a great little Italian deli on Colesville and (near) Georgia called Marco's, and you can head up into Wheaton for lots of Asian grocery stores.

Al

[JPW]

HJ,

I've seen the Thai place on Thayer, but have not yet stopped in. Will definately do so now on your rec. Will have to check out the Korean places when I have the need.

I've shopped a couple of times at the TP farmers' market and found some good stuff (my house is inside the Beltway just off of ColesvilleRd.) Does it shut down in the winter like most of the ones around DC?

[JPW]

I'm definitely a multi-store shopper. At its longest, my weekend shopping will be Trader Joe's in Bethesda (coffee, whole wheat tortillas and the like), Snider's on Georgia (generally like to support the little guy and they have a decent deli and Italian brands of canned tomatoes with lower salt than you can find in american brands), Whole Foods (butcher counter and other things I can't find elsewhere), and about once a month a trip over the river to Total Beverage in McLean for Troeg's Pale Ale and a case or two of wine!!

[vengroff]

Don't forget the impending arrival of Wegman's in this area. They are going to change the grocery landscape of the entire region.

[Malawry]

The Takoma market went year-round last year I think. Their off season starts this Sunday which will mean a shift in who vends there, and the market will be smaller until the season kicks off again in April 2004. Still, worth a visit for apples, winter squash, and the MUSHROOM LADY is coming back.

I just hit the Thai Market on Thayer the other day for pad thai noodles. I buy prepackaged stuff there...Thai curry pastes, noodles, fish sauce...but their fresh and frozen selections are lacking. Han Ah Reum in Wheaton on GA Ave is better for Asian goods in general and their fish department rocks.

I know what you mean about the Whole Paycheck-Silver Spring but it's most of what's available around here. (I live in Takoma just down the road from you.) I do buy a lot of my food at the mostly-vegetarian Takoma Park Silver Spring Coop on Ethan Allen Ave in Takoma. They have a good, intelligent cheese selection to offer and their produce is usually pretty good although not as diverse as the offerings at WF. They carry hot chiles and mesclun from Eco Farms which are a big favorite.

I pick up a lot of my specialty foods along Rockville Pike, believe it or not. Yekta Market sells less-expensive saffron and middle eastern goods like glaceed apricots and sumac. Katz's Kosher is worth hitting for the Sabra Salads hummus and the onion rye bread...their hamentashcen aren't bad and my folks always go by for corned beef and pastrami when they're in town. (You can get some of that stuff from the counter at the Parkway Deli on Grubb Road in Sil Spring btw.) Trader Joe's is good for all kinds of deals on gourmet provisions, especially $3/lb Plugra butter and cheaper goat cheese than most places carry. I also like the Lotte market (not as good as Han Ah Reum but it's right by Katz's and therefore convenient) for Asian foods.

You want a good bakery around here? I don't recommend the Woodmoor pastry shop for anything but the apple fritters (which are damn good actually, if you like that sort of thing). The TPSS coop carries Firehook, Marvelous Market, Uptown, and LBNY baked goods and breads along with Spring Mill Bread...the Spring Mill honey whole wheat is a gold standard in my house.

There are a lot of ethnic markets around Langley Park, clustered around the intersection of University Blvd and NH Ave. I've picked up Indian staples at a little market down the side street by Aldi's and the car wash on NH Ave. I've heard Americana Market along University has good supplies from around the world but have not yet gone there.

Hope this helps some. I've lived in Takoma for the past four years.

[hjshorter]

I just hit the Thai Market on Thayer the other day for pad thai noodles. I buy prepackaged stuff there...Thai curry pastes, noodles, fish sauce...but their fresh and frozen selections are lacking. Han Ah Reum in Wheaton on GA Ave is better for Asian goods in general and their fish department rocks.

What Malawry said. The fish counter at Han Ah Reum is excellent.

The Thai market has virtually no produce, but it's the only place where I can reliably get the right condiments, lime leaf, and holy basil that isn't slimy. Plus the owners know what I'm talking about WRT Thai ingredients - not always the case at the Chinese and Korean groceries.

[Malawry]

More thoughts:

I am very fond of Snider's and am pleased to hear from anybody who shops there. One of my friends ordered a bunch of their chubs for our semiweekly pre-farm-market breakfast a few weeks ago and they were fantastic...reminded me of childhood bat mitzvahs. I love their deli. Their homemade slaw and whitefish salad are great. And they sell BreadLine baguettes!

There is a Costco in Beltsville, MD just down the Beltway; sometimes I go there and to the My Organic Market (MOM) on Rhode Island Ave just down the road in College Park for supplies. When I need Ting soda and some Jamaican goodies I hit the Jamaican market on NH Ave in Langley Park. There's a little tienda near the bowling alley in downtown Sil Spring where I buy Ibarra chocolate, cajeta and other Hispanic specialties that I can't always find at Giant. (The Giant on Arliss Ave in Sil Spring has a large selection of ethnic foods, including less common produce, and is worth a visit.)

Santucci's deli in Four Corners will do if you are in a bind and must have some Italian ingredients pronto, but one of my L'academie classmates who lives nearby and is a Real Eye-talian New Yawker says Luigi's in Wheaton makes a much better sammich. (While you're in Wheaton getting an Italian sub you can hop over to Shalom Kosher in the next strip center over for the same hummus I just told you to buy at Katz's Kosher. Just don't carry the sub in the door with you.)

Edited December 4, 2003 by Malawry (log)

[JPW]

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys/gals.

I'll check some of these places out over the next couple of weeks and let you know what I think. The places along Rockville Pike are especially useful to me because I work in Rockville and can easily take 355 home and stop off at places.

I was really hoping that there would be a real butcher somewhere close by. I remember about a year ago reading in the Post (?) about a German guy somewhere way out in Fairfax/Loudon who has a shop where he makes his own sausages. At the worstI might have to hijack a shipment of the chorizo that Jaleo uses!!

My wife laughs at me because I generally hate shopping, but food shopping is one of my favorite parts of the week.

If you see a stocky balding blond guy wearing a big grin like a kid in a candy store at any of these places it's probably me!

[bilrus]

All this talk of the Thai market has me wondering if there is one in Northern VA. Silver Spring is the oterh end of the world coming from Loudon County. I'm really looking for fresh noodles, not the dried ones.

Any suggestions?

[hjshorter]

I was really hoping that there would be a real butcher somewhere close by. I remember about a year ago reading in the Post (?) about a German guy somewhere way out in Fairfax/Loudon who has a shop where he makes his own sausages. At the worstI might have to hijack a shipment of the chorizo that Jaleo uses!!

There really aren't any independent butchers in the SS/Rockville area. The butchers at the Kentlands Whole Foods (not Rockville) are very good, but if I want something special I go to Sutton Place in Bethesda. They have very good meat, good sausages, and the guys behind the counter are great. It's the only place where we can reliably get tasso, andouille, and smoked, not fresh, chorizo.

[Al_Dente]

I was really hoping that there would be a real butcher somewhere close by. I remember about a year ago reading in the Post (?) about a German guy somewhere way out in Fairfax/Loudon who has a shop where he makes his own sausages. At the worstI might have to hijack a shipment of the chorizo that Jaleo uses!!

There really aren't any independent butchers in the SS/Rockville area. The butchers at the Kentlands Whole Foods (not Rockville) are very good, but if I want something special I go to Sutton Place in Bethesda. They have very good meat, good sausages, and the guys behind the counter are great. It's the only place where we can reliably get tasso, andouille, and smoked, not fresh, chorizo.

I've never been, and I know it's a haul, but there is a butcher shop up near Ellicott City called Treuths:

http://www.jwtreuth.com/index2.html

[JPW]

Now that looks like a real butcher shop!!

From SS, I can get there faster than I can get to Alexandria.

I feel it calling my name. I can already smell some long braising top round. Not to mention a long simmering beef stock........

drooooooolll !!!!!

[Al_Dente]

Now that looks like a real butcher shop!!

From SS, I can get there faster than I can get to Alexandria.

I feel it calling my name. I can already smell some long braising top round. Not to mention a long simmering beef stock........

drooooooolll !!!!!

Plus, if you look at their wholesale page, you can purchase bull lips as bait for your crab pots!

[bilrus]

Plus, if you look at their wholesale page, you can purchase bull lips as bait for your crab pots!

drooooooolll !!!!!

[hannnah]

Plus, if you look at their wholesale page, you can purchase bull lips as bait for your crab pots! 

Mmmmm, bull lips.

More seriously, I have a meat fiend buddy who lives just outside Catonsville - I'll have to find out if he's tried it yet. If it's as good as it sounds like it might be, I suspect we'll be making regular trips.

[8Track]

The problem is that there is no really good one stop shop in D.C. I go different places for different things.

The butchers in Eastern Market are pretty good, and I get good steaks from Canales and Union Meat. Stay away from the fish monger there, however. To be honest, for quality veggies and organic products, I think Whole Foods can't be beat. Go to the branch in Georgetown if for no other reason than that it's easier to navigate. When I am on a splurge, Dean & Deluca in Georgetown can trim up a fabulous roast for you (and you'll pay for it).

I second the recommendation for Litteri's on Florida Ave., NE. It's got an excellent selection of Italian olive oils, wines and cheeses. Also, they make their own sausage there.

I cry at the complete loss of Chinatown downtown, because there used to be a couple of authentic markets where you could get all the necessities for Asian cooking. I'll have to check out some of the suburban places mentioned above.

[dcva]

Greetings all - I've been a lurker for some time, but this is my first post. Here's my two cents...For a good (if pricey) butcher not too far from SS, try Wagshal's on Mass. Ave., just south of the MD border. It's a small store, with some produce (generally pretty good quality), seafood, etc. In the same strip-mall is a Wagshal's deli that has great sandwiches.

-David M.

[pork]

I'll go ahead and weigh in that for NoVa people, there is a good fishmonger in Great Falls. Cannon Seafood. It's right on the corner by The Old Irish Brogue.

In searching for the name I also found a decent "how to find fresh fish in DC" article from the Washingtonian.

http://www.washingtonian.com/dining/freshfish.html

The author says he got a not-great piece of fish from Cannon, but it also says he bought a quarter pound of fish from each fishmonger. Who the hell buys four ounces of fish from a fishmonger? The fishmonger probably figured him for an idiot and gave him a less-good piece. (Kind of like T.B.'s explanation of chefs' "save for well done" policy.)

I have also had some good luck with the butcher at the 'gourmet' Giant in McLean. (There are two Giants in McLean, right across the street from each other. One ghetto, one gourmet. Odd.)

Edited December 5, 2003 by pork (log)

[hillvalley]

  To be honest, for quality veggies and organic products, I think Whole Foods can't be beat.  Go to the branch in Georgetown if for no other reason than that it's easier to navigate.  When I am on a splurge, Dean & Deluca in Georgetown can trim up a fabulous roast for you (and you'll pay for it).

I completely disagree with your statement regarding Whole Foods veggies. For supermarket veggies, they are good. But the quality of the veggies you find at our local farmers markets are amazing. Yes, they may not look perfect, but their taste more than makes up for it. Yes, you have to eat seasonally, but 100 years ago that what we did anyway. We are very lucky to have a number of markets (Takoma, Dupont, 36th & Alton) that are open year round, or close to it. What's more, Whole Foods is not very friendly to small, local farms.

I also recommend buying your eggs at farm markets. I never knew that eggs could be that shade of yellow without Martha Stewart around.

I would also like to add Vace in Bethesda and Clevland Park to the list for Italian products. While it is no Litteri's, they sell amazing fresh mozerrella an the pizza is delicious. Daruma, also in Bethesda, has a good variety of Japanese products, and is a good source for moochi (New Year's cakes). They carry some Thai products as well.

[hjshorter]

(hillvalley @ Dec 5 2003, 07:07 PM) I completely disagree with your statement regarding Whole Foods veggies. For supermarket veggies, they are good. But the quality of the veggies you find at our local farmers markets are amazing. Yes, they may not look perfect, but their taste more than makes up for it. Yes, you have to eat seasonally, but 100 years ago that what we did anyway. We are very lucky to have a number of markets (Takoma, Dupont, 36th & Alton) that are open year round, or close to it. What's more, Whole Foods is not very friendly to small, local farms.

Yes, but...

We have no farmer's market in Rockville in the winter, and I don't always feel like schlepping myself and one or two kids to DC to buy our fruit. The Whole Foods in Rockville and the one in Gaithersburg have great produce and very knowledgable people working the produce section. I can't even speak civilly about the quality of produce at our local Giant. It would be great to shop seasonally if there were a produce stand on every corner. When it involves driving 30-45 minutes, on top of the other shopping we need during the week, it's too much.

David M.: good call! I always forget about Wagshals now that I don't live in NW anymore.

[foodgeek]

I'm in Arlington...and shop at places like Whole foods (incl meat/fish), My Organic Market (Alexandria), Courthouse Farmers Market (Arlington, year round, great vendors like shenville creamery, landovel sorbet/goatcheese, maple syrup, veggies (in season), bakers, etc...)

When I used to spend more time in MD I used to shop at Yekta (Middle eastern grocery in Rockville), Trader Joes (Bethesda), Sutton/balduccis (Bethesda), The montgomery woman's coop (Bethesda), and the My Organic Market main location (in Rockville.) There is a great Korean market with a good fish dept across the street from MOM. MOM is a good alternative to wholefoods for healthfood store stuff...but they don't have meat/fish....and I never looked to closely at their fresh veggies.

I haven't gotten to the courthouse market ins several weeks between traveling and such...and am fiending for a visit...but I'm supposed to help my g/f sell her jewelry at a Holiday Bazaar tomorrow (today, since its past midnight) if we don't get snowed out.

[syzygy8]

I would also like to add Vace in Bethesda and Clevland Park to the list for Italian products. While it is no Litteri's, they sell amazing fresh mozerrella an the pizza is delicious.

I frequently buy the raw pizza dough at Vace in Cleveland Park. I really like it for home pizza. It's also convenient because it's right on the metro line (but in the opposite direction from my downtown job and apartment in Arlington.) Is there anywhere else that people know of that sell the dough like that? Back in my past life in NY you could get it at any supermarket. Not so here. I haven't been to Lettieris, but I presume they would have some.

[Malawry]

You can get pizza dough at Trader Joe's stores. I hear it's good. I usually just make my own though.