Favorite Sites for Food by Mail

[jaybee]

I discovered Chefshop.com some months ago and have enjoyed many fine products from them.  Their selection of olive oils and fig jams are great, as are many other specialty items from France and Italy.  They ship promptly, charge fair prices, give excellent customer service on the phone. Makes me wonder what other great places are out there I don't know about.  If this topic was covered already (which it undoubtedly was), just lead me to the thread.

[helenas]

actually it was covered twice, but i couldn't find the threads.

anyway i'll repeat my posting:

i shop at zingermans.com, tienda.com and chefshop.com on a regulat basis. All of them provide a great service.

I had a disastrous experience with farawayfoods.com though.

[thom]

You should definitely take a look at Esperya.com as well. It specialises in hard to source local Italian produce, from oil and meat to wine and virtually anything else you could name.

Its a professional site, and the fulfillment/delivery side is very dependable. More importantly, the passion and knowledge of the owners shines through. Could it be partly a slick marketing job? Maybe, but I always leave the site with a smile on my face...

[Rachel Perlow]

This topic is being moved to the Holidays Forum. It may not look like it to newbies, but mail order foods is how that forum got started. We need to change the description to indicate that.

BTW - as is obvious to many who've been around for a while, our favorite mail order food is crab, specifically from The Crab Broker.

[helenas]

Does anybody mail order artisanal pasta? What kinds?

[Liza]

I get wonderful artisanal pasta at Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market (in NYC). I did just order a chicken from Smart Chicken in Tecumseh Nebraska. Will report back on whether it's a good bird.

[helenas]

Yesterday i cooked the Green Lentils ( same as Le Puy, but grown in Idaho) i ordered from chefshop.com.

Really great stuff, not bland and hold their shape.

Anybody knows about where to get tarbais beans in US?

[helenas]

Just wanted to pop up my beloved subject; maybe new members would like to share

their favorites.

Also any opinion on Cucumber Vinegar?

[GordonCooks]

actually it was covered twice, but i couldn't find the threads.

anyway i'll repeat my posting:

i shop at zingermans.com, tienda.com and chefshop.com on a regulat basis. All of them provide a great service.

I had a disastrous experience with farawayfoods.com though.

Gourmet Online FoodStuffs, For those less fortunate (non NYC'ers)

in General Food Topics

[John Whiting]

Esperya do an excellent line of artisanal pastas, especially the bronze extruded sorts.

[Rachel Perlow]

Our own Fat Guy and Ellen Shapiro visited Bobolink Dairy & Bakeyard recently. It is dairy farm hoping to "become an important center for promoting grass-based, sustainable, profitable, family-sized dairy farming as an alternative to the industrial, confinement-based farms that typified the dairy industry in the late 20th Century" run by eGullet member, Curdnerd, aka Jonathan & Nina White.

They offer their cheese via mail order, farmers markets in NJ & NY and on Saturdays & Sundays at the farm.

Here is the thread from the NJ forum with lots of pictures Ellen took at the farm.

[ronnie_suburban]

What a trove of great info this thread is...thanks everyone for sharing.

I have a related question for which I could not find an answer when I searched the archives...does anyone here know of a tried and true source for mail order smoked brisket?

A friend sent me one from Nueske's back at Christmas time, and it was pretty good (albeit a little dry) but they no longer carry them. I've seen them offered on a bunch of web sites but a recommendation or guidance from a credible source would be much appreciated. I plan on attempting to make a couple later on this summer, but in the interim laziness abounds (along with some genuine time constraints).

Thanks,

=R=

[Chad]

Favorite on-line food source is Earthy Delights Earthy Delights. All sorts of nifty oils, mushrooms (fresh and dried), high end produce, hard-to-find herbs & spices, etc. Very cool.

Chad

[SG-]

HAs anyone tried this place for fresh seafood?

http://www.catalinaop.com/

[jpr54_]

I have ordered from many different websites with varying degrees of success-

one of my favorite places to order is www.outofaflower.com-

it has the best sorbets and icecreams.

joanne

[hotle]

dartagnan.com for mushrooms and duck products especially, but i just ordered quail the last time i shopped there, and they were excellent!

murrayscheese.com for just about anything cheesy. murray's is a cheese shop in manhattan (even though i'm in chicago!) with an excellent selection, including a great description of each cheese they're selling. they're also pretty good about substituting like-taste cheese if they're out of your order. both times i've ordered they've done that for me, with excellent results.

deananddeluca.com for spices, and i order oils and vinegars from there as well.

anyone know where to find a VERY large mortar/pestle online (similar to jamie oliver's)?

matt

[jpr54_]

dartagnan.com for mushrooms and duck products especially, but i just ordered quail the last time i shopped there, and they were excellent! 

murrayscheese.com for just about anything cheesy.  murray's is a cheese shop in manhattan (even though i'm in chicago!) with an excellent selection, including a great description of each cheese they're selling.  they're also pretty good about substituting like-taste cheese if they're out of your order.  both times i've ordered they've done that for me, with excellent results.

deananddeluca.com for spices, and i order oils and vinegars from there as well.

anyone know where to find a VERY large mortar/pestle online (similar to jamie oliver's)? 

matt

here in teaneck, new jersey in bergen county i can purchase d'artagnan products at whole foods or go into nyc-

i enjoy zabar's and fairway-

dean and deluca is better in person-

did u try gourmet garage-not sure if they have website?

joanne

[hotle]

joanne,

one of these days, we'll actually get a dean and delucca out here in the sticks (chicago). i've heard that they are a lot of fun. i'll do some looking for gourmet garage to see if they're in the 'e' world yet.

to those who recommended chefshop......just went there yesterday and bought some stuff. THANKS!

matt

[tsquare]

Another mail order source from the Pacific NW:

The Spanish Table, stores in Seattle, Berkeley, and Santa Fe mail orders:

http://www.tablespan.com/

[pixelchef]

anyone know where to find a VERY large mortar/pestle online (similar to jamie oliver's)?

Here ya go!

http://importfood.com/mortarpestle.html

[hotle]

just ordered it!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!

matt

[Busboy]

I got some extraordinary divers scallops and fresh Belons shipped for Thanksgiving one year from www.shop-maine.com. The site looks a little cheesy (you can also get paintings of lighthouses and cribbage boards), but the fresh seafood people take their work very seriously and ship some great stuff.

[Rachel Perlow]

Just out of curiousity, what is the shipping charge for that mortar & pestle? And, did you get the 8" like JO, or go for the 9" "(caution, very heavy!)"?

[hotle]

rachel,

ups ground for $7.95, and i went for the 8".

the one i've got right now is small (prob'ly 4"), and smooth.....almost like one of those old drugstore things. kinda the standard model sold in cookware stores, i guess. i've been looking around for one like this for a couple years, since i use the m/p to make almost all of my marinades and rubs.....and especially during the summer (grilling season) i use a LOT of those!

on another note - pertinent to this thread - i got my order from chefshop.com yesterday......olio verde, chili/garlic sauce, dark soy......all great. but, for some reason, my 17-year-old daughter couldn't understand the excitement i felt when i grabbed that can of salt-packed anchovies! go figure .......

matt

[snowangel]

but, for some reason, my 17-year-old daughter couldn't understand the excitement i felt when i grabbed that can of salt-packed anchovies!  go figure  .......

matt

Thump, thump goes my heart...I ran through 1 lb of salt-packed anchovies (weight before salt added) in 6 months. I need more, and will search locally tomorrow or order on-line. My kitchen feels as naked without them as if we were without the bazillion different mustards we usually have on hand.