Saunder's Cheese Market. I love this place. I love the beautiful woman who seems to always be working when I come in. Yesterday, she remembered that I was on a raw sheep's milk cheese kick. I love that she wouldn't dream of selling you cheese without offering you a sample, and that she understands the beauty of really good cheese. I love that she recently described a lovely semi-soft goat's milk cheese as "my crack cocaine." That's how I feel about cheese. I love their cheese boards, and that they let you bring in a bottle of wine from Vino's next door. I even love the look of the store: crisp, clean design, completely functional and completely keeping with their older building.
Bollywood. I love this place, too. Sure, the front half is a particular skeezy Quik-E mart on yet to be gentrified section of Sprague, and only the back (and to the left) couple of aisles are devoted to Indian food. But, come on, we have our own Indian food store! Between Bollywood and the bulk spice rack of Huckleberry's, real curry is within easy reach. I mean the kind you roast and mix and grind yourself. And about ten different kinds of dal. And frozen curry leaves! Spokane does not have a great Indian restaurant. It doesn't even have a good Indian restuarant. It has an "okay if you haven't really eaten Indian food before" restaurant. (I would say the same about our Thai selections). But with Bollywood and a good cookbook, outstanding Indian food is within reach. I strongly recommend the following cookbooks: Mangoes and Curry Leaves, by Alford and Duguid, the lovely people who brought us Hot, Sour Salty, Sweet, and Indian Cooking by Marhur Jaffrey. And, you can get a wonderful Bollywood video to accompany your meal!
Cassano's Italian Food. When I was in Italy (and, no, I won't stop talking about Italy for a while), I learned some stuff about pasta. We can't make it here in America. Not really. Maybe it's the wheat, or the water, or the type of press they use, but al dente there means this amazing chewiness, combined with a porous texture that has an incredible ability to hold onto sauce. For American pasta, al dente means kinda hard in the middle. But Casello's sells imported pasta that allows us to come pretty close to what real pasta should taste like. So does Rocket Market, by the way. Casello's also has truffle oil, a lot of balsamic, and a nice selection of cured meats. They do not, alas, sell Bresaola, but I will try not to hold that against them. Much.
DeLeon's Mexican food. I have to confess, I don't get here much, since it's north and I'm not. And, honestly, I'm not much of a Mexican cook. But, I do know that their fresh tortillas are superb, and that without them, my enchiladas are always disappointing. And I know that this is the place to get Latin ingredients that can be hard to find elsewhere. Maybe I'll go on a Mexican cooking adventure just so I can do this place justice.
Egger's Meats. Every good cook needs a good butcher. Except for vegetarian cooks. I suppose. See the name of the blog. The nice men at Egger's will, on request, cut you a pork chop of Fred Flintstone proportions. They are the most likely place in town to have lamb shoulder (although I've learned to call ahead before I get my heart set on lamb curry). They have the most delicious smoked turkey breast that they will slice thin for sandwiches. They have duck, ground veal, and perhaps most importantly, they have bones. Can't make stock without bones. In short, this place is essential.
Rocket Market. This place has really turned into a foodie dream -- they do a lot of things well. They sell locally farmed produce, and have a nice little grocery section, with a fantastic selection of balsamic and olive oil, including my favorite, Columela from Spain. Their deli serves pretty consistently tasty, healthy food, and some of their soups are great. I had a tomato, arugula and goat cheese penne there last week which was rich, fresh, and complex all at the same time -- not bad for a three dollar lunch for the lazy! And the wine . . . They have a great selection, and Carl Carlsteen personally tastes, selects, and then writes up tags for each wine there. Sure, every one of his tags tends towards the hyperbolic, but you can read past that for a solid description of the flavor. Oh, and Jeremy wouldn't let me forget it if I didn't mention their selection of cakes; he is particularly fond of Frey's Paris cake, on sale there.
Super 1. A surprise entry, I know, but did you know they make and smoke their own sausage? At least the one on the corner of 29th and Grand has a great meat department for when you can't make it to (or can't afford it at) Eggers, and they have the best smoked sausages for grilling I've had. I particularly like the Hot Beer sausage. I've never heard of these before; perhaps they are a mid-West thing? The beautiful creation of a local genius? Is there beer in the sausage, or is it just that they go well with beer? Because they do.
You may notice Huckleberry's is not on my list. I used to go there a lot, and I still go there for their bulk spices and takeout sushi, but for the most part, I'm over them. They are high priced, and there is nothing there I can't get somewhere else, either better, cheaper, or at least with a sense that I'm supporting a local small business instead of a big local business. Not that I have anything against Rosauer's (they own both Huckleberry's and Super 1). They seem to treat their employees well, they are big donors to Gonzaga, and I'm considering writing an ode to their deli fried chicken. But they get enough of my money without me supporting their high seeming mark-ups.
So, guys, what have I missed?
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