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HistoricFoodie
Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4940 |
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Posted: 25 February 2013 at 11:41 |
Ron's recent discussion about IHerbs (http://www.foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/iherbcom_topic3249.html#22121) got me to thinking how we all have mentioned, at one time or another, how anything is available on the internet. That's certainly true. But there are companies, and their are companies.
So I thought it might be nice to keep a running list of places that provide hard-to-find ingredients, and which have shown good customer service.
I'm defining "hard-to-find" both ways; that is, they truly are hard to find products, or they are just hard to obtain where you live.
I'll start the list, and hopefully other members will add to it.
Although I haven't used it, IHerb (www.IHerb.com) is a good place to start. It's actually a full-service grocery store, so you can use it not only for herbs and spices but for other ingredients as well. According to Ron, customer service is 5 stars.
Penzy's (www.penzeys.com) is talked about on virtually every food list. Sooner or later somebody posts that they're looking for something, and somebody else immediately responds that Penzy's has it. Surprisingly, I have never bought anything from them, either from their stores or on-line. So will depend on somebody else for a customer service rating.
Kalustyans (www.kalustyans.com). In New York, Kalustyans is the go-to store for herbs, spices, and rare ingredients. Their bricks and mortar location actually stocks even more than they offer on-line. And that's a pretty extensive line. I give them 4 stars for customer service.
The Spanish Table (www.thespanishtable.com). For Iberian goods it's hard to beat The Spanish Table. Granted, their selection isn't as broad as it could be. But they do have some things unavailable elsewhere. Customer service rating: 5 stars. La Tienda is also good for Spanish products, particular things like hams and specialty items. I haven't actually ordered from them, so have no customer service rating.
Vanilla Saffron Imports (saffron@saffron.com). This relatively unknown San Francisco company is, imo, the only place to shop for these ingredients. Their products are the highest quality (their saffron, for instance, is Iranian---considered the world's best---and exceeds the ISO standards) available, and their prices nothing short of incredible. Customer service level is 5 stars.
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TasunkaWitko
Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9356 |
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Taylor's Market (http://taylorsmarket.com/) treated me really good when I recently ordered some Basque marinade; as an aside, both varieties (one for fish and one for meat) are very good and worth a try - type "basque sauce" in their search bar, and you will see the first two results.
www.LaTienda.com is definitely to be mentioned as a source for Iberian products as well, and deserves a spot here on this list.
www.Amazon.com is another source that I often use; I usually get good prices by getting the conulting list of sources that sell the product through Amazon, and shipping is usually fair - having said that, sometimes I am unable to find things, or they are more expensive than through other sources. This is what led me to discover Taylor's Market and iHerb.
Speaking of iHerb, I do want to pass this savings along - iHerb gave me a promotional coupon code to pass along to any new customer, along with this explanation:
Feel free to use it ~ they seem to be good people.
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Margi Cintrano
Master Chef Joined: 03 February 2012 Location: Spain Status: Offline Points: 6357 |
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ITALIAN IMPORTS TO SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA:
www.specialtyproduce.com ( located in San Diego ) ... I cannot rate, as I do not reside in USA
FROM SPAIN:
www.latienda.com ( Spanish ) = 5 stars in Customer Service; just ask Ron; their Spanish headquarters ship throughout Europe and they are wonderful here too
WORLDWIDE:
www.amazon.com ( 5 stars for shipping from the USA to SPAIN OR ITALY )
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Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina.
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Hoser
Admin Group Joined: 06 February 2010 Location: Cumberland, RI Status: Offline Points: 3454 |
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Here are a few sites that I use on a regular basis....nobody gets on m,y list without stellar customer service.
For general kitchen supplies, pot and pans etc. http://www.fantes.com/ My favorite olive oil ever... http://www.oliocarli.com/us/ Home canning needs... http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/home/1.php Herns and spices... http://mountainroseherbs.com/index2.html Thai and Asian ingredients... http://importfood.com/ |
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Go ahead...play with your food!
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