The Gift of Food: Online Xmas Ordering

Eat This Gift: Online Holiday Food Ordering

A few years ago, my father (long retired and living in Florida) made a simple holiday request/demand: "don't send me any damn thing I can't eat."

I think this is a a very good rule. Most of us have too much stuff anyway, and the last thing we need to get is some over-priced holiday gift that we smile at once and then cavalierly consign to eternal storage in the style of lesser Charles Foster Kanes.

Food (even if somewhat over-priced) is a sensible gift -- the liklihood is high that it will be used.

Money magazine has a story running right now about online ordering, and it contains some helpful and interesting links to an array of admittedly higher-end food gift options:http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/02/pf/goodlife/mail_order_food/index.htm

I've also been pretty happy with cheeses I've sent through igourmet at http://igourmet.com/ -- and so has my old man.

Hammond

Friends of mine are getting estate-bottled olive oil and Cabernet Sauvignon Balsamic Vinegar from a tiny winery I visited in Napa last summer :

http://vincentarroyowinery.com/

The web site doesn't even mention that they have a small olive grove and make the oil only from their own olives, or that they make their own balsamic vinegars from their own wines, but I imagine if you call Vince he'll tell you about it. Most intense olive oiil I've ever tried - definitely only for dipping, the nuances would be lost in cooking.

nr706 wrote:Friends of mine are getting estate-bottled olive oil and Cabernet Sauvignon Balsamic Vinegar from a tiny winery I visited in Napa last summer :

http://vincentarroyowinery.com/

The web site doesn't even mention that they have a small olive grove and make the oil only from their own olives, or that they make their own balsamic vinegars from their own wines, but I imagine if you call Vince he'll tell you about it. Most intense olive oiil I've ever tried - definitely only for dipping, the nuances would be lost in cooking.

NR706, I just shot Vince an email and will post when I find out more about olive oil.

Another place I like to order from is Penzey's -- I've sent spice collections to just about every one of my relatives at one point or another. You can find out more at http://www.penzeys.com/

Hammond

Did I read somewhere that Tom Erd's wife is a former Penzey? Tom Erd runs The Spice House on Central in Evanston and on Wells St. in Old Town.

nr706 wrote:Did I read somewhere that Tom Erd's wife is a former Penzey? Tom Erd runs The Spice House on Central in Evanston and on Wells St. in Old Town.

NR706,

There is a familial connection between the Spice House and Penzey's, though I believe their businesses are totally distinct and they carry different spices.

Hammond

Hi,

Patti Penzey Erd of Spice House is related to Penzey's. I believe she is the sister of the current owner, I believe before it was their parent's business. They are separate businesses in the same field.

Patti and her husband own and manage The Spice House together.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Patti Penzey Erd of Spice House is related to Penzey's. I believe she is the sister of the current owner, I believe before it was their parent's business. They are separate businesses in the same field.

Patti and her husband own and manage The Spice House together.

Yeah, patti is brother to the penzey's owner. Tom and Patti manage the store her parents founded in milwaukee, and they've opened up two other locations, in evanston and old town. I believe they're looking for other spaces as well, as business seems to be boming.

A good friend of mine does frequent work for them, including managing their website and creating their catalogs, so I had the pleasant opportunity to meat tom and patti at a labor day party this year.

The best story they offered was the thousands of dollars in vanilla beans Trio would order each month, always a specific variety and a specific length. The beans went largely to be glorified skewers for the tempura dish. Eventually they told Trio that the restaurant would have to go directly to Tom and Patti's upstream supplier, since they couldn't afford to tie up so much of their money in those beans.

-ed

gleam wrote:The beans went largely to be glorified skewers for the tempura dish.

Ed,

Speaking of Trio's, or at least the past incarnation of Trio, vanilla bean skewer.



Enjoy,
Gary