All Together Now - Brunch

 

If you look around Chicago, you will find many ethnic groceries with an attached cafe.  There are also many bottle shops where you can buy beer and wine that also have an attached bar, locally known as a slashie.  To a lesser extent, you can also find restaurants that also sell packaged foods (normally gourmet).  Last year, a place opened up in Ukrainian Village that was both a bottle shop/bar and a cafe/gourmet packaged goods store.  Called All Together Now (and originally Brothers & Sisters), it aims to fulfill many of your quick food and drink desires.  The front is a glass fronted storefront and walking in, the first thing that you will encounter is the Cheese and Cured Meat display counter.  There is a counter behind the cheese and meat display with a cash register on the left, where you place your order, and seating to the right for drinking and dining.  There is a beer refrigerator opposite the counter with a lot of local beers and wine shelves on either side of the beer refrigerator and around a pillar in the center of the room.  Aside from the counter seating, there are tables in the back, next to the beer and wine and a large communal table in the front, where we sat, that was made from a large log.

 

As I mentioned, you place your order at the cash register and pay up front.  You then find a seat with your beverage and your food is brought to you.  It was a warm day when we went, so I went with an iced coffee from Ruby Coffee Roasters.  It was a Central American blend with a medium roast and flavors of chocolate and citrus and a little inherent sweetness (I don't add cream or sugar to my coffee).  It was very good and I think I ended up having a couple of cups.  While I was waiting for my food, I decided to take a look at the cheese and saw something that excited me a lot.  When I was at a fine dining restaurant earlier this year, on their tasting menu one of the courses included a grilled cheese sandwich made with Tomme Cheese which was the best grilled cheese sandwich that I have ever had.  When I saw that All Together Now had Tomme Cheese in their display case, I had to try it again, so they cut me a small sample.  Tomme Cheese is a hard French Swiss-style Cheese made from Skim Milk.  It is light, but despite the lack of fat found in other cheeses, it does have a lot of flavor.  While this wasn't as good as the Grilled Cheese Sandwich (and Fermented Tomato Soup), it was good and brought my memory back to the sandwich.

 

Normally for brunches I will tend to order a sweet course and a savory course.  In this case, I actually ordered two savory courses, though admittedly the first did have some sweetness to it.  I had what was essentially an Open Faced Beet and Goat Cheese Sandwich that was a special.  It had Golden Beets, Heirloom Tomatoes, Chervil, Chevre, and Blue Cheese, on a thick slice of some very good Country Bread.  One of my friends dining with me had another Open Faced Sandwich.  This was Creamed Eggs over Toast with Pork Fat Collards, Pickled Pearl Onions, Lemon, and Aleppo Pepper.  It looked and tasted good, but I liked mine better.  Beets and Goat Cheese seems to be a natural pairing and this worked very well.  I liked the bitterness that the blue cheese added as well.  While I did try to eat this by hand, I quickly saw that that would not happen because everything would fall off the bread, so I enjoyed it with knife and fork.

My main course was a Breakfast Sandwich.  As with most breakfast sandwiches, it was built with an egg, meat, and cheese on an English Muffin.  For this one, the meat was Underground Meats Sorpressata, the cheese was Aged Cheddar, and it was finished with Fresno Chile Aioli on a Housemade English Muffin.  While fairly standard, the ingredients used were very good and resulted in a very good sandwich.  While All Together Now is very casual, the service and the food and drink that they both sell and serve are very good and it is a good option for a stop when I am in Ukrainian Village.  

Zingerman's Deli

Years ago when perusing cheese shops around Chicago, I started seeing cheese from a place in Michigan called Zingerman's.  After doing some studying, I found that they had started as a Jewish Deli that focused on the best local food that could be had.  This made them a little more expensive than you standard, but it also made them really good (and Popular).  Over the years, they developed a Creamery, a Bakery, A Candy Manufactory, a Coffee Roaster, a Mail Order Business, a Fish Store, and a sit down restaurant, in addition to the Delicatessan.  Their sit down restaurant, Zingerman's Roadhouse, won a James Beard Award a few years ago, showing that they are doing some really good work.  When I traveled to the area recently, visiting the Deli, the start of everything, was very high on my list.  Located in downtown Ann Arbor, it's easy to walk from from the train station.  The is located in the front of the deli and has an amazing selection of meats, cheeses, bread, coffee, and other specialty items.  There were many things that I was interested in, but as I was traveling by train and didn't have a way to refrigerate anything for the trip, my choices were limited and while I ended up trying a few things, I didn't buy anything.

 

As one might guess from their market selection, they also have an amazing deli selection.  While Zingerman's is ostensibly a Jewish Deli, they do also serve a variety of hams and bacons.  In addition to the Pastrami, Corned Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Fish, and other things, as well as a wide variety of salads.  They do not serve beer or liquor, but they have a variety of specialty soda's, in addition to Coffee, Tea, and Malteds.  I started things off with a Blenheim Ginger Ale, a Golden Ginger Ale that has a pronounced ginger flavor.  I much prefer the Golden Ginger Ales to the Dry (Canada Dry, Schweppes), but I prefer Vernor's to Blenheim.  For my sandwich, I decided to go with a specialty of Jewish Delis, the Reuben.  They had 6 different variations on the Reuben, I went with the S. Muno's Montreal Reuben with Wagshal's Smoked Brisket, Emmantal Swiss Cheese, Brinery Sauerkraut, and Russian Dressing on Grilled Rye Bread.  It was served with one of two Dill Pickles, New (Crunchy and Cucumbery) or Old (Garlic Cured).  I went with the New, which had a nice crisp crunch and a lot of flavor.  There was obviously a lot of dill flavorm but there was also a pretty good garlic flavor as well.  The sandwich was really good with a good crunch and flavor.  The brisket was tender and had a good smoked flavor, the sauerkraut was crisp and sour, and the Emmantal added some creamy bitterness.  On the side, I ordered Swiss Potato Salad with Redskin Potatoes, Neuske's Bacon, Switzerland Swiss Cheese, Sea Salt, Tellicherry Black Pepper, Scallions, Mayo, and Dijon Mustard.  I like potato salad, but this was a very good potato salad.

I really enjoyed my trip here and will definitely have to return when I return to the area.  While I could order food from them (I could order the ingredients for a sandwich and build it here), the place is very friendly and the selection they have is pretty incredible.

5411 Gourmet Empanadas

While the laws regulating food trucks in Chicago are cumbersome, there are several companies that have been successful enough to expand their enterprises into Brick and Mortar stores.  I first encountered 5411 Empanadas as a food truck and I really liked what they were doing.  Empanadas are the Hispanic version of Hand Pies or Pasties.  Crusty and savory pies that are eaten by hand and can be filled with a variety of things.   They are a very popular street food in Argentina.  I had first encountered the 5411 Empanadas truck a few years ago.  Last year, they opened up a brick and mortar store in Lakeview which I did not go to, but when they opened up a spot in Wicker Park, it became a must go to.  The space is a small storefront with a glass front with 5411 painted on one side of the window.  5411 is the dialing code for Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the owners are from.  The (Wicker Park) space is small, with seating for about 14 at tables by the windows and about 6 more seats at the bar.  The space looks like a coffee bar and while it does serve coffee, it also has a small selection of beers and wine.  Ordering is done at the counter with a large chalkboard listing what is available.  The food is brought to you and at the table or bar, there is a listing of what each empanada looks like.  This is very convenient because the empanadas are relatively small (about 4 or 5 bites), so several will generally be ordered.  If they didn't have crust differentiations, it would be a crap shoot for both the diner and the baker both.

I ordered 5 empanadas and one sauce.  The sauce was Chimichurri, the traditional Argentine sauce of  Herbs, Garlic, and Olive Oil.  It reminded me somewhat of a pesto and it served as a nice dipping sauce for the different empanadas.  All of the empanadas had a nicely browned crust that had some flakiness to it, but still held together when a bite was taken out of it and all of the fillings were very good and flavorful.  The empanadas also came out pretty hot.  While I did order multiple empanadas, I did eat them one at a time (from top to bottom and from left to right as they sat on the plate).  I didn't think about it at the time, but I also ate them from most to least vegetarian.  I started out with the Mushroom, Thyme, and Blue Cheese.  I then went to the Ratatouille, the Bacon, Date and Goat Cheese, the Chorizo with Patatas Bravas, and finished off with the Malbec Beef.  While they were all good and I liked them all, I think that I liked the Bacon, Date, and Goat Cheese best.  It was both sweet and savory and had a little gaminess from the goat cheese which added to the overall flavor.

After my empanadas, I decided I wanted some sweetness.  The store carries a few desserts including flan, cheesecake, and housemade Alfajores, a soft sandwich cookie that is covered in glazed sugar, or chocolate, and is very popular in Argentina.  I decided to stick with the Argentinian theme and got a couple of Alfajores, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  One was chocolate and one was glazed and filled with a pistachio filling.  They were light, sweet, and very good.

I already knew when I came to the store that I liked the empanadas from 5411.  I am glad to see that they are able to maintain it in their brick and mortar store.  They make some very good empanadas with a wide variety and I will definitely be back.

Hot Doug's

I have been to Hot Doug's many times and it is probably my favorite hot dog joint that I have ever been to.  I figured that since it has announced that it would be closing in October, I should come and actually write about it.  Located in Avondale, it is actually much more than your average hot dog stand, they bill themselves as an Encased Meat Emporium and Sausage Superstore.  While it does have the standards that you would find at your average hot dog stand, the Chicago Dog, Polish, Red Hot, Corn Dog, Brat, Thuringer, and Italian dogs, (named after celebrities) as well as fries and fountain drinks, the lines form, and there are very long lines, for the specials.  They have such things as Alligator Sausage with Cajun Shrimp Remoulade, Steak Au Poivre sausage with Four Roses Bourbon Mustard, Emmantal Cheese, and Crispy Fried Onions, and Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse, and Fleur de Sel.  If I'm going to talk about the restaurant, the first thing that I should talk about is talk about the line.  Part of the line is probably due to the fact that Hot Doug's is only open essentially for lunch (10:30 am to 4 pm) and it is only open when Doug Sohn, the owner/creator of Hot Doug's is there to run the cash register.  The place is small, seating maybe 40 people, it's open only for a limited time, and the hot dogs are really creative and good.  It's a perfect storm for creating a long line.  On the day that I went, it was the Friday before Memorial Day, a long weekend, when many people start there weekend early.  Add to that the fact that Doug had recently announced that he would be closing and that he said that he would be taking the next week off and the line was especially long.  Despite the long line, the people that join the line know ahead of time what they are getting into and are generally pretty good spirited about it.  Many people brought things to occupy there time in the line.  I had my Kindle as I saw other people have and other people had their smart phones and video games.  I talked with the people that I stood in line with and we ended up playing several rounds of Heads Up.  We waited in line for 3 hours which is exceptionally long and if I had know beforehand how long it would take, I may not have taken the plunge despite the fact that I got along well with the people with whom I was in line.  However, once I was committed to standing in line and had no plans for the rest of the day, I was not going to leave the line.  The interior of Hot Doug's is brightly colored and filled with pop culture and kitsch.  There is a counter along the front of the restaurant but most of the seating is with two tops along the wall and larger round tables in the center of the dining room.  After you place your order with Doug and pay, you are seated and your food is brought to you.  I sat at a round table with the three people that I had spent the last three hours with.

As I stood in line for three hours, I ended up ordering two specialty dogs and some Duck Fat Fries which are only offered on Friday and Saturday.  The duck fat fries are only offered in a large size and are amazing.  They are like the best fries, salty and crisp, with a soft interior.  I assume that the large size is because they are so popular that the smaller size was never ordered and people were just wolfing down the large size.

For the first of my specialty dogs, I ordered a Merguez Sausage with Halloumi Cheese and Harissa Sauce.  Merguez is a spicy lamb sausage that originated in North Africa.  Halloumi Cheese is an unripened semi-hard Cypriot cheese similar in texture to fresh mozzarella made with goat and/or sheep's milk and Harissa is a hot pepper sauce that originated in Tunisia.  Everything originated in the same region of the world so they went together well.  It was spicy, as I had expected it to be, but I also expected it to be fairly gamy as lamb generally is.  It did have a different and stronger flavor than pork or beef does, but it wasn't especially gamy and I did enjoy it.

The other sausage was definitely different.  It started with an Escargot and Guanciale Sausage (snail with pork jowl) to which was added Parsley-Garlic Goat Butter and Double Cream Brie Cheese.  The sausage was a combination I wouldn't have thought of putting together or would have guessed would work.  Escargot has an earthy and savory flavor but texturally, I don't know if it would hold a sausage together well.  I imagine that this is why the guanciale was used.  It has a baconish flavor that is both stronger in flavor and more delicate in texture than regular bacon (kind of similar to Prosciutto).  While the color of the sausage wasn't exceptionally appetizing with a grayish flavor which would have come from the escargot, it did taste very good with the escargot and guanciale complementing each other well..  Texturally, the sausage was pretty delicate but the garlic goat butter and the brie added some depth to it.  Having said that, I wasn't a huge fan of the how the brie went with the sausage.  I think that I would have the sausage again if it wasn't matched with the brie.

I enjoyed my trip to Hot Doug's.  The people were friendly, both the people that I met in line, Doug, and the employees, and the food was very creative and good.  I will probably visit at least a couple of times before it closes for good in October.  Hopefully, I won't have to deal with another 3 hour line.   

Bread & Wine - Brunch

I enjoy meeting friends for brunch and their are a lot of places in the city where to have brunch.  As the friends that I generally dine with think that I am an expert on good restaurants so they leave it to me to choose a nice place.  I like to bounce around and try different places in different neighborhoods so this month we went to Bread & Wine in Old Irving Park.  While it is located on Irving Park Road, it's a few blocks away from other restaurants in the neighborhoods.  It is located in a former laundromat so the building is a single floor with a front window wall and it's own parking lot, a rarity in the city.  The dining room has a very open floor plan with tables on the right side of the dining room and two long counters, one around the bar and the other in front of the open kitchen.  The left side of the room has wine and beer, and a selection of specialty products like Vosges Chocolate and Terry's Toffee for sale.  There is a 10% discount on market purchases on the same day that you dine.  For brunch, I sat at the bar where I had a good view of the rest of the restaurant.  There were many things on the menu that looked really appetizing but I decided to start out with Cured Pork Belly, a Crispy Poached Egg, Cheddar Grits, and Fresno Chili Hot Sauce.  There was also a lettuce garnish.  Bacon is cured pork belly so this was prepared the same way as bacon but it was served as a steak cut.  I have to say that I really liked bacon steak.  The egg was interesting.  I liked it but it did puzzle me a little.  Poached eggs are not crispy.  I have to think that it had to have been fried to finish it.  The cheddar grits were as one might expect of grits with cheddar cheese and the spicy and tangy Fresno Chili Sauce went well with everything.

While this was very good and I could have stopped here, I decided to go for a brunch dessert.  There were a couple of things that sounded interesting but I had to go with something that to me was potentially a little challenging.  I had the Salted Caramel Popcorn Panna Cotta.  The dish arrived in a small mason jar.  The panna cotta was on the bottom and was topped with the caramel sauce.  The popcorn was also caramel coated and topped off the jar.  The dish was very pretty and looked very appetizing.  As I have said before, I am not a huge fan of popcorn.  I can appreciate how it can contribute visually to a dish but generally do not care for it texturally.  In this case though, the crunchiness of the popcorn was the perfect complement to the creaminess of the panna cotta.  And what's not to like about salted caramel?  It was a great dish.

I really enjoyed brunch here and will definitely be back.  The food was very good and the staff was friendly.  There are many things on the menu that look appetizing that I will have to be back for.  I will also have to come back some time for dinner.
    

Southport Grocery and Cafe

In the heart of Lakeview, there is a business called Southport Grocery and Cafe.  While it does have some packaged foods for sale, it is not a grocery in the same way that Dominick's, Jewel Osco, or even Standard Market is a grocery.  What they are known for are there baked goods and their brunch.  It is more a bakery and cafe that serves some dry goods.  As far as their grocery is concerned, I would compare it to Provenance Food and Wine, you can get a pretty nice variety of very good gourmet type foods but you probably wouldn't go grocery shopping there.  Besides the grocery and bakery they have a very nice cafe where I convened brunch with a group of friends.  The space is actually kind of crowded with the kitchen in the back, the bakery and cashier along the left wall (as you are walking in), the grocery items are in the middle, and the cafe seating is on the right wall and outside.  We sat inside which has seating for about 20 (the group I was part of was much smaller than that).  Outside has seating for about 20 as well.  Our brunch started with a some Shareables which are essentially Appetizers for brunch.  We had a Grilled Coffee Cake which was a Cinnamon Walnut Sour Cream Cake which was stuffed with Zingerman's Cream Cheese and topped with powdered sugar.  This was insane!  You would think that this would be heavy, especially for a starter, but it was surpringly light.  The cake was light and moist  with crisp edges and was a little spicy from the cinnamon.  The cream cheese was creamy, as one might expect and provided a perfect complement to the coffee cake.  We also had what they called a Savory Muffin with Egg which was an herb muffin with cheese that is stuffed with a hard boiled egg.  It reminded me of what I might imagine a vegetarian Scotch Egg might be like.  A Scotch Egg is a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage, breaded and deep fried.  Other than the fact that it was missing the sausage and it was shaped like a muffin instead of an egg, this was essentially the same thing and it was pretty good. 

Normally, when I go out for brunch, I will go savory for my main course.  As we were at a place that is famed for it's baked goods, I figured I would switch things up and check outside the sweet side of things.
I got Stuffed French Toast which was topped with Fresh Blueberries and Preserved Lemon, and stuffed with more Cream Cheese.  This was also very good.  Blueberries are among my favorite fruits and as you can see it had a lot of blueberries.  It was crisp, moist, and chewy, the fruit provided sweetness and tartness, and the cream cheese provided a texture contrast and complemented the tartness of the fruit.

After the very good coffee cake and French toast, I had to have a cupcake which is one of the things that Southport Grocery and Cafe is most well known for.  I got a Red Velvet Cupcake which had Sour Cream Frosting.  While it was simple in appearance, it looked very good in its simplicity and I actually forgot to take a picture of it before I ate it.

I really enjoyed my brunch here.  It was actually kind of difficult to choose what I wanted so I will definitely have to be back.  In addition to breakfast foods, they also have a nice selection of sandwiches.  While the place is a little crowded, the service is very good and the food is excellent.

Standard Market/Standard Grill

While you won't see a restaurant in a grocery store often, it really isn't that uncommon.  Most groceries of any size have a deli section (without a dining area),  and a lot of Mexican grocery stores have attached taquerias.  Whole Foods also has a deli and a bar with a dining area.  In Westmont, there is a specialty grocery store called Standard Market.  From the outside, it looks a little odd.  While it is on the main drag (Ogden Ave.), it looks either like a large white barn or a funeral parlor.  The interior though, looks as one might expect of a specialty grocery with sections for fresh, local produce, cheese, beer, the bakery, meat, and some prepared dishes.  Located off of the produce section is the Standard Grill which features burgers, sandwiches, salads and pizzas.  They also feature a variety of rice bowls (called Buddha Bowls) for lunch and grilled chicken, pork, fish, and shrimp for dinner.  The order counter is at the front of the grill with the menu above the counter.  After ordering (and paying with a credit card because this establishment doesn't take cash), you seat yourself, and your order is brought to you when it is ready.  The dining room is set up like a nice cafeteria with several round tables and a few high tops.  There is also an outdoor dining area that didn't seem to be open when I was there.  As one might expect of a food establishment associated with a grocery that specializes in local, organic, and artisanal foodstuffs, the ingredients used in the food on the menu is of the highest quality.  The meat used in the burgers is ground daily, the cheese is from local dairies, and the produce is organic and local.  I ordered a Bacon & Blue Burger which other than the very juicy burger, contained Neuske's Bacon, Danish Blue Cheese, BBQ Sauce, Oven-Roasted Tomatoes, Bibb Lettuce, and Sweet Onions on a Sesame Seed Bun.  The burger came with a choice of French Fries, Cole Slaw, Market Salad, or Sweet Potato Fries which is what I ordered.  It also came with a small dish of honey mustard served on the side.  The burger was light on the BBQ sauce but it was okay because it was juicy and flavorful enough as it was.  The bacon was cooked not quite crisp so it still had a nice chew to it and the blue cheese added a nice sweet bitterness to it.  I did add some of the honey mustard to provide a little tartness to the burger.  As simple as it was, it was still very good.  The sweet potato fries were cut thick and were tasty although admittedly, they were a little more droopy than I like fries.

While this isn't a place that I would go every day, both the grocery and grill are nice with a variety of fresh and artisanal foods.  I will definitely be back when I come to the area.

Franks 'n' Dawgs

There are probably 1000 hot dog places in the Chicago area.  At most, you can get a Chicago-style hot dog.  Some are even pretty good but there are very few that make what could be called gourmet hot dogs.  I have often referred to Hot Doug's as the best hot dog joint in Chicago.  This was before I went to Franks 'n' Dawgs.  Located on Clybourn Ave, it is actually a little difficult to find unless you know where to look.  While it does have a sign that sticks out from the restaurant, there are many other businesses that have signs that stick out from the building.  The restaurant is narrow so it took some creativity in the layout to utilize the space well.  The entrance is a little odd.  It is located in a narrow alley and opens in front of the counter, with the menu displayed above the counter.  The seating is a varied with counter seating to the right of the entrance, a row of booths on one side of the restaurant in the front, and several two tops on the opposite side of the restaurant from the booths.  When an order is made, you choose a velcro-backed celebrity villain that range from Donald Trump, to Lindsay Lohan, to Charlie Sheen, to Montgomery Burns. This is used to mark your table so they know where to bring the food (like an order number).  I chose Mr. Burns.  The sausages used at Franks 'n' Dawgs are all handmade with a wide variety of meats like beef, pork, chicken, turkey, salmon, scallops, and duck.  The buns used are New England-style, like those used with lobster rolls.  It is like a thick slice cut from a loaf of bread with a partial cut in the middle forming a V.  The roll is also toasted.  On top of the hand-made sausages are a wide variety of handmade toppings using ingredients from artisanal and local vendors.  The fries that they serve are waffle fries that can be ordered plain, with cheese, or truffled.  I will never turn down truffle flavored food, so of course my fries were truffled.  The fries were crisp, well seasoned, and very good.   

In addition to the creativity and variety of their own sausages, Franks 'n' Dawgs has an Iron Dawg competition in which they invite a pair of local chefs to create a  hot dog to compete against one another.  The hot dogs will be on the menu for a month with the best selling dog staying on as the champion and competing against another chef's creation.  When I went, the competing chefs were Chef Bill Kim (Urban Belly, Belly Shack), the champion, who created what he called urban belly chix which was a Vietnamese Chicken Sausage with Pickled Green Papaya, Curry Mayo, Crispy Shallots, Thai Basil, and Lime.  This is what I ordered.  The challenger was Chef Jason Hammel (Lula Cafe, Nightwood) who created what he called the Lula Cristo which was essentially a Monte Cristo (a fried ham and cheese sandwich on French toast with maple syrup).  Lula Cafe is my favorite neighborhood restaurant and I am sure that the Lula Cristo would have been good but I was more interested in the urban belly chix and I didn't think that I could eat both so that is what I ordered.  It was amazing!  It was sweet, spicy, and a little tart with the excitement of the Thai basil.  

I really liked my meal here and I have to say that while I still like Hot Doug's, I cannot say outright that they make the best dogs in Chicago.  Franks 'n' Dawgs is also amazingly creative and the line is much shorter.  I will definitely be back for more. 

Truffle Truffle

I had a gift certificate for a sampler from Truffle Truffle. As I was going to Michigan last week, I had it shipped there so I had people to share it with. I really like chocolate and sweets but I wasn't sure that I wanted to eat all of it by myself. The sampler came with a box of caramels, a box of beer and pretzel marshmallows, and a box of truffles.

First we started with the caramels. There were four caramels in the box: maple bacon, fleur de sel, Mexican hot chocolate, and dulce de leche. All of them were very good but the maple bacon and the fleur de sel were the best.
The next box was the Beer and Pretzel Marshmallows made with Rogue Chocolate Stout. The marshmallows were made with the beer, coated in chocolate and rolled in pretzels. While the marshmallows were a lot better than the ones that you would buy in a grocery store, and the chocolate and pretzels were good, the beer flavor needed to be stronger.














Finally came the truffles. I got a box of 16 with some pretty exotic sounding flavors like elderflower, pb&j, champagne, wasabi and mascarpone. As you can see, the truffles also looked good. Having said that, while there were a few flavors that were really good (strawberry lemonade, chili, pb&j), there were also several that were too subtle with the flavors (wasabi, champagne, beer and pretzel). I thought it was a good sampler that gave me an idea of what I might like (the caramels). If I buy from them again though, I will probably buy from one of the local stores that carries them like Southport Grocery or Foodstuffs. Overall, they do good things even if there are a few things that I thought they could do better.

Provenance Food and Wine

I really should stay away from gourmet food stores. I will almost invariably spend too much money on a bunch of stuff that I find irresistible. I was looking for some interesting items to put into an Easter basket and went to Provenance Food and Wine. The store is a neighborhood store that carries a wide variety of specialty items and reasonably priced wines. Some of these items include bread, cheese, bacon, prosciutto, ice cream, granolas, and any number of condiments. While there were a wide variety of things that I was interested in, I ended up buying Coconut Roche from B True Bakery, Sea Salt and Honey Pecan Truffles and Pub Bark with Pretzels, Peanuts, and Corn Chips from Rich's Chocolate and Candies. These are going into the Easter Basket but I had to also get something for me so I got Queen City Cayenne Ice Cream from Jeni's Ice Cream and River Valley Kitchens Garlic Pickled Mushrooms. While I can't speak specifically to the taste of the sweets, I have had other Rich's Chocolates before and they are really good. As for the Roche, I can't imagine it being any less good if it is stocked at Provenance. I can speak to the quality of the mushrooms and the ice cream though (although not together). The mushrooms are nice and crisp and the garlic pickle provides a bright and fresh flavor to them. The ice cream is some of the best that I have ever had. The ice cream I bought was a chocolate ice cream with a lot of cinnamon and cayenne with no preservatives or artificial flavors. It is very creamy with a good chocolate flavor which follows in quick succession with some good cinnamon and the slow burn of the cayenne pepper. I will definitely get some more of this in the future. I really thought about buying a bottle of wine as well but I generally don't like committing to a whole bottle of wine. In any case, there is a lot of great stuff here and I will have to avoid it like the plague if I want to have any money at all.