Where can I get European foods Shipped to the US?

[yumcha]

I have a relative who is absolutely in love with England and the rest of Europe and one day wants to travel there.

I would like to get this person some European treats like candy, jam, and other things Americans would find kitchy but still tasty. Her birthday is next month, and I'm hoping to avoid paying enormous shipping charges/fees. Is there anything within the US that will do this and ship to NY? If not, do you know of a reliable store elsewhere in the world I could shop?

I travel to NYC on occasion if there are any shops there that might help me out, as well as Western Massachusetts (there's a store in Amherst/Hadley(?) that I plan on going to ).

I'd also appreciate any hints/tips on things to get her. She absolutely loves garlic and chocolates.

Thanks!

[LindaWhit]

Yumcha, try http://www.britishdelights.com/ , http://britishhomemarket.com or http://www.uk-groceries.com/ for English food items; http://www.dutchmarket.com/ for Dutch items; and http://www.tienda.com for Spanish foods.

[yumcha]

Thanks for all the great tips!

And Jeni - I have no clue what the store is called. It's a farm looking building with groceries near the trader joe's/whole foods area.

[jeni1002]

Yumcha - yes, we are talking about the same place, Maple Farm Foods :)

[Hooda_Guest]

I like to shop at Fortnum and Mason in London and they have a limited selection of items at their US web site.

http://www.fortnumandmason-usa.com/

[jedibitch]

Try igourmet.com if you think you know what you want to get. They have all kinds of cheeses (including English), jams (they have a whiskey orange marmalade I just adore), various chutneys, sweets, vinegars, oils, and on and on.

Their shipping charges are *very* reasonable, and since the main warehouse is located in eastern PA, my orders usually arrive within 2 to 3 days.

Hope that helps....

[JungMann]

I second iGourmet. Their selection is rather good; but as I live in NYC, which has a rather large expat community, I have never wanted for English goods as they are available in many markets. Myers of Keswick is a particularly well-stocked English grocer in the West Village with nearly any English product you could want. Carry On Tea & Sympathy also has many products, however I find them priced a little higher than Myers.

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Myers of Keswick
634 Hudson St, New York, NY 10014

Tea & Sympathy
108 Greenwich Ave, New York, NY 10011

[MikeG]

In NYC, there are too many possibilities to generalize, and no single store I can think of with a * really * wide selection. Dean & DeLuca is pricey, but I'm sure they have things in their catalog/store that would fit the bill, and they're online as well...

In terms of selection, if you're relative is that into it, you might consider some of the "ordinary" everyday things that expats look for "comfort food" sorts of things like cookies, jarred condiments and sauces, as well as well as plain old "candy" and things like that. Fairway, at least the one on 74th & Broadway, has a decent selection of Brit stuff along these lines, as well as all sorts of imported cookies, jams, etc. For Italian, there's a store called "Buon Italia" in the Chelsea market complex that has a lot of the same kind of thing only Italian. It's a pity this relative isn't into Japan, at this point you could easily flood him/her with all kinds of stuff if that were the case. LOL Schaller & Weber, in addition to their delicatessen, carries a fair amount of German stuff but honestly, they're pretty sleepy these days and a lot of the stuff looks like it's been on the shelves forever and a day. French cuisine being rather "passé" in American food circles these days, I'm not sure where you'd find the equivalent anymore, but there D & D might be a place to look for some of that...

[MikeG]

Zabar's too, definitely Zabar's....

[jeni1002]

Which store in Hadley did you have in mind?

[jeni1002]

Cannot speak for the 'entire' Europe :), but Parthenon Foods has a pretty good selection of imported foods (http://www.parthenonfoods.com/). I am partial to Eastern European groceries, so here's one of my other resources - http://www.fastpakstore.com/

As far as I know, the Amherst/Hadley/Northampton area is not necessarily European-centric - the Maple Farm Foods in Hadley, MA has a reasonable selection of Turkish sweets (i.e., mostly Ulker brand), Milka chocolate, and other Ferrero Sweets. The Chicopee/Springfield area has a few Polish grocery stores (sorry, don't know the specifics) and a Russian grocery store (I think it's called Victory).

NYC is a different ball game - I am sure the New Yorkers on this board have more to say.....Hope this helps.

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Maple Farm Foods
10 S Maple St, MA 01035