Need the freshest ingredients for a very special dinner...where do you shop?
I am making a 6 course meal for my foodie Uncle's birthday, and want to find the best possible ingredients. I will be needing, among other things, arctic char (or salmon if I can't find it), pork tenderloin, sea scallops, kumquats, and a variety of other. more easy to find stuff. Any butchers around who have Berkshire or comparable pork? I love the Fish Guy on Elston, any other recommendations for seafood? What do you all think of Whole Foods vs. any other markets on town? I am willing to venture wherever, although I live in Belmont-Cragin on the far west side (Diversey and Central). Just curious what you all think!
BTW, anyone else going to the Sweets and Savories Bordeaux dinner coming up?
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nsxtasy
Mar 5, 2008 10:48 AM
One question is whether you want to shop at specialty shops, or a "one place sells all" type of place.
For recommendations for seafood and fish markets, see these topics:
www.chowhound.com/topics/321210
www.chowhound.com/topics/418724For recommendations for butchers and meat markets, see this topic:
www.chowhound.com/topics/380774And for recommendations for both meat and fish in the same topic:
www.chowhound.com/topics/477536In the "one place sells all" category, for absolute top quality for meat, fish, and many other items (including prepared foods as well as basics), I love Fox & Obel, in River East. It's not inexpensive, but if you're looking for top quality as well as the convenience of one place that has everything, including a lot of hard to find items, it's great. Free parking while shopping. www.fox-obel.com
You asked about Whole Foods... I shop there more for convenience than any other reason. Quality for meats and fish is pretty good, generally better than Jewel/Dominick's but not quite as good as F&O or the best specialty places; I find that their prices are generally high. I don't buy much produce there, as there are produce markets with quality that's just as good, along with much lower prices.
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