579250 Thu Dec 11 08:24:01 -0800 2008 24 12 Boston Area 0 4238545 Hello, I've promised some friends that I would take them on a food tour and then cook up a storm. They live in the South End, so there is no need to include Las Ventas, Formaggio SE or the excellent middle eastern store next door. I have no plans to include any of the Russian stores and won't hit Pensey's.... We live in Coolidge and plan on starting from my place. I absolutely plan on including: Russo's Formaggio Cambridge (so much better than the SE location) Savenor's (Kirkland) Christina's The New Deal Fish Market I am debating between Reliable and the Asian market in the Porter Exchange and may roll into the Live Poultry Fresh Kill. I also was thinking about a liquor stop. I could hit the wine & cheese cask - great small store... roll into Davis for Downtown or go up to the Provisions.... Am I missing anything? And if I do include one of the Armenian shops, Arax? Also, any help structuring this trip in terms of geography (gas prices are down... but I still don't want to waste time / gas....) would be appreciated. Thanks! Thu Dec 11 08:24:01 -0800 2008 125747 Mr Bigglesworth 1 4238719 Hmm.. Arax/Sevan in Watertown.. Mayflower Poultry (fresh killed!). Christina's in Inman for spices (or Penzeys in Arlington).. Super 88 (I prefer the Malden/Melrose one).. Salumeria Italiano/Bob's Food for Italian (good for lunch..), and maybe a nice Italian butcher - I like Tony's in Rosi square.. Thu Dec 11 09:08:48 -0800 2008 4238545 176367 grant.cook 2 4238737 Ooops... and Iggy's Breads in that industrial park near Fresh Pond Thu Dec 11 09:12:58 -0800 2008 4238719 176367 grant.cook 2 4238744 And Bazaar in Allston/Brighton if can navigate Eastern European food.. Thu Dec 11 09:13:38 -0800 2008 4238719 176367 grant.cook 1 4238922 There was a thread on exactly this topic very recently, search before you post ;-): http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/573717 Thu Dec 11 10:03:16 -0800 2008 4238545 10169 StriperGuy 2 4239042 I started my own thread because I wanted to feel special... Thu Dec 11 10:35:48 -0800 2008 4238922 125747 Mr Bigglesworth 3 4239769 I don't know how you'd work the logistics into your current plan and this may require a second or third trip..which isn't so bad...:) The North End...Fresh Cheese, Salumeria Italiana, Sulmona Butchers, Polcari's. Baltic Mkt in Andrews Sq..Polish East Boston..lots of Latin Mkts worth wandering into. Thu Dec 11 14:10:30 -0800 2008 4239042 10111 9lives 2 4239729 We encourage people to revisit topics, and we don't require posters to search before they post (although we agree it's a helpful thing to do, it's not required.) While we know such repetition is boring to regular posters, it's a good way to bring out new tips from the the posters who weren't around the last time the topic was raised, or missed it. We encourage posters to treat each other with respect. If you want to point towards a previous thread where a question has been addressed, that's fine, but let's do our best to make this a hospitable place where we can all share tips and ask questions without having to worry that we'll get a hard time if we don't do it the way another poster would like us to. Thu Dec 11 13:55:53 -0800 2008 4238922 2 The Chowhound Team 1 4239193 After Russo's I would head over to DiPasquale's Sausage Factory in Nonantum. and stop by to Dave's Fresh Pasta on your way to Porter Square Thu Dec 11 11:28:00 -0800 2008 4238545 66281 ginnyhw 2 4239253 Where is Nonantum? Never heard of it. I've been thinking about making the trip to Karl's (sausage is sacred food for me...) What's better? Karl's or DiPasquale's? Thu Dec 11 11:48:05 -0800 2008 4239193 125747 Mr Bigglesworth 3 4239352 Karl's. Thu Dec 11 12:13:21 -0800 2008 4239253 10169 StriperGuy 4 4239636 Nonantum is in Newton. Never had Karl's, but DePasquale's is damn good and it's much more in line geographically w/the OP's route . . . . Thu Dec 11 13:32:08 -0800 2008 4239352 11404 gansu girl 5 4239740 DP makes fine sausage, but Karl's is a shrine to many different kinds of porky goodness. Really worth the trip. I don't think of DPs as a destination, but a good local place. Thu Dec 11 13:59:00 -0800 2008 4239636 10169 StriperGuy 3 4240061 Apples and Oranges -- Karl's is German and largely smoked/cured, DePasquales is Italian and strictly fresh. Both have their uses. And Nonantum is a part of Newton. When leaving Russo's, take Pleasant Street to Bridge Street, turn right, go straight through the California Street intersection and Nonantum is the next major intersection, at which Bridge Street comes to an end. DePasquale's is about two blocks to the left, a couple storefronts down from Antoine's Bakery. Which has pretty good eclairs. Thu Dec 11 15:36:30 -0800 2008 4239253 17548 BarmyFotheringayPhipps 4 4241444 Not really BFP, While it is true that Karl's is more well known for their German & Polish offerings; they do, in fact, offer excellent fresh sweet, sweet w/cheese and hot Italian sausage. They also produce first class andouille and hot chorizo as well. All the best, Harp Fri Dec 12 07:19:23 -0800 2008 4240061 45436 Harp00n 3 4241276 SAUSAGE: (fresh Italian sausages. ... Salsicce (pronounced salseeche) is Sausage, and............. WURST is WURST ('always the same' / German saying, but never the worst nor the same Fri Dec 12 05:55:50 -0800 2008 4239253 11192 Peter B Wolf 1 4239743 Choosing between Reliable and the Porter Square market, I'd go with Reliable, then you have all the rest of Union Square within a couple of blocks (Capone Foods, La Internacional, etc). Thu Dec 11 13:59:45 -0800 2008 4238545 14386 BobB 2 4239792 Cool. Thanks for the input (including StriperGuy - hope you realize I was having fun as well :-)) I think Karl's will merit a special solo trip. Based on everyone's feedback, and rereading the previous thread, which indeed was helfpul, here's my trip: 1. Nonantum 2. Russo's 3. Arax 4. Formaggio's 5. Savenor's 6. Wine & Cheese Cask 7. Christina's 8. Mayflower 9. New Deal 10. Reliable I maybe delusional attempting that in one day and then cooking... but we will see!!!! Thu Dec 11 14:19:18 -0800 2008 4239743 125747 Mr Bigglesworth 3 4239848 Totally understand. I personally don't think Wine and Cheese cask is particularly special. Only notable cause they have wine and cheese. There wine selection is okay, likewise their cheese, but neither really stands alone as particularly noteworthy. Thu Dec 11 14:37:17 -0800 2008 4239792 10169 StriperGuy 3 4240126 You might want to have a theme in mind.. I mean, Mayflower and New Deal are close (and Christina's/Savenors nearby to them), but are you cooking up a mess 'o chicken or doing fish/shellfish/crustaceans? And then Savenor's, which is Red Meat Central. Arax is great for apps/snacks... btw.. I love their spicy vegetable mix.. and their garlic spread.. mmmm.. Thu Dec 11 16:04:05 -0800 2008 4239792 176367 grant.cook 4 4240383 The theme / point is that they've never seen most of the various resources for food in this town.... While I would take them to every single secret spot if I could, there's only so much you can do in a day.... I'm sure we'll go into a bunch and not buy anything, but I figure we can go to town, grab some stuff, and just start cooking... It's more fun that way :-) And I agree on the Cask - I figure it's right there, so why not pop in - they usually have a decent but small selection of beer. Thu Dec 11 17:56:31 -0800 2008 4240126 125747 Mr Bigglesworth 3 4241293 If you're going to Mayflower and New Deal, add Courthouse for the more Portuguese angle. Fri Dec 12 06:08:23 -0800 2008 4239792 10400 Aromatherapy 3 4241306 If you're stopping at Arax, you really should walk 2 doors down & stop by Sevan Bakery. It's a festive shop with so many tempting sweet and savory treasures. Fri Dec 12 06:14:49 -0800 2008 4239792 12889 Taralli 4 4241390 This could turn out to be the lengthiest food trip on record... Definitely will add Sevan. I'll see if people are standing by the end of the trip... :-) Fri Dec 12 06:55:03 -0800 2008 4241306 125747 Mr Bigglesworth 5 4241394 Arax and Sevan are pretty similar, to be honest.. I think its Arax that has the huge barrels of olives, to I tend to end up there.. Fri Dec 12 06:56:29 -0800 2008 4241390 176367 grant.cook