buying high-end rice on the internet

[enhF94]

I'm having a rice kick, but it's clear to me that there's a lot to explore when choosing rice to buy - flavor, texture, species, maybe storage for all I know.

Where do I learn about high-end rice, and more importantly, where can I buy it on the internet? I'm looking for the Spice House (Chicago) of rice, the Formaggio Kitchen (Boston) of rice, the Victrola Coffee (Seattle) of rice.

[MikeG]

The individual listings can be a bit vague, but I don't think I've ever seen so comprehensive a listing of more-or-less generally available rice varieties - http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main...

[LNG212]

You might check out Kalustyan's, a specialty shop here in NYC. http://www.kalustyans.com/default.asp

They have 219 listings for rice. Their basmati listing for example has 9 kinds. They list country of origin, some are aged, and descriptions.

[Melanie Wong]

If you hurry, new crop, vintage dated rice at Asian markets.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/374518

[al b. darned]

I've purchased black forbidden rice and Bhutanese Red Rice from Lotus Foods. They have lots of other rices as well.

http://www.lotusfoods.com/AllProducts...

[Rubee]

I've bought from the sites below, and am a repeat customer of all:

Black Forbidden Rice, Himalayan Red Rice, and Venere Nero black rice from Surfa's (now Culinary District):
http://www.culinarydistrict.com/

Carnaroli and Vialone Nano risotto rice from Salumeria Italiana:
http://www.salumeriaitaliana.com/
But since you're in Boston, I'd head to the North End and check out what they have....

Bomba rice for paella from La Tienda
http://euro.tienda.com

[paulj]

There are places specialize in Italian or Spanish goods that sell rice from the respective countries. La Tienda and Spanish Table come to mind for fancy paella rice.

Anson Mills sells a heirloom Carolina rice.

[Euonymous]

What do you mean by high-end rice? It's hard to make suggestions if we don't know what you're looking for.

[enhF94]

I'm seeking a

I have access to carnaroli and VN for risotto (thanks, Rubee; hadn't visited la Tienda since their big Iberico Ham splash a few years ago).

I'm looking for a pantry-staple rice for my rice cooker; I imagine something from a Chinese or Korean market (we have lots of those in Boston). Something that tastes delicious fairly plain and plays well with others. I'd assumed long or medium grain, but that's reaching the edge of my knowledge.

I'm also looking for a good pilaf rice. So long grain, aromatic, good separation of grains.

Maybe an SAT-style question would help:

If minute rice is to two-buck chuck
and "Rice Select Texmati" is, say, Washington's Chateau St. Michelle
then _my_new_everyday_rice_ is a reasonably priced AOC wine,
but I don't need so fancy as Chateau d'Yquem