6 Specialty Food Shops for the NYC Gourmet

Whether you’re a gourmet cook or simply enjoy gourmet dining, New York is the place to be. Foodies can spend hours browsing through NYC’s specialty food shops, finding the most amazing array of ingredients and delicacies from around the world. Murray’s Cheese and Zabar’s are obvious Big Apple favorites, but there’s more where that came from. From caviar to truffles, here are six gourmet food stores in NYC.

Maille, 927 Broadway

If your mustard repertoire is limited, Maille will open up a whole new world. Pay a visit to Maille’s mustard sommelier (fancy, right?) to sample, buy, and pair gourmet mustards. Try flavors like black truffle and Chablis, cognac and white wine, and honey and Modena balsamic vinegar. Choose the Dijon Originale mustard to pair with a New York hot dog, and the Pesto and Arugula mustard to mix with cream cheese on a bagel. You’ll also find a broad range of vinegars, such as the Berry Vinegar, delicious on a slice of New York cheesecake, not to mention Tracy’s personal Maille favorite – cornichons.

Malt & Mold, 221 E Broadway (also, 362 2nd Ave)

Even non-gourmets know that beer and cheese is a winning combo. And at Malt & Mold, you can have the best of both worlds. Fill up a take-home growler with craft beers such as Grim Cherry Raspberry Pop! from Brooklyn, Harpoon Octoberfest from Boston, or Cascade Blackberry Ale from Portland. Afterward, pair your brew with a platter of Malt & Mold cheeses – perhaps a Camembert, Danish blue, and a decadent cheddar made in Vermont. In case you’re iffy about pairing cheese and beer together, Malt & Mold hosts beer tasting nights as well.

The Meadow, 523 Hudson St

The Meadow is home to an incredible selection of gourmet salt, chocolate, bitters, and cocktail mixers. Gourmet chocolate bars infused with delectable flavors, orange blossom water, and Molokai red Hawaiian sea salt are only a few of the culinary treasures you’ll find in-store. If you want to add an extra special touch to your regular dinners at home, invest in a salt shaver and pick up a block of The Meadow’s pink Himalayan salt. It’s so pure and delicious, a few shavings over a bed of baby lettuce tossed in olive oil will become a fine dining experience.

Petrossian, 911 7th Ave

In NYC, no name is more synonymous with caviar than Petrossian. It’s simply the best. Tins of caviar, or even some caviar butter, will add a luxurious touch to any dinner party – but let’s not forget about Petrossian’s other gourmet products. Their selection of foie gras and fresh pates are divine. And the duck foie gras mousse with truffles? Yes, please.

Raffetto’s, 144 W Houston St

There’s no shortage of gourmet food stores in NYC when it comes to Italian cuisine, so if you can’t decide where to go first, check out Raffetto’s. It’s the city’s unofficial pasta headquarters and has been around since 1906. Purchase a pound of fresh pasta like squid ink linguini or lobster ravioli, pair it with one of Raffetto’s homemade sauces (maybe the Alfredo or the Genovese walnut), and you’ll have a gourmet dinner ready at home in mere minutes.

Urbani Truffles, 10 West End Ave

For the NYC gourmet without a budget, Urbani Truffles is the ultimate source for this coveted ingredient. In season, you can buy one ounce of white truffles for “as low as” $230. As for the rest of us, we can stick to black truffles carpaccio ($22.50 per jar) or Urbani’s truffle-infused products, including white truffle oil, black truffle honey, mushroom and truffle sauce, and black truffle salt. It tastes just as good, and we’ll still be able to afford our rent at the end of the month.

Maille photos courtesy of Maille. Urbani photo by Amanda Bear B via Yelp.

Also, shop for all kinds of goodies on Mercer Street, and foodies will want to try these unique cuisines in the city.

Posted on November 29, 2016