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Just a 10-minute drive southeast of Ogden, this artisan creamery has become famous in recent years for its creamy yet nutty cheddars, including the signature lavender-coffee-rubbed Barely Buzzed variety, which appears on cheese platters at some of the country's top restaurants. Other flavored varieties of note include apple-walnut-smoked and Hatch chili. You can sample and buy them, along with other tasty products, at this friendly shop.
San Francisco is one of the culinary centers of the world, and this universally adored grocery store is its beating heart. It's a farmers' market every day inside and well worth browsing around to see the bounty of Northern California, from peak summer tomatoes to local king salmon, plus all kinds of goodies from small producers. Bi-Rite also partners with craft brewers to create one-of-a-kind editions of favorite bubbles and brews. Buy a local peach or blood orange to snack on before strolling across the street for a scoop of salted caramel ice cream from Bi-Rite's equally beloved creamery.
"Why do parts of River North smell like freshly baked brownies?" is a question you hear fairly often. The oh-so-sweet reason: it's downwind from the Blommer Chocolate Factory, which has been making wholesale chocolates since 1939. More important, the retail outlet store is also here, so you can snap up your Blommer chocolates and candies at a discount—a handy tip to know when those aromas give you the munchies.
Originally started more than 25 years ago as a specialty Asian grocery, the Buford Highway Farmers Market has grown into a full-blown international marketplace; a turn down each aisle is like a trip to a different country. Make sure to stop at the Eastern European deli counter.
Founded in 1924, this internationally renowned family-owned and -operated gourmet food company specializes in benne (sesame seed) wafers, trademark Savannah cookies (notably key lime), and other house-made sweets and crackers, all sold in decorative tins. Although you'll find locations around the city, the Waters Avenue flagship Byrd's Famous Cookies store sells picture tins of Savannah and the entire line of Byrd's gourmet foodstuffs, including condiments and dressings. Free cookie and cracker samples come with every visit.
A must for stocking up on snacks and picnic goods before hiking, skiing, or just hanging out across the street in Pioneer Park, this culinary wonderland boasts a fantastic butcher shop, bean-to-bar chocolates, fine local and imported cheeses and charcuterie, Italian baked goods, and a deli that produces some of the tastiest to-go sandwiches in town. Caputo's has two other locations in the area.
Stuff your face with some of the best versions of Cajun favorites on site or fill your cooler with boudin, cracklins, stuffed pork chops, quail, and a variety of sausages. There's another location at 4120 NE Evangeline Thruway in Carencro, also just outside Lafayette.
If you happen by this farm stand in the summer, don't pass up the chance to sample the tree-ripened white and yellow peaches, some of which may have been harvested moments before you arrived. You can buy peaches in small quantities, as well as organic peach jam.
Opened since 2013, Chicago’s sprawling Eataly location has a little bit of everything. Part-market, part–upscale food court with multiple cafés, and a gelato shop thrown in for good measure, it is a foodie’s paradise.
In the same family since 1655, Emery Farm sells berries and produce in summer, pumpkins in fall, and Christmas trees in winter. The farm shop carries breads, pies, and local crafts, and a café serves sandwiches, ice cream, cider doughnuts, and other light fare. Enjoy pumpkin-patch hayrides in autumn and visit the petting barn May–October.
Although ostensibly a grocery store—and one with an excellent selection of organic produce, fine cheeses, baked goods, prepared foods to go, and other gourmet items—this friendly market in a historic brick house also features a coffeehouse and smoothie café with patio seating and a small gallery with well-curated art, crafts, and gifts.
On weekdays or any Saturday when there's a football home game, you can pop into Ferdinand's, an ice-cream and cheese shop in Washington State University's food-science building, to buy aged Cougar Gold, a cheddar-type cheese in a can. Ice cream is made daily from milk from the university's dairy cows and served in cones, dishes, shakes, malts, floats, sundaes, and banana splits to enjoy on the spot. Or take home a pint, quart, 3-gallon tub, or party pack to share. Espresso drinks are also available and about half the price of a chain coffee shop.
A phenomenal stop for specialty jellies and preserves, Fischer & Wieser's is located in an early-1900s brewery and the property features more than 1,000 peach trees surrounded by pines. Fresh peaches are available June through August, but it is also home to a cooking school, and wine tastings occur year-round.
A colorful junk art gate greets visitors to this 88-acre ranch with olive, apple, and citrus trees. Farm tours and tastings of olive oils milled on-site take place year-round Thursday–Saturday; come apple harvest (mid-August–mid-November), tastings of heirloom varieties also occur. Reservations are required. The farm shop is open on the same days for walk-in purchases of produce, snacks, cookbooks, and other items (and Sunday by appointment). Check the website calendar or social media for special events, including baking demonstrations, live music, and pizza parties.
To really impress those back home, pick up a box of these locally baked, gourmet cookies. Choose from dozens of delicious flavors of premium shortbread delights packaged in a wide range of sizes, all designed for travel. In addition to the location in the Royal Hawaiian Center, the company has a number of stores in Waikiki, so you probably won't be able to avoid them—or their free samples—even if you try.
Hugely popular with Islands residents and visitors, these pineapple-shaped shortbread cookies, half-dipped in milk or dark chocolate, come in an assortment of flavors from macadamia nut to mango and lilikoi (passion fruit). Made locally in Kalihi, these gourmet cookies are sold in boxes and tins of varying sizes at a number of locations in Ala Moana and Waikiki.
This little wood-frame contemporary shop on Netarts Bay adjoins the saltworks of this company that’s rapidly becoming internationally renowned for pure, infused sea salts (with flavors like black garlic, vanilla bean, and ghost chili). You can also purchase the company’s honey, salted caramels, peppercorns, and other goodies.
Since 1904, this family farm has been growing and selling cherries, peaches, apples, pears and other local fruit. The historic white clapboard shop also carries pies, muffins, cookies, and tarts.
Housed in a 19th-century building that was home to U.S. president Chester A. Arthur and, later, William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal, this rambling, three-level shop stocks 10,000 food products from 80 different countries. Even if you don't intend to buy something, it's worth wandering around Kalustyan's to ogle at the aisles of exotic and hard-to-find foodstuffs.
Kauai produces more coffee than any other Island, and this is the largest coffee farm in the United States. The 100% local product is grown with sustainable practices and can be purchased from grocery stores or at the plantation, where you can sample nearly two dozen coffees before or after a tour. Be sure to try some of the exclusive estate-roasted varieties. Coffee is available online, too. Fun fact: the factory, quaint old camp houses, and visitor center are located in a settlement called Numila, which is a Hawaiian way to say "new mill."
You'll see Kermit himself standing on the corner every time a trolley passes, pie in hand. He carries many key lime products—from barbecue sauce to jelly beans—and his key lime pie is the best on the island. Once you try it, perhaps frozen on a stick and dipped in chocolate, you may consider quitting your job and moving here. Savor every bite in the patio-garden area, or come for breakfast or lunch in the on-site café. Note, too, that Kermit's frozen pies, topped with a special long-lasting whipped cream instead of meringue, travel well. There's a smaller second location on the corner of Duval and Front Streets.
At this bustling health food store you can stock up on local fish and grass-fed beef for your barbecue. You'll find the island's best selection of organic produce, as well as a great bakery and deli. The health and beauty room has a dizzying selection of products that promise to keep you glowing. Note that this store doesn't sell alcohol.
Food writer Mark Bitterman (not to be confused with food writer Mark Bittman) knows a thing or two about salt—he's written popular books on the subject, and he's the James Beard Award–winning owner of this small purveyor of gourmet finishing salts, some of them smoked or infused with unusual flavors, like cherry and plums, or saffron. At this flagship location (there are others in Nob Hill and Hawthorne) you can also purchase the additional magical touches you might need to create the perfect dinner party, from Oregon and European wines and vermouths, to fresh-cut flowers, aromatic cocktail bitters, and high-quality, single-origin chocolates.
Since 1980, Mrs. Barry and her family have been making and serving yummy homemade cookies, including macadamia nut, white chocolate–macadamia nut, oatmeal raisin, and coffee crunch. Packaged in beautiful gift boxes or bags, the cookies make excellent gifts. She even makes cookie treats for the family dog. Stop by on your way to Costco or the airport and pick up a bag or two or three—or just ask Mrs. Barry to ship your stash instead.
When you walk into this revered shop, the pungent, funky aromas will immediately announce to your olfactory glands that you've entered a cheese shop. Since 1962, Murray's has been making Bleecker Street the cheesiest spot in the city, stocking various cheddars, Bries, chèvres, Goudas, Gruyères, Manchegos, and stinky varieties. They also peddle artisanal cured meats, sausages, crackers, nuts, jams, and condiments. You can even take home a Murray's T-shirt or tote bag with "BIG CHEESE" scrawled across it.
The Owens family established this marvelous smokehouse in 1887 and has been running the self-proclaimed "candy store for the carnivore" ever since. You'll find no processed meats here—just the house-smoked and cured jerky, bacon, sausage, chicken breast, bone-in pork chops, and more, along with a big selection of sauces, condiments, and gourmet goodies. Meat vending machines located throughout the state, including outside this store, mean you can satisfy your cravings day or night.
This venerable aqua farm on the northern end of the peninsula is a must for fresh oysters and clams. You can take your purchases to your lodging or a picnic, or enjoy them, raw or barbecued, on the expansive deck overlooking what's been called America's cleanest estuary, Willapa Bay. The on-site deli also sells beer, wine, and other gourmet goodies.
Four generations of the Raye family have made stone-ground mustard in Eastport since 1900, originally for sardines that were canned here. Using only natural ingredients, this premier Maine-made product—touted by Oprah and cooking maven Rachael Ray—is sold throughout the state and beyond. The downtown store carries all of the award-winning brand's nearly 40 varieties, from top-selling traditional mustards like Old World Gourmet, a Dijon, to unique choices like Moose-a-maquoddy Molasses. Open year-round, the store has themed mustard gift packs as well as kitchen items, specialty foods from other Maine producers, and a nice selection of books about the state. Using vintage machinery as well as stones for grinding, the "working museum" mill has been open for tours in the past and will be again after a renovation and expansion; check the website for updates.
