In article ,
notbob wrote:

On 2008-05-05, TammyM wrote:

The thing I love about Andronicos is the quality of the meat.

Strange. That's why I DON'T miss Andronico's. I bought a $26 t-bone steak,
once (hand trimmed, aged for 2 wks, yada...). It was the most flavorless
chunk of slaughtered herd animal I've ever experienced. Cotton balls have
more flavor!

I've never been to one. You know Sacramento, NB, so you know that Cortis
is
the place to go for good meat.

I know what it used to be. The last time I went to the original Corti Bros
on Folsom Blvd (5-6 yrs ago), it was a decrepit, run-down, dump. Talk about
filthy! Having shopped there as a teen, when it was a clean and classy
example of a gourmet store, I was shocked. They had no goose liver pate,
they had no decent cheeses, the wine selection sucked, the produce was
wilted, the cold cases were leaking fluids, and the floor tiles were coming
up. In short, it was disgusting mess and I've never been back. Such a sad
end to a pioneering store.

nb

I've got a 'deja' feeling about this post but I'm going to do it any
way. Yes, Corti had a slump when they went through reorganization after
closing several stores a few years ago. They only have the original
store now and it is run by Darryl who knows his stuff. It is back up to
what it was 20 years ago. Great deli and meat departments, good breads,
good wine and liquor dept.s for their size and is the only source for a
goodly number of items in the Sac area. There are some good cheeses but
it is not as big a selection as you might find at bigger upscale stores.
It's still the best in town.

D.M.
--
greatvalleyimages.com

On 2008-05-06, Donald Martinich wrote:

store now and it is run by Darryl who knows his stuff. It is back up to
what it was 20 years ago. Great deli and meat departments, good breads,
good wine and liquor dept.s for their size and is the only source for a
goodly number of items in the Sac area.

Glad to hear it. I got a soft spot in my heart for Corti.

nb

"TammyM" wrote in message
...

"notbob" wrote in message
.. .
On 2008-05-05, sf wrote:

and it's not from a box!

Yeah, but it all taste like it is.

The problem with M&C, anymore, is that cheddar cheese has devolved into
crap. What used to be called "sharp" or even "extra sharp" now barely
makes
it to "medium". The so called California Cheese is so devoid of flavor
it's
but a sad joke. Even the once grand Tillamook Farms cheese, which I
first
ran across in great pungeant 20lb wheels is but a shadow of it's former
self.

The last time I found GOOD cheddar cheese was at TJs. They used to sell
a
3yr old cheddar that rocked. That stopped about 5 yrs ago. Anyone who
knows anything about cheddar knows it's the age that counts. Two years
minimum, IMO. Three is better. About 10-12 yrs ago, Raley's used to
bring
in a 5 yr old cheddar from VT, right around Christmas time. That stuff
was
awesome. This is no more. No one wants to wait 3-5 yrs. The bean
counters
would have a stroke. So, the crap we now call cheddar cheese is the
result.
Pathetic stuff.

NB, my recollection is that you're in the SF Bay Area, yes? Or am I
hallucinating again? Have you ever tried The Cheese Board in Berkeley?
It's Alice's Restaurant for cheese :-)

TammyM, thinking it's time for another trek to Berkeley

Our favorite store for cheese is the "Country Store" also in the socialist
republic of Berkeley, on the east side of San Pablo one block south of
University, near the Post Office. They have great variety and prices, and
finding old cheddar has never been a problem. Recently, on sale, we bought
Stilton for $3.95/lb! They just opened a store on Hopkins, very near the
Monterey Market[a favorite site for produce].

Kent

"Serene" wrote in message
...
TammyM wrote:

"You can get anything you want" - well, any CHEESE you want, at The
Cheese Board. Next time I go, I'll take a pic and provide a link. It's
a marvelous place - it's cooperatively owned. The owner-workers are just
so nice. They provide samples and info/advice about cheese (never
thought to ask them for any other kind of advice....) Whenever I go to
Berkeley, I hit what has become for me The Holy Trinity of foodie joints:
The Cheese Board, The Spanish Table and Andronicos. Unlike others here,
I'm not a fan of the Berkeley Bowl. But the Trinity! Makes for a great
foodie trek for me.

I heart the Cheese Board, but I can get similar prices (though not the
selection) at the Berkeley Bowl, and the Bowl is in walking distance (the
Cheese Board's not), so that's where we usually get our cheeses.

I still haven't been to the Spanish Table, and I should, since I still
miss the foods I ate in Spain when I was child.

Serene

It's on our food pathway, also near the cheese store I mentioned.

Kent

"Serene" wrote in message
...
TammyM wrote:
"Serene" wrote in message
...
TammyM wrote:

Say it ain't so, nb! OK, this clinches it, I'm making the trek to
Berkeley.

TammyM, any old excuse will do
:-) If you do come out, let me know when if you want, and maybe we'll
meet at the Cheese Board for some foodie shopping.

That would be fun, Serene! Maybe we'll give Lin a call and make it a
girls' day out. You'll love The Spanish Table. I get my olive oil
there, sherry vinegar, lemon-stuffed olives, smoked paprika (although the
last time I went, I bought a LIFETIME supply of the stuff...)

I can't wait. I really want to make some Spanish chorizo for my partner
the way we did it in Spain -- douse it in high-proof alcohol, flame it
until the outside is charred and the inside is warmed, and serve it on
good bread. Yumma.

Serene

Near there, along with the "Country Store" for cheese is Milan
International, on the south side of University Ave. near 9th, or so in
Berkeley. It's an Indian market, and the best place to buy any bulk dry
spices at rock bottom prices. What costs $3 at the Safeway costs 50 cents
there. It's a great place for the T-wad, and obviously a great place for
Indian spices in addition to all the others.

Kent

"Kent" wrote in message
. ..

"Serene" wrote in message
...
TammyM wrote:
"Serene" wrote in message
...
TammyM wrote:

Say it ain't so, nb! OK, this clinches it, I'm making the trek to
Berkeley.

TammyM, any old excuse will do
:-) If you do come out, let me know when if you want, and maybe we'll
meet at the Cheese Board for some foodie shopping.

That would be fun, Serene! Maybe we'll give Lin a call and make it a
girls' day out. You'll love The Spanish Table. I get my olive oil
there, sherry vinegar, lemon-stuffed olives, smoked paprika (although
the last time I went, I bought a LIFETIME supply of the stuff...)

I can't wait. I really want to make some Spanish chorizo for my partner
the way we did it in Spain -- douse it in high-proof alcohol, flame it
until the outside is charred and the inside is warmed, and serve it on
good bread. Yumma.

Serene

Near there, along with the "Country Store" for cheese is Milan
International, on the south side of University Ave. near 9th, or so in
Berkeley. It's an Indian market, and the best place to buy any bulk dry
spices at rock bottom prices. What costs $3 at the Safeway costs 50 cents
there. It's a great place for the T-wad, and obviously a great place for
Indian spices in addition to all the others.

Kent


I forgot. Here's a URL about Milan.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/milan-international-berkeley

On Mon 05 May 2008 05:56:03p, notbob told us...

On 2008-05-06, sf wrote:

I prefer crap cheddar for Mac & Cheese, it melts better.

Hence, the culmination of eons of cheese evolution to that paradigm of the
the cheesemaker's art.... cheese whip.

nb


Well, you could get the kind that squirts out of a can. :-)

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Monday, 05(V)/05(V)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
2wks 6dys 5hrs 5mins
-------------------------------------------
He found him in Mombasa, in a bar
room, drinking gin.
-------------------------------------------

"notbob" wrote in message
...
On 2008-05-05, TammyM wrote:

Say it ain't so, nb! OK, this clinches it, I'm making the trek to
Berkeley.

I'd go anyway, Tammy. Maybe they just had an off week, but I'm not so
enamored with TCB as I once was. OTOH, compared to where I'm at now,
everyything looks good. BTW, what don't you like about BB? I don't think
much of the rest of the store, but their produce is simply astonishing.
As
for Andronico's, well, let's put it this way: their store closure in
Danville is no great loss, IMO.


Anyone visited the new Draeger's in the Blackhawk shopping center? The
original Blackhawk Supermarket was the first super-premium gourmet
supermarket I ever experienced and I was alway dumbfounded as to why it
failed, although that shopping center has never been entirely successful.
In
light of its notorious lack of tenents and the failure of the 1st gourmet
market and the closing of Andronico's in Danville, I was again dumbfounded
as to why Draeger's would take the chance of building at that particularly
unlucky spot. Time will tell.

nb

Our favorite market in Contra Costa County by a wide margin is Lunardi's.
They took over the Andronico site in Danville. They have an excellent old
fashion meat counter. Their sale prices for meat are excellent. Our life
revolves around "what's on sale at Lunardi's". http://lunardis.com/. Their
prices aren't outrageous, at least competitive with Safeway, which isn't
saying a lot.

Kent

"Christine Dabney" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 5 May 2008 12:24:21 -0700, "TammyM"
wrote:


Maybe it was an off day, NB, but the store was just filthy. I walked in,
glanced around, and walked out. When I go to Berkeley again (and pick up
Serene along the way :-), I'll give it a go again. So many people rave
about
it, it's worth giving it another try.


Try Monterey Market..it is smaller, more intimate, and the prices are
great. And their outside patio...ohmygawd... They have most of
their specials out there, and you never know what you will find. I
used to be able to get 3 or more bags of stuff, mostly from the
outside patio, and pay less than $10. They use a lot of little local
farms, among others, and run specials on things every day. And their
mushroom counter...wow.

However, it can look a bit dingy...but it is clean. They don't go
much for atmosphere.

Christine

And, the recently opened "Country Store" for cheese is 500 feet east on the
same side of Hopkins.

Kent

"notbob" wrote in message
news
On 2008-05-06, sf wrote:

I prefer crap cheddar for Mac & Cheese, it melts better.

Hence, the culmination of eons of cheese evolution to that paradigm of the
the cheesemaker's art.... cheese whip.

nb

Kraft, dried American Cheese, is best for a good low life Mac and Cheese.
They don't make it anymore.

Kent

"Kent" wrote in message
. ..

"Serene" wrote in message
...
TammyM wrote:
"Serene" wrote in message
...
TammyM wrote:

Say it ain't so, nb! OK, this clinches it, I'm making the trek to
Berkeley.

TammyM, any old excuse will do
:-) If you do come out, let me know when if you want, and maybe we'll
meet at the Cheese Board for some foodie shopping.

That would be fun, Serene! Maybe we'll give Lin a call and make it a
girls' day out. You'll love The Spanish Table. I get my olive oil
there, sherry vinegar, lemon-stuffed olives, smoked paprika (although
the last time I went, I bought a LIFETIME supply of the stuff...)

I can't wait. I really want to make some Spanish chorizo for my partner
the way we did it in Spain -- douse it in high-proof alcohol, flame it
until the outside is charred and the inside is warmed, and serve it on
good bread. Yumma.

Serene

Near there, along with the "Country Store" for cheese is Milan
International, on the south side of University Ave. near 9th, or so in
Berkeley. It's an Indian market, and the best place to buy any bulk dry
spices at rock bottom prices. What costs $3 at the Safeway costs 50 cents
there. It's a great place for the T-wad, and obviously a great place for
Indian spices in addition to all the others.

And ANOTHER great tip! I'm going to have to make that trip to Berkeley
soon.

TammyM

"Donald Martinich" wrote in message
...
In article ,
notbob wrote:

On 2008-05-05, TammyM wrote:

The thing I love about Andronicos is the quality of the meat.

Strange. That's why I DON'T miss Andronico's. I bought a $26 t-bone
steak,
once (hand trimmed, aged for 2 wks, yada...). It was the most flavorless
chunk of slaughtered herd animal I've ever experienced. Cotton balls
have
more flavor!

I've never been to one. You know Sacramento, NB, so you know that
Cortis
is
the place to go for good meat.

I know what it used to be. The last time I went to the original Corti
Bros
on Folsom Blvd (5-6 yrs ago), it was a decrepit, run-down, dump. Talk
about
filthy! Having shopped there as a teen, when it was a clean and classy
example of a gourmet store, I was shocked. They had no goose liver pate,
they had no decent cheeses, the wine selection sucked, the produce was
wilted, the cold cases were leaking fluids, and the floor tiles were
coming
up. In short, it was disgusting mess and I've never been back. Such a
sad
end to a pioneering store.

nb

I've got a 'deja' feeling about this post but I'm going to do it any
way. Yes, Corti had a slump when they went through reorganization after
closing several stores a few years ago. They only have the original
store now and it is run by Darryl who knows his stuff. It is back up to
what it was 20 years ago. Great deli and meat departments, good breads,
good wine and liquor dept.s for their size and is the only source for a
goodly number of items in the Sac area. There are some good cheeses but
it is not as big a selection as you might find at bigger upscale stores.
It's still the best in town.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has a high opinion of them. The store
definitely is NOT a glitzy place. But they reliably have high quality items
many of which I can't get elsewhere locally (as a radio DJ once said of
Sacramento, "don't let the tall buildings fool you, folks, it's still just a
cow town"....) I think Darrell C is a complete jerk, but he knows his
stuff.

TammyM

"Kent" wrote in message
. ..

"TammyM" wrote in message
...
NB, my recollection is that you're in the SF Bay Area, yes? Or am I
hallucinating again? Have you ever tried The Cheese Board in Berkeley?
It's Alice's Restaurant for cheese :-)

TammyM, thinking it's time for another trek to Berkeley

Our favorite store for cheese is the "Country Store" also in the socialist
republic of Berkeley, on the east side of San Pablo one block south of
University, near the Post Office. They have great variety and prices, and
finding old cheddar has never been a problem. Recently, on sale, we bought
Stilton for $3.95/lb! They just opened a store on Hopkins, very near the
Monterey Market[a favorite site for produce].

Serene, are you keeping notes? :-) We need to add these to our foodie
excursion!

THANKS, Kent!!

TammyM

Kent wrote:

I forgot. Here's a URL about Milan.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/milan-international-berkeley

My Sri Lankan friend who cooks meals for hire always recommends that
place. She says it's the best place to get Sri Lankan spices.

Serene

TammyM wrote:
"Kent" wrote in message

Our favorite store for cheese is the "Country Store" also in the socialist
republic of Berkeley, on the east side of San Pablo one block south of
University, near the Post Office. They have great variety and prices, and
finding old cheddar has never been a problem. Recently, on sale, we bought
Stilton for $3.95/lb! They just opened a store on Hopkins, very near the
Monterey Market[a favorite site for produce].

Serene, are you keeping notes? :-)

I am! I think the Country Store is the one over by the Freight and
Salvage -- if so, it looks like a cool hippy place from the outside.
I've never been inside, because I'm only in that neighborhood at
night (when I go to the Freight).

Serene