Shoshi D.
Yelp
They have almost everything you could possibly need for exotic home cooking, including the rare, smoked Oaxaca chile, the hard-to-find nigella seed that is a basis of Ethiopian cuisine, and blizzard of flavored salts.
Their gift assortments are a surefire housewarming gift for that foodie friend, and their spice blends seem sophisticated though often overly complex, based on generic mother spices, and containing filler ingredients like onion, ginger and garlic powder that no serious cook substitutes for fresh unless using a dry rub.
Taking off one star for the prices: I realize that with spices there is a wide variance in quality, and that you, in general, get what you pay for, but this is still high. One-ounce packets average $5, and for some dishes, you might use half a packet for one large pot.
I came away with their house-blend berbere, some sumac, nigella seeds, Oaxaca chili pepper (impossible to find this side of Teotitlan, and I cruise local Mexican markets regularly), and top-shelf Tellicherry peppercorns.
Now, having cooked with all of the above, I can say that the quality is superior, especially with the peppercorns. They were tiny bombs of pungency. The nigella was fresher than from the Ethiopian market. One stumble was the berbere: you actually need the coriander, cumin, and peppers to be of Ethiopian origin for this to taste right. Using the same species but from Mexico, or India, for example, will give you completely different flavors, as these common spices of the world have distinctive local varieties. Chili pepper, in particular, lands in different places on the tongue and has a widely varying finish depending on its origin. All chile may have originated in Mexico, but over the past 500 years there's been a lot of selective breeding in Africa and the far East.
The $5 packet of berbere was little more than sufficient for a large pot of lentils, and had a distinctly American spice profile. The lesson here is that you really need to buy your spices in the markets of the people, as long as you are discerning about freshness and quality, in which service your nose is indispensable.
Having said all that, it is clear that this establishment will keep the stock rotated and has made a heroic effort to bring a huge variety of delights to well-heeled and adventurous customers. You will pay a lot more than in ethnic markets, but you can delegate responsibility for checking quality and freshness, even if the subspecies get confused from time to time. And for some spices, like the rare black peppers, there is no other local purveyor.
Four stars instead of 5 for the overpricing, and the pretentious staff who were not subtle in their upselling when they took a break from their personal conversation to at last recognize my non Ann Taylor bedecked presence.
