Dallas Shopping Guide for Local Herbs and Produce, Great Cheese, Incredible Wine, Catering and other Foodie Finds
Here are some of our favorite places to go for our foodie finds, often hitting all of them when we have big dinner parties to cook. Half the fun of shopping is seeing what is fresh, seasonal, new and interesting at any of these shops.
Spiceman’s 1410 – Tom Spicer’s garden is one of our favorite go to spots for incredible greens, beautiful mushrooms, and occasional truffle and bonus, fresh herbs for free if you spend a minimum amount.
Andrew Ormsby is not only one of our best friends, he is one of the finest chefs in the city, and charming as anything to boot. Gary and I first met on the set of Good Morning Texas because I was helping Andrew out with PR, and now they are as close as brothers, and we consider Andrew and his kids as a part of our family. And, he cooks….
To say Andrew cooks is putting it lightly, from roasting entire legs of beef, to creating delicate tres leches cakes, to vibrant Spanish paella in a pan the size of a car, to incredible Asian and Indian flavors, this world travelled Australian chef is a master at his craft and a delight to have both in the kitchen and at the dining table. He had big things happening at his Ross Avenue business, with Andrew Ormsby Catering expanding to new heights.
Jimmy’s Italian Food Store – Our favorite spot for fresh Italian Burrata, homemade pizza dough, truffle products, great Italian wine and tasty Italian meats and homemade sausage. Bonus – It is rare that someone won’t be pouring some kind of wine to sample along with a cheese to pair.
TJ’s Seafood – Some of the best wild salmon we have had recently came from TJ’s (and both of us have had Alaskan salmon recently.) This one was from the Columbia River, bright pink in color which we grilled to a perfect medium rare to allow the fats to just start breaking down but keep all their juicy goodness. Huge shrimp, sushi grade tuna and sweet lump crab meat are also TJs favorites.
Veritas – Our go to for sipping wine is also a great place to buy wine, with Brooks and his brother Bradley often passing along the savings they get from their distributor directly along to their loyal customers. And, they aren’t tied to the traditional labels you see in most liquor stores, meaning you will always find something unique nestled along their extensive wall of wine ready to be taken home or sipped on site.
There is a toss up between Molto Fromaggio and Scardello for our favorite cheese shop, but isn’t it great that Dallas has multiple options to go to just for cheese, along with a variety of specialty food products, wine and artisan breads. Both offer samplings, often with a sip or two of wine, though I have found that the folks at Molto Fromaggio in Highland Park Village will let you sample pretty much anything in their extensive case of artisan cheeses. A definite bonus.
The Grape – Though The Grape is actually a restaurant, Chef/Owner Brian Luscher has become the king of charcuterie, making his own often and selling it with his impressive cheese boards or on its own. If you have a desire for decadent, delicious and not in the least bit healthy, house made pork rillettes, chicken liver pate, rabbit mortadella and more you will not be disappointed; stop by to pick up some for dinner during their Sunday brunch and enjoy the Best Burger in Texas, as rated by Texas Monthly.
Oh* Brownie – I am not a sugary sweets person, preferring to drink my dessert in a glass of bubbly instead of indulging in fruit pies, frosted cakes or gooey good chocolate. Then I tried an Oh* Brownie over a glass of wine with founder, the fantastic Iris McCallister. They will turn any non-chocolate lover into a devotee immediately. Made with fine Callebaut Belgian chocolate and premium ingredients, Oh* Brownies create that “wow” factor, from first look to last bite.
