Where To Shop: Holiday Food Edition

Hosting a holiday party this year?  Or better yet, a guest in need of a gift for the host?  Whether you’re entertaining or being entertained, New York boasts some unique and terrific gourmet stores to shop for  everything from artisanal cheeses and charcuterie from all over the world, chocolates, smoked fish,  pastas, and imported Italian panettone. You could even theme your party and throw a global charcuterie and cheese tasting or an Italian feast of seven fishes this year.  Instead of spending hours in the grocery store settling for so-so goods or the same old ones, make a few, smart stops and try something different this year.  Here’s a few of our favorite shops:

Murray’s Cheese
Address: 254 Bleecker St. btwn. Cornelia & Leroy Sts
Phone: (212) 243-3289
From fabulously stinky blue cheeses to fig paste and fresh pasta, Murray’s Cheese (pictured above) carries just about everything you need to host a party.   The cheese case is unrivaled and its attendants are well-versed on the subject and happy to help you create a distinguished cheese plate or find a triple crème stunner.  They also offer a great selection of cured meats and pates to put together a stellar charcuterie platter.

Orwasher’s
Address: 308 E 78th St., btwn. Second & First Aves
Phone: (212) 288-6569
This Upper East Side shop has been open nearly a century and it’s still baking some of the finest bread in the city.  (Oh, and they’re still cash only.) They make just about every kind of loaf you can imagine, but our favorites are the beer-leavened stout bread,  challah (unbraided) and pumpernickel raisin bread.  Though we’re most taken by the breads, they also turn out great cookies and pies, too. If you can’t make it to their shop, you can also find them at the New Amsterdam Market.

Eataly
Address: 200 Fifth Ave., at 23rd St.
Phone: (212)
229-2560
Flatiron’s new Italian behemoth is devoted to the art of eating Italian-style.  The space houses a massive
selection of Italian
cheeses, cured meats, outstanding gelato, fresh fish, and on and on.  Brace yourself for
the crowds as maneuver your way to the pasta section (pictured right), which has some
fantastic fresh and dried pastas as well as hard-to-find pasta shapes for whatever sauce you dream up (or buy in another aisle).  Right now, there’s loads of panettone imported from Italy to
give your host as a thank you.  Besides, how many places have a vegetable butcher to
assist you?  Enough said.

Todaro Brothers
Address: 555 Second Ave, between 30th &
31st Sts.
Phone: (212) 532-0633
Located in the heart of Kips
Bay, this small market is stocked with plenty of high quality, pre-made
essentials for entertaining.  Our favorites include the fresh ravioli
(excellent) and all of their homemade pasta sauces.  And be sure to make
friends with the gentleman who works the cheese counter, he’s a master
of his craft.  In addition to fine cheeses, they carry over sixty types
of charcuterie from around the world, including a wagyu pastrami and volpi prosciutto.  If you’re on your way to
someone else’s party, Todaro assembles gift baskets filled with some unusual products.

Despana
Address: 408 Broome St., btwn. Centre & Cleveland Sts
Phone: (212) 219-5050
Despana (pictured right) is a one-stop shop for Spain’s finest goods.  There’s a well-edited selection of Spanish cheeses, charcuterie and even a jamon display, where they slice petal-thin slivers of jamon off the leg when you order.  Canned fish is also a staple in Spain and the quality of the country’s canning is unrivaled, so consider serving their tuna, squid or mejillones (mussels).  Despana also prepares excellent pintxos (small bites) and bocadillos (sandwiches), which you can snack on while you shop or take them to-go.  (If you’re comfortable with white lies, you could even claim them as your own at your party.)

Russ and Daughters
Address: 179 E. Houston St., btwn. Second Ave. & Christie St.
Phone: (212) 475-4880
Russ and Daughters is practically a New York institution.  For decades, they’ve set the bar on smoked fish and caviar, but made the Lower East Side a culinary destination long before it became one. Their smoked salmon and smoked fish salads selection is both enormous and uniformly excellent.  Whatever you order, do-not-miss the salmon roe or the seven-layer halvah.  Our favorite part of the excursion is grabbing a mini bagel with horseradish cream cheese and nova lox to eat on the way home.

Zabar’s
Address: 2245 Broadway, between 80th and 81st Sts
Phone: (212) 787-2000
If you find yourself on the Upper West Side, you’ll want to stop at Zabar’s for a few choice items.  While they’re not our go-to for produce, they do have some of the freshest breads in the city, including Eli’s signature, pecan-raisin loaf and dark Russian pumpernickel.  They’re also known for the NYC bagels, which are great for shipping and toasting.  You might want to grab some lox while you’re there.  Some say the smoked salmon is as good if not better then at Russ and Daughters, but we’ll let you be the judge.