Kalustyan's, Kips Bay, New York | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Kalustyan's, Kips Bay, New York** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

few weeks ago, before the tree lots appeared and a random trip to the Kips Bay seemed like a good reason to leave my cozy spot on the sofa, I took a little journey south to check out Kalustyan’s. I came across the listing for this specialty food shop on Yelp and the reviews were glowing, so naturally I had to visit this foodie haven for myself.

One of the distinctive features of New York grocery stores is the space, or lack of it really, and Kalustyan’s is an outstanding example of efficiently using every square inch to offer a huge selection in a relatively tiny space. Narrow little aisles packed floor to ceiling with boxes, jars, and cellophane packages of tea, dried fruit, whole grains, mushrooms, seasonings, jam, and sauces. I can see why Saveur consistently refers readers to the shop for help sourcing ingredients not commonly found in American grocery chains, and a Bon Appétit writer mentioned it in an article about creating custom spice blends.

Honestly, you could lose entire days examining the options in each category, especially the house-brand spice blends. I left after more than an hour feeling a little dazed by the possibilities and carrying a small sack of farro and a jar of mango chutney. I have ideas for both items and I have this amazing shop to thank for the inspiration! So, while a trip to Lexington and East 28th isn’t always the most convenient for me, you better believe that I’ll be keeping Kalustyan’s in mind the next time I’m looking for something a little out of the ordinary.

Kalustyan’s | 123 Lexington Avenue; New York, NY 10016 | Mon - Sat 10:00 am – 8:00 pm; Sun 11:00 am – 7:00 pm

Ninth Avenue International Grocery | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Ninth Avenue International Grocery** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

The Ninth Avenue International Grocery is in the shadow of the Port Authority bus overpass on a grittier section of 9th Ave. Not necessarily the place I expected to find a wonderland of cooking ingredients. The shop itself is no frills, but the counter assistants are so friendly and helpful; thank goodness too because there is so much to choose from.

Sacks of beans and lentils, ground flours of all varieties take up most of the floor space, while bottles of olive oil and jars of honey, not to mention the bins of whole and ground spices, nuts and dried fruit line the walls. I had a hard time knowing where to start and with prices well below what I’ve paid in the past it was hard to know when to stop!

I noticed that one pound of French green lentils - aka. lentilles du Puy - at Ninth Ave. is $1.99 compared with the $4.99 per pound my neighborhood grocery store charges. No contest, right? Naturally I took a sack of them home with me for future batches of Salmon with Lentils.

Word to the wise, if you don't see something: ASK! When I inquired I learned that they had three different types of pumpkin seeds and the whole vanilla beans were tucked away in one of the refrigerated coolers. A few scoops of toasted pumpkins seeds came home with me and I now have big plans for making vanilla sugar with the two beans wrapped carefully in waxed paper and now tucked in my own fridge. I'm excited to go back and explore the boxes and packets I couldn't get to on my first visit. Now I know where to find future inspiration. Stay tuned…

Ninth Avenue International Grocery | 543 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10018 | M-F 7:30 am – 6:30 pm, Sa 7:30 am – 6:00 pm

Scouting: Kalustyan's

Scouting: Ninth Avenue International Grocery