We like H-Mart in San Diego and hope that the one in Boston will also be good but will be looking in all the options mentioned so far. Thanks to everybody for great ideas and keep them coming
We have a cookbook addiction - are there any shops specialized on cookbooks and what are good second shops for cookbooks (but also books in general)
The absolute BEST one is the New England Mobile Book Fair in Newton Highlands:
I have at least one and maybe two boxes of cookbooks to donate.
Harvard Book store (not the Harvard Coop) in Harvard Square has used books in the basement. Same for Brookline Booksmith in Brookline. I have sold used cookbooks to both in the past.
NE Bookfair mentioned above used to have a separate cookbook outfit called Jessica’s Biscuit. It’s gone, but their large retail store is still there and they have lots of books, including cookbooks, at vastly reduced prices.
Great list so far. I won’t repeat the commonly mentioned places, but would like to throw Capone’s in Union Sq. and Dave’s Fresh Pasta for, duh, fresh pasta but also cheeses, cured meats and some Italian specialty items. Dave’s has terrific sandwiches as well.
I’d also like to second Waltham India Market and recommend that you check out the food court downstairs. There is a stall that has kababs that I sometimes order uncooked and finish at home. The paneer tikka masala kabab is surprisingly good.
1 Like
One “class” of ingredients we always had problems to get in San Diego are Thai, especially spices like Thai basil, holy basil etc. Are there to places in Boston ?
Do you know if the Indian Market has also fresh spices like curry leaves ?
Definitely, although sometimes curry leaves can be scarce around these parts. If you don’t see them, ask because for some reason they sometimes keep them at the register.
Russo’s also has a variety of fresh herbs and spices and often has curry leaves. They also often have thai basil so you may have luck finding what you need there. I can’t remember if Waltham India has thai ingredients. There is also a Patel Brothers Market on Moody St. in Waltham near Waltham India. It is a chain store that sells a variety of fresh and frozen products for Indian cooking.
I should also mention that Dave’s sells my favorite brand of local tortillas, Mi Nina. A local chef, Jamie Mammano, married a Mexican woman and spent a lot of time in Mexico. When he couldn’t find great tortillas here, he spent a great deal of time perfecting his masa recipe and began marketing his own tortillas. Unfortunately, they don’t have an outlet store, but I do like to stock up on the Mi Nina tortillas and stick some in the freezer when I find them at Dave’s. I love the aroma, flavor and texture of that masa.
Russo’s, Market Basket, La Chapincita on Moody St. in Waltham and a few other places sell Cinco de Mayo tortillas, which are very good as well. Sometimes at the Market Basket in Chelsea the tortillas are still warm and you can smell the masa through the wrapper as you walk by the display. That’s pretty rare in this Mexican cuisine-deprived part of the country.
Forgot to ask what are good shops in Boston to buy any types of cooking stuff, e.g pots, plates, knifes which are not part of the obvious large chains, e.g. Sur la Table, WS etc
KitchenWares is on Newbury Street in Boston.
China Fair in Newton for discount stuff (I haven’t been there since they were in North Cambridge)
Local Root in Cambridge and Newton
1 Like
Good call on China Fair. They are located on Mass. Ave. in Porter Sq., Cambridge and on Needham St. in Newton. A great place to tinker and find things you absolutely had no idea that you desperately needed. 
1 Like
OK, I didn’t realize they were still there in Cambridge. Thought that location had closed. And yes, there’s always something you didn’t know you needed there. Sort of like when I go antiquing - when they ask me if they can help me find something, I say “No, I’ll know it when I see what I didn’t know I absolutely have to have.”
1 Like
And I didn’t realize they were in Newton. I drove past the one on Mass and meant to ask about it here but forgot. Will have to check it out!
1 Like
Is there, or wasn’t there once, a place on Great Plain Ave in Needham, just inside Rt. 128, that sold a lot of tableware?
There is a Le Creuset outlet for cookware at Assembly Row in Somerville.
https://www.lecreuset.com/stores/the-outlets-at-assembly-row-somerville-ma
Russo’s is the greatest, including Chinese veggies you won’t find anywhere else (expect Chinatown)–great produce at terrific prices. They also have Bell & Evans air chilled chicken pieces, a terrific deli counter, lots of baked goods, fresh pasta made there and Iggy’s bread (as well as others). Visit and you’ll become a regular customer.
The Armenian stores in Watertown not only have many interesting and wonderful Middle Eastern items, but great pita bread and many spices (some packaged, some not), four or five different kinds of feta cheese and other wonderful things. Most are along Mt. Auburn Street, but don’t miss the Eastern Lamejun Bakery on Belmont Street, and for homemade Greek yogurt, Sofia’s on Belmont Street.
If you’re on the waltham side of Watertown, I highly recommend Alba’s on Moody in Waltham for great yogurt as well.
Here is the current list but obviously always in progress. Any additional suggestions are always great:
Supermarkets: Wegman, Market Basket, Whole Foods,
Butcher: Prime (Arlington), MF Dulock (Somerville), Savenors (Cambridge), Coolidge (Watertown), McKinnon’s (Somerville), Meat Spot (Watertown),
Produce: Russo (Watertown), Wilson Farm (Lexington),
Indian supermarkets: Waltham India Market (Waltham), Patel Brothers (Waltham),
Middle East Supermarkets: Arax (Watertown), Sevan (Watertown), Sophia’s Greek Pantry (Belmont), Alba (Waltham), Massis (Watertown),
Asian Supermarkets: H-Mart (Cambridge & Burlington), Reliable Market (Somerville), Super 88 (Malden), Hong Kong Supermarket (Allston), Ming’s (South End), Ebisuya (Medford), Sakanaya (Allston), Kam Man (Quincy), V Mart (Lowell), Battambang (Revere), C-Mart (Leather District),
Mexican Supermarkets: La Chapincita (Waltham), Azteca (Waltham),
Beer, Wine, Liquor: Gordon’s (Waltham), Craft Beer Cellar (multiple), Federal Wine & Spirits (Boston), Martinetti’s (Brighton), Streetcar (Jamaica Plain), Marty’s Liquor (Newton), Total Wine (Natick), Urban Grape (Back Bay)
Cheese: Wasick’s (Wellesley), Formaggio (Cambridge & Boston),
Bread: Iggy (Belmont), Clear Flour (Brookline), Bricco Panetteria (North End), Mamadou (Winchester), Hi-Rise Bakery (Cambridge), Sweet Mandel (German home bakery, Newton),
Pastries: Praline (Belmont), Canto6 (Jamaica Plain), Fastachi (Watertown), Modern Pastry (North End & Medford), Flour Bakery (Back Bay & Cambridge & South End), Japonaise Bakery (Brookline), Tatte Bakery (Cambridge, Brookline, Beacon Hill), Luberto’s (Revere), La Cascia (Burlington), Konditor Meister (Braintree), MA France (Lexington), Magic Bite (Arlington),
Coffee: Barismo (Cambridge & Arlington), 7 Pond Coffee Bar (Jamaica Plain), Café Fixe (Brookline), Gracenote (Leather District), Forge (Somerville), 4A (Brookline), Render Coffee (Fenway), 3 Little Figs (Somerville), Nine Bar Espresso (Somerville), George Howell (Newton), Loyal Nine (Cambridge), Ogawa (Boston), La Colombe (Leather District), Caffe Nero (Brookline),
Spices: Penzy’s (Arlington), Christina’s Spices (Cambridge),
Fish: New Deal (Cambridge), Red’s Best (Fort Point), Alive & Kicking (Cambridge),
Anything else: Capone (Somerville), Dave’s Fresh Pasta (Somerville), KitchenWare (Boston), China Fair (Newton), Local Root (Cambridge & Newton), Elma Food Market (Everett), Karl’s Sausage Kitchen (Peabody), Bazaar (Allston), Berezka (Allston), Euroguild (Norwood), Eastern Baker Supply (North End), Pepe Bocca (Somerville), Moody (Waltham), Six Star Market (Woburn), Cardullo (Cambridge), Salumeria Italiana (North End), Bricco Salumeria (North End),
1 Like
Red’s Best seafood has a booth at the Boston Public Market.
