Top 3 reasons to hit the gourmet food store

There’s something about gourmet food and wine that just takes your lifestyle up a notch. Could it be the freshness and high-quality ingredients involved in the preparation of gourmet groceries? Is it the wider array of offerings available on a regular basis? Or is it the availability of those typically hard to find items that you discovered and fell in love with on your trip abroad?

With its stylish presentations and less hectic vibe, just walking into a gourmet food store can motivate most people enough to make the switch from a normal grocery market. Out of curiosity, we decided to see what really drives customers to opt for the upscale market that features gourmet food and wine, as opposed to the chains with more generic offerings. Here are the top three reasons they shared with us.

1.    Fresh produce. Going to a gourmet food store avails you with beautiful, fresh produce—it’s almost like walking straight into a farmer’s market. They will typically have a gorgeous array of seasonal fruits and veggies that are as fresh as you can possibly imagine.

2.    Organic access. If you prefer the organic route, then a market that features gourmet food will most likely have the best selection you can find among grocery stores. Plus, the staff tends to be pretty savvy about organic items, so they will be able to answer questions that the employees at stores that are less focused on gourmet and organic groceries may not be able to answer.

3.    The wide variety. Even the smallest gourmet food stores and markets seem to offer a spectacular array of goods. You can find absolute treasures such as imported cheeses, fine wines, chocolates from Belgium, pastries from Italy, that obscure brand of Greek yogurt and the widest array of deli items imaginable. 

image: thetravelersway.com

Healthy gourmet food and wine

It’s that time of year—people all across the country are ramping up their workouts and revising their diets with the goal of getting in shape for summer. While for some this means deprivation, if you’re a gourmet food and wine lover, you have plenty of options that won’t interfere with your plans to get fit and healthy.

Whether you like to shop for gourmet food online or prefer to head into a store, you can find lots of ways to satisfy your refined gourmet taste without compromising your diet plans. Fish is typically a good choice, as it is an excellent source of lean protein, which is essential component of weight loss programs, and is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, aka “healthy fats.” Try grilling or braising salmon, ahi or halibut with low-fat marinades or recipes for sauces such as ginger and plum, lemon and dill, or lemon and cilantro.

One of the easy parts of shopping for your gourmet food online is that you can look up recipes while you simultaneously shop for the ingredients. However, some people prefer to visit the specialty grocery store, so they can actually look at the produce and meat selections in person. Either way, you can find the highest quality ingredients and get ideas for your next healthy meal. It’s the perfect time to take advantage of all the delicious spring produce available—you can make a refreshing salad or fruit bowl that will satisfy both your appetite and gourmet taste buds. Note: skip the fattening dressings and opt for a healthy, aged balsamic vinegar instead.

Some excellent suggestions for meals that some of our favorite gourmet food and wine aficionados shared with us include lentil and black bean salad, cucumbers with dill and Greek yogurt, roasted beets with fennel, halibut with cilantro ginger sauce, maple glazed salmon with lentils, salmon squash risotto, pumpkin-crusted trout, seared ahi with asparagus salsa and tuna with wasabi pea crust, among many others. Get creative and experiment with healthy gourmet recipes—you’ll never have to feel deprived again and will still fit into your bathing suit! 

image: huffingtonpost.com

Welcome Spring with Gourmet Food and Wine

Spring is officially here! This means there are plenty of reasons to celebrate with barbecues and outdoor fetes, with gourmet food and wine on the menu, of course. Whether you plan a seasonal wine pairing or al fresco entertaining, our market will have what you need to make your gourmet food menu a standout.

It’s the perfect time of year for a garden party, especially if you want to show off your spring landscaping. Why not throw an outdoor luncheon for a bridal shower, birthday event or just to celebrate the season? Couple platters of delicious seasonal produce and finger sandwiches along with gourmet food and wine items such as foie gras, pate, Arugula salad and tea. Send guests home with Ghiott Ghiottini al Cacao Biscotti or imported Italian cookies such as Forno Bonomi Italian Amaretti Cookies–they both make amazing party favors.

With Easter around the corner, it’s an ideal time to brainstorm ideas for brunch. Take a walk through our market to search for gourmet food and ideas that will inspire an unforgettable menu. For example, a perfect way to lighten up the menu is with a spinach and strawberry salad to start, a light spring pasta with smoked salmon and vegetables as an entrée, and sorbet served with berries and fruit for dessert. Or you can always stick to the tradition route with Beeler's Pork Half Bone in Spiral Slice Ham or Saag's Black Forest Ham as an entrée. Blow even the most discerning gourmet taste buds with caviar and specialty meats as starters for any menu!

If Easter candy isn’t your thing, serve a Fiasconaro Colomba Classica Traditional Italian Easter Cake or an assortment of Cookies Con Amore Handmade Italian Easter Cookies. When it comes to drinks, there are so many great seasonal wines to choose from that will go with any spring menu, from California Chardonnays and swanky white wines to a pink rose or dessert wine. The options are unlimited, so have fun while you’re planning!

Taylor's Kitchen Menu for the week of February 20th

 Starters


Potato Gnocchi
dungeness crab, preserved lemon, red chard, fresno chiles,
garlic butter sauce
$12.00

Veal Sweetbreads
baby shiitake, house cured bacon, brussels sprouts, potato puree, capers
$12.00

Caldo Verde Soup
linguica, cranberry beans, potatoes, kale
$8.00

Duck Confit
frisee, lentils, radicchio, vanilla bean and verjus vin, rhubarb syrup, hen egg
$14.00

Taylor's Artisan Cheeseboard
marcona almonds, honeycomb, kumquat marmalade
$15.00

Soup
Today's Housemade - ask Server

Greens

Roasted Fingerling Potato Salad
frisee, grilled radicchio, house-made coppa, gribiche,
romesco sauce
$9.00

Azolla Farms Baby Escarole and Tangelo Salad
pickled shallots, toasted hazelnuts,
chevre, balsamic vinaigrette
$8.00

Riverdog Farms Roasted Beets
melogold grapefruit, belgian endive, shaved fennel, baby arugula, honey-goat cheese mousse
$8.00

Baby Spinach Salad
pickled fennel, shaved shallots, honeycrisp apple,
colston basset blue, bacon-mustard vinaigrette
$8.00

Entrees

Ahi Tuna
thai style fried rice, grilled broccoli rabe, macadamia nuts,
grilled pineapple and green garlic chutney
$28.00

Maple Brined Berkshire Pork Chop
candy cap mushroom and celeriac bread pudding,
blue lake beans, rhubarb-apple butter
$28.00

Taylor's True Dry Aged Ribeye
sunchoke, potato and bacon fondue, romanesco cauliflower,
hen of the woods mushrooms, caramelized onions, bordelaise
$32.00

Mary's Farms Roasted Chicken
corriander and honey glazed carrots and pearl onions,
bloomsdale spinach, potato puree, chicken jus
$24.00


Seasonal Fish ~ Ask Server

A.Q.

Pasta Dave's Chitarra
red chard, hedgehog mushrooms, oven roasted tomatoes,
green garlic sofritto, midnight moon goat cheese
$18.00

Half Pound Lucky Dog Ranch Burger
handcut french fries, housemade kaiser bun,
traditional garnish
$14.00


Desserts

Rhubarb Torte
candied pistachios, white chocolate mousse,
strawberry puree
$8.00

Caramelized Banana Tart
chocolate hazelnut sauce, linzer crisp,
caramel ice cream
$8.00

Classic Creme Brulee
almond macaroons, bourbon vanilla bean,
$8.00

Espresso Cheesecake
candied kumquats, cocoa nib caramel
$8.00

Profiteroles
coffee ice cream, candied almond,
warm chocolate sauce
$8.00

Three Scoops of Housemade Ice Cream or Sorbet
honey ginger ice cream, coffee ice cream,
caramel ice cream, passion fruit sorbet,
rhubarb sorbet, pomegranate sorbet
petite cookies
$7.00







Espresso - $3.00
Cappuccino - $3.50

Split Charge $2.00

Valentine’s Day with gourmet groceries

Even if you didn’t make a dinner reservation for Valentine’s Day, you can still wine and dine your loved one with some gourmet groceries from one of your favorite grocery stores in Sacramento. Here are a few ideas if, like many others, you waited until the last minute.

Chocolates are a traditional gift for Valentine’s Day. Why not switch it up by pairing it with gourmet groceries that you normally wouldn’t think of? For example, you could follow the European customs and serve bread and chocolate, but choose some gourmet artisanal breads. Or while chocolate and coffee seems a natural combination, tea with chocolate is a pairing that many experts recommend. Gourmet wine with chocolate is an excellent choice, and some recommend trying it with beer.

Instead of going for the old standby box of candy, select some more unique and spectacular imported chocolate to make your gift stand out among the rest. For something different, try chocolate covered wine grapes or a box of Perugina Baci Italian chocolates. If your sweetheart doesn’t like chocolates, you can always rely on a nice bottle of gourmet wine or bubbly.

If your gift recipient is a man, you can search one of the grocery stores in Sacramento for a gift package of some favorite imported cheeses or even artisan salami. Another excellent choice that works for either gender is caviar. Pair it with a recommended wine, champagne or a pure vodka.  And if worst comes to worst and you can’t think of anything or know that your sweetheart likes to choose their own gifts, there’s always a gift certificate or gift card.

Taylor's Kitchen Menu for the week of January 23rd

Starters

Potato Gnocchi
baby bok choy, edamame, garlic chips, red curry sauce, cilantro-peanut pistou
$12.00

Veal Sweetbreads
brussels sprouts, rutabaga puree, candy cap mushrooms, lemoncello sauce
$12.00

Sunchoke and Cashew Soup
cashew cream, candied cashews, watercress
$8.00

Fritto Misto
cauliflower, artichokes, fennel, brussels sprouts, red onion, fennel pollen aioli
$10.00

Ale Braised Pork Belly
goat cheese "rouille", dates, parsley, toasted almonds, brioche points
$12.00

Taylor's Artisan Cheeseboard
marcona almonds, honeycomb, huckleberry-red onion jam
$15.00

Soup

Today's Housemade - ask Server

Greens

Frisee and Radicchio
smoked trout, pickled ginger, scarlet queen turnips,
soft boiled egg, roasted garlic vinaigrette
$9.00

Kale and Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
roasted almonds, cara cara oranges,
boquerones, lemon-parmesan dressing
$8.00

Azolla Farms Roasted Beets
blood oranges, kalamata olives, shaved fennel,
fried baby artichokes, feta and cucumber tzatziki
$9.00

Baby Spinach Salad
pickled fennel, shaved shallots, honeycrisp apple,
colston basset blue, bacon-mustard vinaigrette
$8.00

Entrees

Dayboat Scallops
roasted carrot risotto, bloomsdale spinach, roasted rutabaga and turnips,
fennel-caviar salad, blood orange-horseradish vinaigrette
$28.00

Maple Brined Berkshire Pork Chop
cheddar and piquillo grits, blue lake beans, lardons,
shallots, red eye gravy
$28.00

Dry Aged Ribeye
pasta dave's cavatelli, forest mushrooms, baby carrots,
lacinato kale, sherry cream, shaved torchon
$34.00

Mary's Farms Roasted Chicken
sunchokes, acorn squash, chorizo christmas lima beans,
blood orange mole sauce
$24.00

Seasonal Fish ~ Ask Server
A.Q.

Pasta Dave's Chitarra
brussels sprouts, caramelized fennel, kabocha squash,
brown butter, parmesan
$18.00

Half Pound Lucky Dog Ranch Burger
handcut french fries, housemade brioche bun,
traditional garnish
$14.00

Desserts

Chocolate Peanut Butter Terrine
peanut praline, wafer tuile, feuilletine crunch
$8.00

Caramelized Banana Tart
chocolate hazelnut sauce, linzer crisp,
caramel ice cream
$8.00

Classic Creme Brulee
almond macaroons, bourbon vanilla bean,
fresh berries
$8.00

Honey Ginger Cheesecake
grapefruit gelee, marcona almonds,
graham streusal
$8.00

Profiteroles
coffee ice cream, candied almond,
warm chocolate sauce
$8.00

Three Scoops of Housemade Ice Cream or Sorbet
honey ginger ice cream, coffee ice cream,
caramel ice cream, chocolate chunk ice cream,
concord grape sorbet, green apple sorbet
petite cookies
$7.00



Espresso - $3.00
Cappuccino - $3.50


Split Charge $2.00

Gourmet food and wine for game day?

Do you rely on burgers and chips and dip on game day? Do you have parties for the playoffs every year and opt for pizza each time? If your game day menu is getting tired, why not switch it up with a selection of gourmet food and wine?

While it’s easy to serve the old standby menu items, you’ll really increase the fun factor of your party if you mix in some new twists on game day food. If you start by browsing gourmet food online, you’ll almost immediately get some ideas for how to enhance your current favorites and what you can add to give your party menu an exciting update.

Instead of that played out ranch dip we all are so familiar with, try some spicy peach salsa and spinach and artichoke dip. Skip the hot dogs and opt instead for some Southern style Andouille sausage, traditional Oktoberfest white sausage or Bavarian bratwurst. Check some selections of gourmet food online to find some imported goat cheese,  Italian salami, anchovy stuffed olives and rosemary raisin pecan crackers to take your cold cuts tray up a couple of notches.  

In addition to gourmet food and wine, you can up the ante of your game day spread with some unique, high-end desserts. Try some dark chocolate dipped biscotti, Italian jelly filled cookies and chocolate covered wine grapes.

With some big playoffs and Super Bowl Sunday on its way, you’re sure to get even more inspired as the games draw closer. Take some risks and experiment with traditional game day classics in advance to upgrade your fete and enjoy every minute of the game.