Staff Favs
Julian loves Cucina Viva Mozzarella Balls!
I love these fresh mozzarella balls because they’re soft and melt in your mouth. Everything you want in a cheese! This cheese’s flavor profile, texture and versatility make it a very special food experience, no matter how you eat it. It has an amazing, soft texture that melts in your mouth to give you beautiful, rich and fresh flavors. It works in an array of dishes or just as a snack with some salt, pepper and grape tomatoes!
This cheese is a product of Crave Brother’s Farmstead. This amazing company only uses far fresh milk that comes from a sustainable family farm in Wisconsin. The farm is 100% green-powered and the company is carbon-negative. That means they have generators that transfer manure into energy and create so much that they produce extra energy! The cows are pasture-raised and humanely treated.
I love to eat this cheese by itself with a crunchy baguette, sometimes with some prosciutto or cured meats. It’s also great in a caprese salad with fresh tomatoes, basil, a little olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. It also melts great for pizzas or grilled sandwiches.
Garrett loves Bison Flank Steak!
I like the Bison Flank Steak because it is so versatile. The rich flavor goes with any kind of marinade or is good with just salt and pepper. Grill it and slice it thin for or glaze it with teriyaki and serve it with rice and vegetables.
Besides for it tasting great, the bison is all grass-fed and is hormone/antibiotic-free. Frontiére Natural Meats is a single source farm just across the border in Wyoming, and it’s a Colorado company that manages the operation.
Dallas Loves Ozo’s Espresso
When it comes to espresso, Ozo’s 2012 blend is up there with the best of them — and I know espresso. There’s nothing better than sipping a doppio in the morning, exciting your senses with the perfect amount of caffeine following a refreshingly smooth finish.
The lighter, syrupy body of the blend makes for the perfect shots for those who enjoy straight espresso; but, with some steamed milk, Ozo’s Espresso 2012 carries a light, nutty tone. The flavors in each shot are perfectly balanced with a touch of fruity acidity and a sweet molasses finish.
I recommend enjoying the espresso slowly, sipping the crema off the top for a lighter beginning before the full-bodied finish.
Ozo’s Espresso 2012 is a must for any coffee lover!
Burke loves Black Saddle Stout
Not only is Crystal Springs Brewery’s Black Saddle Imperial Stout delicious and complex, it is made a couple hundred feet above Boulder by Boulder High Schools very own music teacher who has graced us with the ever-delicious Summertime Kolsh and Doc’s American Porter. Recently hiring his very first employee and upgrading his bottling line, he delivered us this deep dark yumminess, which is his winter seasonal bottle, bomber size!
I recommend taking the bottle out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to pouring so that it can warm slightly and allow the full flavor to envelope your tongue. It pours dark, almost black and aromas of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee escape through the tan head. The mouth feel is smooth and low in carbonation with a pleasant creaminess that allows flavors of chocolate, coffee, malts and slight tinges of tobacco and wood to rush over the palate. This brew will warm you up from the coldness of winter and tantalize the tongue with such exuberation.
This viscous beer would be perfect for grilling a 1 lb. Tri-Tip steak on your patio while standing in 1 foot of fresh snow, or coupled with a bar of chocolate curled up on the couch watching the snow fall out your window. Come and get it, limited release!! When it is gone it is gone till next year!!!
Paul loves Single Grind Chuck
Single ground chuck is where it’s at, and I want to shout it from the rooftops. Most everyone that comes by my meat counter opts for ground chuck (a.k.a double ground), meaning it’s ground twice for an on-the-surface smooth looking consistency. My guess is that most people pick it up because it looks less fatty than single grind since the fat particles are “merged”, if you will, with the meat itself. But as we all know, looks can be deceiving. The single ground and double ground chuck in our store come from the same cow, so both are 85% lean. And single ground is a lot tastier – because it’s only ground once, the fat particles stay intact creating a rougher texture that caramelizes when cooked and allows for flavor bursts. Try it, and taste the difference!
Amedeo loves Balinese Sea Salt
One of my favorite things in the world are Balinese “Hollow Pyramid” sea salt crystals because they are unlike any other sea salt in the world. Truly. They have a very delicate, subtle salt flavor, a slight sweetness with a bright fast finish. And not only do these little morsels taste amazing, they are a visual delight too!
These coarse grain crystals are a naturally occurring product of the cool, windy days marking the end of monsoon rains. They are very fragile and are gently scooped from the surface of the brine to dry in the exposed wind and sun. How the salt crystals form into large hollow, delicate 4-sided pyramids are an unknown phenomenon. When the local Balinese are asked how and why, they simply respond, TAKSU…. By the hand of God.
I love to sprinkle these on dishes as a garnish or grand accent. Rarity is to be respected.
Alex loves Batampte Mustard
If you’re a fan of mustard, chances are, your taste in the punchy condiment are ever-evolving. As our palettes mature from childhood, French’s Classic Yellow just doesn’t seem capable of keeping up with our imagination! It’s eventually relegated to the role of dressing the classics, a straight-forward cheeseburger, a grilled chicken sandwich, and Chicago dogs just aren’t Chicago dogs without it.
Now we can go on and on talking about exotic and specialty mustards, but let me get right to the point about a simple and familiar, yet tongue tantalizing mustard, Batampte! Sorry, Bataaaaammpteee!!!! It’s beauty lies in the fact it will more than satisfyingly dress a burger, a dog, a brat, a ham and cheese, yet be the talk of the table at a fancy dinner party when paired with a crisp bread and aged dry cheddar.
It has an approachable, familiar, bright yellow color with noticeable granules that deliver a slight gritty texture that make you feel you’re experiencing REAL mustard. With my first bite (at a dinner party, on fancy bready with fancy cheese), my mind raced as to how I might dabble with it – Cuban sandwiches, devilled eggs, ohhh, and pulled pork!
If mustard is your thing, do yourself a favor and pick up a jar of this condiment jewel. When you discover it on shelf, you’ll be delighted by it’s classic old-school packaging and message, “Batampte, Delicatessen Style Mustard.” Fittingly born out of Brooklyn, with an ingredients list that reads true and tasty
