Happy Winter Solstice! After the rain of the last 48 hours, everyone here in the shop is truly looking forward to more daylight.
We’ll be open every day until Christmas with special hours to help you get ready for the holidays:
Sunday, December 22 open from 10 AM-6 PM
Monday, December 23, open from 10 AM – 6 PM
Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve) open from 10 AM-4 PM
Wednesday, December 25 (Christmas Day) CLOSED
Regular hours beginning Thursday, December 26 (10 AM-6 PM)
Ybarra Olives are back in stock. We now have the large and medium tins of anchovy-stuffed olives and the Alta Seleccion piquillo pepper-stuffed olives on the shelf. We also have the Serpis brand anchovy stuffed olives in mini tins.
Portuguese cheeses arrive: We love having these hearty cheeses in stock. These are all pasteurized cow’s milk cheeses from the Azores Islands, and each offers up its own character. Beira is tangy, slightly peppery and quite sharp. São Jorge DOP 7 month has a semi-soft texture with an intense piquant texture. Topo São Jorge is a crumbly, semi-hard cheese from the town of Topo. The cows’ diet of fresh meadow grass lends an aromatic complexity to the cheese’s creamy, slightly piquant bite. São Miguel is DOP Certified and aged 9 months. Its intense and spicy flavor is akin to a quality Parmesan and it gets even better with age. With a honeyed color and smooth, soft texture it is excellent in salads or with eggs. Ilha Azul is rubbed with a mild paprika. Very creamy with a soft texture and buttery flavor. Famoso Cheese is from the largest dairy region of the Azores. It has an intense sharpness with a dense and creamy texture and a balanced, buttery richness.
Ask us to put together a gift box. We’ve got baskets and boxes to fill with your choice of toothsome specialties. These are custom made, so the price will depend on the items selected.
Stocking stuffers: We have all kinds of fantastic items to fill a stocking. Jars or cans of olives, mini tins (175 ml) of Merula EVOO, French or Spanish chocolate bars such as Cacao Sanpaka Gin & Tonic, cheese knives, tinned seafood, 375 ml bottles of wine or port, small bags of delectable Spanish potato chips and small jars of preserves, or gift certificates to Paris-Madrid Grocery.
We’ve got a whole leg of bone-in Fermin Jamon Serrano, as well as several boneless whole legs of Jamon Serrano and Jamon Iberico. This is a fantastic gift for those who love Jamon! (And who doesn’t?)
Sip Madeira for the holidays:
Henriques and Henriques (H&H) is renowned for its outstanding Madeiras made from the Verdelho grape. They farm 15 hectares of vineyards on Madeira, which is a huge plot by island standards; most vineyards are relatively small, family-owned and scattered among terraced vineyards. Madeiras made from Verdelho are medium-dry, and the balance between dry and sweet allows the amazing complexity to fully reveal itself, unlike a sweeter Bual or Malmsey.
H&H 10 year Verdelho ($45.00) With buttery caramel flavors, roasted nuts, butterscotch and dried fruit, it is medium sweet with a lingering finish. Stellar.
H&H 15 year Verdelho ($64.00) Shows a beautiful intensity and concentration. Notes reminiscent of Cognac wrap around a core of almonds and walnuts, fig and raisin. Medium dry with great acidity. Luscious and amazing with a seemingly endless finish.