Buying bulk food in NYC?
I am more and more interested in buying certain food and cooking items wholesale, such as Kosher salt, pasta, oils (olive and grapeseed), butter, and even some dry spices such as black, white, pink and green peppercorns. I have started my own "research" but was wondering if anyone had any suggestions and experience in this. Thanks!
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9 Comments:
there's a costco in brooklyn
ceforrester at 2:51PM on 01/02/08
I can't find kosher salt in any of the warehouse stores :( - Not Costco or Sam's. I've been to the Costco in Brooklyn, it's definitely great and has a lot of ethnic stuff. Just TRY finding a pound of unadulterated dry sun-dried tomatoes anywhere else!
I suggest you go to Pendery's website. I have gotten peppercorns from them and they're great. I got the mixed (including pink). There's also Penzey's website. Both are great mail order sources but by the sound of your request, you want a brick and mortar store in which to purchase these items.
Ever go to the Vinegar Factory (upper Manhattan)? Kalustyan's (Brooklyn)? Both are great.
Ever try this site?
You may have to try doing a "co-op" in order to get the best price but someone's got to coordinate that and it will probably be you. You may be able to get a Sysco account with enough people. Good luck!
chiff0nade at 3:08PM on 01/02/08
You can find many bulk staples at Amazon.com believe it or not. Their prices aren't always competitive, but sometimes they are very much so. And often with free shipping.
LoCo at 3:33PM on 01/02/08
Yeah, I was kinda hoping for a "brick and mortar" type of place that served the nyc restaurant business. I've been to costco and sam's club and thats not what i'm looking for. Kalustyan's is awesome especially for Asian ingredients. I have not tried the Vinegar Factory... The name sounds a bit hokey, but I guess we'll see. Thanks for those links, I will definitely keep them handy.
seyo at 7:30PM on 01/02/08
The Vinegar Factory is a retail store. I think that if what you are looking for existed, Ed would know about it. Your best bet for decent prices is Trader Joe's, Zabar's and Fairway. Amazon is actually a surprisingly good bulk resource although not what you had in mind. You may have to rethink...
izzy's mama at 8:22PM on 01/02/08
I have not tried the Vinegar Factory... The name sounds a bit hokey...
It used to be an old Vinegar Factory when Eli Zabar purchased it. :D
chiff0nade at 3:26PM on 01/03/08
Fairway and Zabars are my go-to places and they do have great prices, but seriously, I am looking to buy like 50 pounds of pasta at a time... where do Italian restaurants (that dont make their own) buy their pasta?
seyo at 12:22PM on 01/04/08
Usually from an outfit such as Sysco.
You can get 6-8 lb packs of pasta at Costco, though. You can buy 8 or 10 of them, and they'd be easy to store.
LoCo at 1:35PM on 01/04/08
...I am looking to buy like 50 pounds of pasta at a time...
If you plan to do this on a somewhat regular basis, you might be able to get a Sysco Account. They generally deal with large outfits. They'll do credit checks and set a minimum order, etc. If you scour the yellow pages and do some googling, you might find smaller wholesale outfits willing to deliver to you. Try asking a local business who they use for their food supplies. It couldn't hurt...
chiff0nade at 2:53PM on 01/04/08