PrintMail order food: yay or nay?
A co-worker swears by Omaha Steaks but I can't bring myself to try them. I just flipped through a food catalog from Pfaelzer Bros. and have a Chesapeake Bay catalog to look at next. I've never order food from catalogs (except for cookies that I sent as a gift one year) so I'm curious if any Serious Eaters do so on a regular basis. If so, what do you buy? What was your worst experience? Let's exclude specialty ingredients- spices, flours, chocolate, etc. this time- that can be a topic for another post!
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17 Comments:
I buy Honeybell oranges from Cushman. I have ordered them every January for 4 years now. I have had good results. Although, I did purchase their 9 month plan ( a different fruit every month for 9 months) I didn't have as good results so now I just stick to the Honeybells. YUM!!!!!:)
mommyme at 1:14PM on 02/05/08
I got Omaha Steaks as a gift and they came with burgers. I think we ate the steaks (although I wasn't impressed), but I gave the burgers to my friend for her dogs. They were that awful.
I also was lucky enough to get lobster tails from Maine as a gift and they were the best I've ever tasted. The gifter knew the owner of the small company and called him personally. I tried the next year to find them and they were no longer listed.
I remember one time my sister's daughter was selling frozen food as a school fundraiser in Naperville, IL. We were visiting and she served filet mignon wrapped in bacon that she had ordered. It melted in your mouth. I don't know the company, but I'd order that for sure. If anyone knows, please tell!
PerkyMac at 1:26PM on 02/05/08
We get a gift of Harry and David Pears every year and they are wonderful. I buy gift items from American Spoon Foods including their spoon fruits, cherry berry nut mix, and various gift boxes. I highly recommend them http://www.spoonfoods.com/. I've never ordered any pork products from Nueske's but I'm tempted too. I found their bacon at a local retailer and it was by far the best bacon I've ever tried. http://www.nueskes.com/
Library Lady at 2:26PM on 02/05/08
We send food gifts every year for Christmas as we have no relatives close to us. We have gifted Omaha to the in-laws in the past but we did Kansas City in 2006 and they raved about them so much we did that again last year. The folks are quite the gormands and I trust their opinion on the quality I guess. We sent fillets and ginormous shrimp and they loved them. However, the in-laws sent us a box of crab-stuffed sole from Kansas City Steaks this year and I know they were not cheap. I prepared two of them as suggested and they were dry and flavorless. SO finished the other half of mine. Not impressed.
Burger's Smokehouse is highly recommended and we have sent Allen Bros. with good success but it is very pricey.
frederika at 2:39PM on 02/05/08
I like the Harry & David fruit of the month but my experience with it is probably outdated - around Christmas time, others said here that it was no longer good.
Stop the presses. I would buy ANYTHING from D'Artagnan. I have purchased the most pristine duck from them and I love their game meats. I highly recommend them.
chiff0nade at 3:29PM on 02/05/08
The very best experience I've had was with an order from Russ & Daughters. Good information, cheerful order taking, delivery exactly as promised (not easy given where we live), and superb product. I'd do it every week if I could justify the indulgence! I've also had success with Heritage Foods.
islandexile at 3:51PM on 02/05/08
I regularly order food from websites. I do it mostly for stuff that isn't readily available. I like D'artagnan also. They used to have a shop/restaurant up the block from my office, which was awesome, but sadly, no more. I love their French Kisses so much I can barely stand it. I'm a big fan of french feast which is where I load up on mustards and fruit syrups and verjus and all manner of French goodness, and cybersnacks for tasty treats from back home in Hawaii. Oh, for the most delicious chocolate chip cookies ever, I love Eleni's Cookies.
Omaha steaks are good, but for me they're just not worth it. I'm perfectly happy with the meat I get at my favorite market. Not a big fan of Harry and David either.
chisai at 9:06AM on 02/06/08
I think great steak is too easy to come by nowadays to make Omaha worth it. Of course, this philosophy does not work if you don't have access to great beef. In that case Omaha would be a good gift for someone. I think of all the great beef at Fresh Market and Whole Foods and when you add shipping, mail order beef just doesn't make sense in metropolitan areas.
chiff0nade at 9:36AM on 02/06/08
I have to agree with Chiff on the beef issue. We do have a fabulous local butcher but I doubt I could convince my co-worker to switch. He is extremely set in his ways and you know what? That's fine. If he's happy that's all that matters.
I'll have to check out D'artagnan- I might have flipped through a catalog a few years back but I'm not sure.
I guess I've never been in the market for something so specific I had to order it, nor have I been so moved by a picture that I pulled out the Mastercard and ordered it. Perhaps I need to browse a little more... Thanks for all the suggestions and warnings!
AuntJone at 12:28PM on 02/06/08
I've only ordered from Fischer & Weiser (www.jelly.com), and that was before I found their roasted raspberry chipotle sauce in a local gourmet store. I originally had picked some up at the airport in Dallas, and loved it so much I had to have more.
I'd like to find a mail order source for Paw Paw's BBQ sauce, that is made in Alabama. Again....I picked some up when I was down south, and haven't been able to get more since. I think I'm more inclined to order sauces & condiments mail order than anything perishable.
mepolo at 1:05PM on 02/06/08
i order online for alot of things that i just cant find locally, or in one case the local product while excellent is 3x the price of an online order and shipping. i dont buy much beef but i have gotten some one year, my opinion was much the same i always have when good beef has been frozen, yuk!
huney_bumper at 1:17PM on 02/06/08
I order from Davis & Davis Gourmet Foods (www.davisanddavisonline.com). We love their Cooking & Dipping Oils, dip mixes and OH... their drink mixes.
Kwdavis421 at 6:53PM on 02/06/08
I have ordered food several times, but I think I may stop now. The shipping is far too expensive. Many of the retailers won't ship regular UPS and only give you the option of FedEx.
I just had an experience with Chuao Chocolates from San Francisco that probably puts an end to my mail ordering. I ordered two small boxes of their chocopods. I figured they would be small, but in reality, they were smaller than I expected. I had to ship it FedEx which costed $9.00 +. About 4 days later I wrote them because I didn't get my package. They informed me that the FedEx was ground and takes up to 5 business days. So five business days pass and still no package. I called and she told me to keep waiting. I told the woman that I was upset that I paid over $9.00 to ship a small package and that the ship time was upsetting to me. In the end, I waited 10 days. She didn't even refund my shipping. Never again is all I can say - No matter how yummy the chocolates were.
puppymomma at 6:39AM on 02/07/08
Growing up in a German family transplanted to the US, I was lucky enough to live near a local German specialty store that provided some favorite foods. When I moved away from the area with the specialty store, I found germandeli.com to be a GREAT resource. Small online import company with excellent customer service. Everything is always shipped in a very careful way, and their products are great. German specialties you just kind find locally--great especially around the holidays.
rsmouse at 12:42PM on 02/08/08
Specialty Food websites are a great way to purchase many hard to find, unique and or specialty foods such as truffles, fresh morels, aged balsamics, etc... The key is to work with a company that is reputable and offers good customer service, just as in a brick and mortar store. About.com has a nice write up (http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/wheretobuygourmetfoods/tp/bygourmetonline.htm)
on companies that are reputable. I do have to disclose that I work for one of the companies listed but I will not say who as I don't want to use this as an advertisment. I have also made purchases from several of these companies personally and found this to be a very convienient way to shop especially if you live in an area that does not have many choices.
Angie_Earthy at 2:07PM on 02/08/08
I ordered my Thanksgiving turkey from D'Artagnan. It was delicious.
Joseph Bayot at 9:24PM on 02/08/08
I really wish Trader Joe's had mail order...
hereandthe at 1:00PM on 02/09/08