Good Taste helps you eat well in the Bay Area. Our region has a concentration of wonderful spice companies and co-op grocery stores where home cooks can stock up on layers of flavor. Here’s some of our current favorites to enliven your daily meal-making, however modest.
Back to rule
The former Korean superette in the Sunset called Queens (which 48 Hills Arts Editor Marke B. adored and still mourns) now sells pantry staples online for local pickup or shipping. I just ordered some gochugaru chile powder that is so fresh that it’s recommended to refrigerate the jar after opening, and to use it all within four weeks. That runs contrary to a pantry stuffed full of nebulously expired spice grinders, and you can absolutely taste the difference.
Bulk best bets
Shoppers at Rainbow Grocery (1745 Folsom Street, SF), Other Avenues (3930 Judah Street, SF), and Berkeley Bowl (920 Heinz Avenue and 2020 Oregon Street, Berkeley) know that each of these co-ops have incredible bulk spice sections. When building up a collection, supporting one of these money-saving spots is a win-win situation.
Beit Hanina by bodega
O’Looney’s Market (588 Haight Street, SF) in the Lower Haight is a secret wellspring of olive oil and spices such as sumac and za’atar from Beit Hanina, the Arab Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Mainstream sumac just doesn’t shine like this.
Bad (meaning good) and bougie
Not cheap (hence bougie), but the veggie powders from a family owned company in SF called Dr. Cowan’s Garden are both health-minded and intensely flavorful. Though currently sold out, a personal favorite is the seasonal Wild Ramp Powder that comes in from the Appalaichans, if only because Californians don’t get much exposure to the green onion-esque allium that sounds so prized elsewhere in the country.
World-wise spices
It’s been a joy to watch Oaktown Spice Shop (546 Grand Avenue, Oakland; 1224 Solano Avenue, Albany; 2132 Fillmore Street, SF) grow over the years. If you’re a curious home cook who wants to continually expand your repertoire, this is the place to start your search for the less mass-marketed international spices and learn as you go.
Tamara publishes the California Eating website, newsletter, and zine.
