Zabar's

Zabar's! If you ever wondered why you like to shop for food, look no further. Just walking into that store reminds one how remarkable each and every morsel can be. The selection is gargantuan. There were 2 aisles exclusively for cheese. How can an A list store begin with the letter Z?

The butter selection was no less spectacular and these photos are only the tip of the iceberg. The selection was international, from Europe to South America and back to the USA with the finest butter made by Vermont Butter & Cheese Company included.

Every 5 minutes or so an employee got on the public address system to announce a new tasting somewhere in the store. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's truffle season at Zabar's. Walk to the back of the bread department for samples of truffle products from Umbria Itly." Yes, it was pronounced "it lee". Well, how could one resist, I walked to the back and bought the Umbrian truffle oils after an in depth discussion with the vendor. I also purchased the first bottle of saba, concentrated grape must, I have found on this side of the Atlantic. Yes, my curiosity got the better of me and I also bought chocolates, one with bacon, one with oil of bergamont.

Chocolates? They had different selections at the ends of each cash register aisle, again from all over the world. This next photo shows only one of the brands with 7 flavors from which to choose. I would have taken more photos but didn't want to overdo it.

They were hawking a book on food sources and restaurants in NYC and offered a deeply discounted price, if customers arrived at the deli section before the author left. With 10 minutes left, the race was on. Sure enough, the book was autographed and paid for with a 45% discount.

How does one manage to miss photographing the largest deli case in the store? The truth is, there were so many people ordering food, it was almost impossible to see. Besides I was on the public address orchestrated merry-go-round, whirling my way across the store. "Ladies and gentlemen, Zabar's has a tasting of French imported olive tepanade made with green olives, capers....". The photograph above shows the Italian salami only, there were at least 2 more cases like this one outside of the main deli section.

A bakery rounds out the selections on the ground floor, along with floor to ceiling shelves of condiments and preserves, some with the Zabar label. There were also cases of oils and flavored vinegars from all over the world. I passed the tea and coffee sections briskly, while on the merry-go-round. Next I toured the upstairs to see every kind of kitchen equipment imaginable. Couldn't help but wonder how frustrated the regular customers must be to see all that and have no counter space!

Located at 80th and Broadway on the Upper Weside NYC

http://www.zabars.com/