The art of food

Originally uploaded by lools.

We were shopping for furniture in SoHo yesterday when we popped in at Dean and DeLuca's flagship store for a quick snackito. I was totally enamored by all the fine foods on display and was kicking myself for not having ventured to this high-end gourmet retailer before. I asked Harsha to pay for our snack while I took a lightening tour of the space, making a mental note of everything I wanted to buy when I came back.

Food is undoubtedly the hero here. From the grocery section to the olive bar, food is so beautifully and tastefully displayed for sale. It helps that there's no shortage of space in this SoHo warehouse-turned store. The white marble floors and tile walls don't distract from the focus on food either. I can't imagine anyone walking through and not succumbing to a freshly baked Quiche Lorraine, a slab of Tomme de Savoie or an exquisitely wrapped box of Mini Apple Truffles.

I love their section at the far end of the store that is dedicated to kitchenware and cookbooks. Harsha is always amazed at how I can spend hours and hours just browsing through various cookbooks, reading recipes of all things! They have some of the finest coffee table type cooking books that I'm dying to get.

All in all, Dean and DeLuca is one of THE places for the finest cooking ingredients in Manhattan. Why settle for the first bottle of extra virgin olive oil, the first black truffle or the first aged balsamic you can find when you know you can always buy the very best at Dean and DeLuca!