a new find

For me, walking to somewhere is mostly so much better than walking to nowhere.

The other day I make lamb chops and can't smell the ground rosemary and thyme that I've had for over three years. I decide then that I need some new spices.

I discover through YELP a spice store on 28th and Lex. It's called Kalustyan's, and apparently I'm the only one in NYC who doesn't know about this store. So today, that's where I go.

Low-60's. Clear blue skies. Zero humidity. Perfect conditions for a long walk.

The unassuming store kind of blends into the block. I'm not sure I'd go in if I hadn't known about it.

I am just buying some basic herbs and spices, though the store appears to carry every imaginable kind.

Only one other customer is there when I am. And Donna, someone who has worked there for a while, is immensely helpful in answering my questions. She even questions one of my potential purchases (basil powder) and suggests instead dried basil leaf.

I also end up buying some spreads (baba ganoush and hummus) that a couple of friends have highly recommended, something I have never heard of but looks great (apricot labneh) and some homemade fig jam.

I get my four mile-walk in, and arrive home with some stuff that has never been in my refrigerator before. Am hoping it's all as good as it looks.