Amy Kearney

Review of Balducci for Governor-Connecti...

Balducci's is a market for culinary enthusiasts an...

Balducci's is a market for culinary enthusiasts and serious cooks. This is the place I come to find ingredients that I can't find anywhere else in Westport. As an example: I wanted to cook potatoes, and realized I was almost out of duck fat (which I normally buy online), so I figured I'd check here, and was happily surprised to find two different kinds - one on the shelf, and one in the freezer! This is the only grocery store at which I've ever been able to find it. They also have a decent caviar selection (sturgeon roe - the real stuff); I had some Osetra a few weeks back, and they were conscientious enough to carefully package it in a container full of ice to ensure it stayed cool enough during the ride home. Nearly anything one might need for recipes is available here, including somewhat prepared items to make a cook's life easier. They have an excellent selection of high quality stocks, oils, seasonings...they even have a pre-chopped mirepoix to save you a few minutes in the kitchen. They also have an unbelievable assortment of fresh mushrooms (it changes based on availability, but today they had fresh chanterelles, hen of the woods, oyster mushrooms, shiitake, and trumpet mushrooms, as well as button mushrooms, portabellas, cremini, etc). Regarding the prices: Sure, they're a bit steeper than Stop & Shop, for example, but prices are comparable to other specialty grocers, like Fresh Market. It's worth the slight increase when you consider the quality of what you're getting (fantastic organic produce, for example) and the convenience of being able to find things that aren't available at other markets.

*Edit as of January 2015: Fresh Market now sells duck fat, too, so there are two different places to get it in Westport. :D