A few weeks ago we covered a gold laced, champagne lollipop from Edible: a boutique food brand focused on opening up the minds and palates of those in the west to some of the world’s most exotic culinary delicacies. Not that gold and champagne is among them but BBQ worm crisps, toasted ants, and Thai curry crickets are and that’s what stocks Edible’s online shop. Our favorite is the dark chocolate scorpion. Seriously. A farm-raised, detoxified (thankfully) scorpion is dipped in smooth, rich dark chocolate, packaged in plastic and served as a snack. If chocolate’s not your thing, it also comes suspended in toffee or infused in vodka. Bottoms up!

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. Once upon a time, these guys ruled. Then came super markets and giant super markets and now, somehow – in a welcomed twist of fate – we’re circling back to placing value on the artisanal, on craftsmanship, on small boutiques with specific specialties turning out exquisite foodstuffs. It’s a byproduct of the culinary new wave and it’s one we’re thrilled about. Even mega store Target in the US is getting in on the action. And over in London, there’s Hubbub.

What’s all the Hubbub, you ask? Connecting Londoners with their favorite local shops through the power of the Internet. There’s the fishmonger, run by a family of generations of fishmongers. There’s the cheesemonger, the smokehouse, the farmer and butcher, the green grocer, and the chocolate maker. All independent, all passionate, all local. Londoners log-on to the site and order everything from pork at the Ginger Pig butcher, to fresh pumpkin, nutmeg and sage ravioli from the Italian deli.

And here’s the best part: they deliver. Simply place your order and wait for a knock at the door. Now you don’t have to leave your house to stuff your face with artisanal cheese all day.

[Second photo via Borough Wines]

Accidentally falling upon extraordinary restaurants is, for me, a bit like finding money in an old jacket pocket. Unexpected but completely welcomed. Such was the case at Restaurant Greulich, an unassuming yet delicious find tucked away in a Zurich hotel of the same name. This boutique space, itself hidden in a residential neighborhood, boasts a striking garden of birch trees and clean, contemporary lines, all which speak to quintessential Swiss minimalism.

And the food? The food is a complex dance of flavors that seem to harmoniously come together in completely unexpected ways. The concept is based on sharing a number of small plates, but this isn’t the stuff that tapas are made of. Here, delicious little portions of creative dishes based in seasonal flavors are passed around the table, allowing diners to explore and taste as much as possible. Three ingredients listed on the menu give a hint to the dish – say green onion risotto, cashew, apple, or shrimp, cucumber, green curry. It’s only a hint. What arrives on your plate is a playful and imaginative interpretation of what was seemingly simple. And here too, Swiss minimalism strikes again.

From bottle cap gardens to rooftop chicken coops, it’s clear that urban farming is on the rise. And now, we’re turning the spotlight on another city-based project: small-scale beekeeping from Bee Local. Out of Portland, Oregon, this inspired project is churning out hyper-local, artisan “neighborhood” honey. It all started when owner Damian Magista began to understand how bees living in different areas created uniquely flavored honey. Comparing it with wine, “honey,” he says, “has its own terrior.” Today, Bee Local hosts hives in neighborhoods throughout Portland using sustainable techniques to create urban micro-batch honey, which is then packaged in hand labeled, hand embossed jars with each one named after its locale. The result is sparking conversations about urban landscapes and our environment – not to mention the amazing honey that city bees are churning out. Take that country bee.

It’s hard to obey your mother’s wishes to not play with your food when cheeky new kitchen tools seem to pop-up everyday. So what have they thought of next? Only the most adorable mini furniture food mold, Sapore dei Mobili. This latest food + art creation is ideal for filling with waffle mix or cake batter, perfect for frying up an edible dining room set à la minute. The work of artist’s Ryosuke Fukusada and Rui Pereira, the mold was created out of a larger conversation around contemporary design and creating waffle chairs was apparently an alternative way to experience furniture. Discourse aside, I could totally go for that lamp doused in maple syrup…

There are book clubs, sports clubs, and – our personal favorite – wine clubs. And we’ve got our eye on one particular members-only wine-groupie site: Cellar Angels. This Napa Valley-based community brings its members undiscovered artisan wines from boutique bottles to garage vintners not typically found on your go-to grocery store shelf. Better yet, they pair these wines – not with food – but with charity. Every month, the site chooses one charity that receives a percentage of their sales. Keen to get in on the action? Throughout May 20% of every tasty bottle purchased goes towards the Ilya Peckerman Fund to benefit the Vasculities Foundation. Donating to charity never tasted so good.

Hey shorty! You may notice shorter than usual posts. As we renovate The Urban Grocer, we’re a bit tied up. But we don’t want you to get too bored, so we’ll be sharing new content each week – just trimmer than usual.

[Photo via Julian.. on Flickr]

Cocktail in a bottle. You’ve seen them lingering on the store shelves. Overly sweet Pina Coladas stand next to sour Margaritas, all pre-packaged and ready to disappoint. Well, High West Distillery’s The 36th Vote Barreled Manhattan (say that 5 times fast….) is looking to be the exception. Yes, it is a cocktail in a bottle but this Manhattan is made according to a pre-Prohibition recipe of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters, which are mixed and aged together in a white oak barrel for three months. Hailing from Park City, Utah – better known as “where Sundance is held” – this Prohibition-inspired bottle is gaining props for its spicy and herbal complexity. And at about $55 a bottle, a little complexity is certainly in order.

Hey shorty! You may notice shorter than usual posts. As we renovate The Urban Grocer, we’re a bit tied up. But we don’t want you to get too bored, so we’ll be sharing new content each week – just trimmer than usual.

[Photo via This Curated Life]

Growing up in New York, summers were hot and humid with an ice cream truck purchase topping off every sticky night. So as the months creep closer to summertime, I’m longing for those childhood popsicles, snowballs, and ice cream. We’ve covered some pretty creative incarnations of these summer sweets on The Urban Grocer and today is all about our favorite amongst them. And because for me, summer is always in the US, this post is exclusively Stateside.

Feverish, Miami: Fair enough; it’s always the summer in Miami. Still doesn’t that mean it’s always an appropriate time to have gourmet popsicles from an eco-friendly truck? Enter Feverish and their natural ice-based Feverpops in flavors like Salted Chocolate Coconut, Watermelon Mint, and Pineapple Basil.

Skylite, San Francisco: You remember snow cones, right? That hardened shaved ice topped with chemically-tasting syrup? You may have liked it when you were five but it’s time for something with a little more finesse – like snowballs made from an ex pastry chef at Chez Panisse. Off the Skylite truck in San Francisco that’s exactly what you’ll get. Take your pick of ice laced with natural, homemade syrups like Cardamon Vanilla or Earl Gray. There’s even a few made from local favorite hotspots like Tcho Chocolate and Four Barrel Coffee.

Frozen Pint, Georgia: The only thing that may be better than an ice cream cone on a hot night is a cold beer. Luckily, someone thought to put the two together and the result is Frozen Pint: craft beer ice cream in flavors like Honey IPA, Malted Milk Chocolate Stout, and Brown Ale Chip.

Guerilla Ice Cream, New York: Political awareness is not your standard ice cream topping, but it’s what you’ll find at New York’s new Guerrilla Ice Cream street cart. This mobile project has paired frozen custards to political movements in flavors corresponding uniquely to their chosen uprising. Check out, for instance, Velvet Revolution from the Czech Republic, a lemon poppy seed ice cream topped with spiced cookie crumbs and lemon zest.

There’s a lot to be said about Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat, the first single-origin, artisanal chocolatier in Vietnam. Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat is one of the only bean-to-bar chocolatiers in the world to produce chocolate at its place of origin. The work of two Frenchmen, cacao for the bars is grown and sourced locally – as is the cane sugar – from small farms throughout southern Vietnam. The result is a unique handmade chocolate, which is then hand-wrapped in stunning packaging. Silk-screen printing on antique gold wrappers delicately conceals the Vietnamese chocolate inside. Each bar is named for the region where the beans were sourced and the rich, earthy colors were inspired by the hues of the cacao pods. Regrettably, unless a Vietnamese adventure is in your immediate future, the chocolate is still hard to snag.

Hey shorty! You may notice shorter than usual posts. As we renovate The Urban Grocer, we’re a bit tied up. But we don’t want you to get too bored, so we’ll be sharing new content each week – just trimmer than usual.

Though I’ve yet to visit SnoBar – a natural “shaved ice” spot that’s opened shop in West Hollywood, LA – one look at that paper-thin texture makes me want to hop on a flight direct to California. Based on a traditional Taiwanese dessert, SnoBar’s shaved ice claims to have the creaminess of ice cream in a “feathery, cotton candy-like texture.” (Yes please!) In flavors like green tea, taro, honeydew, and rose, it’s gaining rave reviews from Los Angelinos, hailing it the next big trend. To quote one local blogger, “If ice cream could whisper, this is what it would say.” I think a little on-hands research is definitely in order…

Hey shorty! You may notice shorter than usual posts. As we renovate The Urban Grocer, we’re a bit tied up. But we don’t want you to get too bored, so we’ll be sharing new content each week – just trimmer than usual.