Always evolving (part ii) 2/7/2023






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in this issue

  • A note from Julia
  • New to the shelves
  • Some V-Day ideas
  • From the kitchen!

a note from Julia

Hi friends!

I missed last week. I actually wrote the “note from Julia” portion of last week’s newsletter (now handily partially repurposed here!), but was too overwhelmed by the prospect of our first ever delivery from a national grocery distributor to finish it all up and send it off. Plus, this time last week, still awaiting that delivery, I was holding my breath wondering if it would actually happen, if something might go terribly wrong, if everything we ordered would be out of stock…I was way too nervous to actually try to promote anything, but also too obsessed with what was happening to be able to think or write about anything else.

Happily, it all went off without a hitch. Everything (well, almost everything) arrived Wednesday morning, and we were able to get all the new products on the shelves before opening. Well, almost all the new products – we’re pretty short on shelf space, so you’ll see (or saw, last week) some more red “Clearance” tags throughout the store as we work to make space for things we hope you’ll like even more. (Not that you won’t or shouldn’t like the marked down items! I hope you’ll consider helping us clear that space, and get some great deals on last-chance items while you’re at it!)

Most of the new items are tagged as such, and most (not all) are on sale at 10% off for the month of February. This is thanks to a combo of “placement deals” from vendors where our first case of a product is discounted as an incentive to bring it in – and partly as our incentive to you to try to some of these new things! You’ll also find some yellow “Price Drop” tags here and there – products that were already part of our line up but are available at a lower price through the distributor than they were through our previous channels.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, it wasn’t all that long ago – maybe just a year or so – that I might have told you that would never work with a national distributor. We’re always evolving! When we launched Further Afield, of course I started to re-think that.

The fact is that there are many brands we’re working with that aren’t available through the big distributors – and that will remain true – and several that offer better pricing when we work with them directly – we’ll stick with them, too. And, of course, we’ll always be locally-focused, and that’s where a national distributor really doesn’t make sense. But there are also products we just couldn’t get our hands on or where the distributor does offer lower pricing, and so when we became confident we’d be able to not just meet distributor order minimums but also be able to qualify for a “volume level discount”, at that point it made sense to take the plunge.

Below are some pictures of a few of the new items I’m most excited about – from mundane mayonnaise (which happens to be the best organic mayo I’ve tasted, and I sampled a lot before settling on one) to the more interesting fresh-packed organic pepperoncini I still haven’t tried. I’m also stoked to swap in some better values on things like canned tomatoes and canned beans.

Radish & Rye is always evolving – keeps life interesting! – but where I see us now is as a place to get the highlights of the meal – the fresh, seasonal produce, the succulent pasture-raised pork chop, the housemade lasagna – and the underpinnings – the rice and beans, the tinned sardines priced more for a quick lunch than a Brooklyn wine bar (though I want those, too!), the mayo that goes on that fresh sourdough bread. The Fair Trade organic avocado and the chips to dip in the guac you make with it.

Radish & Rye really started as an off-shoot of our desire to get the food we personally wanted in a convenient way, and help others do that same. We keep evolving, but that core remains the same.

I hope you’ll enjoy our new offerings as they roll out across the coming weeks, and, as always, please tell us what you’d like to see! And remember, those clearance deals are only good while supplies last – never has there been a better time to shop early and often.

In gratitude,

Julia

P.S. A fun thing about the distributor that I didn’t realize was going to be a thing is that they have a near-constant stream of deals going. We’ve always adjusted our pricing on seasonal items according to the market rate (ie, awesome deals at peak season, less so on the edges of the season), but we’ve never really done “sales”. Many of the big deals through the distributor require ordering a couple of months in advance, so this might be a slow ramp up, but I’m pretty excited about being able to pass these deals on to you!

IN STORE THIS WEEK

new to the shelves

Pictured above: organic pitted kalamata olives, organic canned beans on a budget, Late July organic tortilla chips in yellow and blue (I love blue), Bubbie’s lacto-fermented pickles in regular and spicy, organic yeast + Bob’s Red Mill baking soda and powder, wild-caught sardines & anchovies, organic mayo, and organic fermented pepperoncini!

some V-Day ideas…

A collab between the Truffleist and Nettle Meadow Artisan cheesemakers, this creamy goat/cow mixed milk cheese dotted with Italian truffles is sure to make your sweetheart swoon.

Other true (cheese) loves of ours include Goat Rodeo’s Bamboozle, Valley Shepherd’s Tartufo Chevre, and Haven Farmstead’s Dutch Tulip.

 

A perfect pairing for a perfect night. 

Tait Farm Food’s Fig & Honey Conserve is a fantastic complement to just about any cheese.
Or toast.
Or ice cream.

You’ll need a baguette, of course.
Of course! 

Since we won’t be open on the day itself, we recommend grabbing a frozen one and reheating it in a warm oven shortly before serving for all that fresh-baked crust and chew.

bread availability…

(until sold out!)

  Weds Thurs Fri Sat Sun
Parisburg Baguette
Noble Boule
Bougie Boule    
Peasant Boule  
Lady Rosemary      
Plain Jane
Sour Dill Rye  
Sweet Hearty available frozen

highlights from the kitchen…

-SUPER BOWL SPECIAL-
SMOKED CHICKEN WINGS

A runaway hit last year, now new & improved with a sous vide bath to lock in moisture prior to smoking. Season the plain with your favorite wing sauce (or whatever you want), or try our house-blended Berbere spice!

There’s a bird pun in here somewhere, but I can’t seem to find it.

Soups of the week: Smoked Ham & Bean, and Veggie & Tofu Noodle

PLUS

Mama Ganoush spiced zucchini dip makes an off-season appearance thanks to a stash of frozen grilled zukes (that we’ve been saving for a dip holiday…), lasagna with ground beef, lasagna with Lady Moon eggplant, collard greens with smoked ham, garlicky pesto pasta salad, and the standbys — coffee cake, strata, apple tarts, sweet potato & kale salad, plus more and more!

JUST ONE MORE THING

We got a request last week for jicama root. It wasn’t something I’d ever considered! But, organic jicama was available from our produce distributor, so I went for it. I figured this is the perfect week for it, because cut into matchsticks it makes for the best crudite. Know of any dip holidays coming up?

 

happy eating!

(fly, Eagles, fly!)

 

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