Expensive foods that are worth every penny...what do you indulge in?

[JPie]

Sometimes spending more money doesn't necessarily mean you get a better product, but sometimes it really does. What are your fancy food indulgences?

I'll start:

The secret to a great steak is great meat! For me, it's all about dry aged beef, and no one does it better than Flannery Beef IMO. They supply Michelin-starred restaurants.

California Reserve Dry Aged Beef | Flannery Beef

Our California Reserve Dry Aged Beef is hand-selected and cut by legendary artisan butcher Bryan Flannery. Shop online for home delivery.

www.flannerybeef.com

Anchovies packed in salt taste fresher than the ones in oil. This is actually not that expensive considering how long this will last:

Anchovies in Sea Salt

Anchovies in Sea Salt from Sicily are whole salted fillets packed with a touch of brine for a out-of-this-world flavor with less salt than the oiled anchovies.

caviarstar.com

 

[WhatAboutTheCats]

I’m into the pasture raised meats and eggs from the farmers market. Pricier than even whole foods but I like them

 

[JPie]

I’m into the pasture raised meats and eggs from the farmers market. Pricier than even whole foods but I like them

I’m with you on that! The best pork I’ve had is from a farmers market vendor that feeds their pigs whey and avocados.

I know it’s a luxury to be able to afford the prices that the farmers market vendors charge, but the environmental impact is lessened and I also hope that the farm workers are paid fair wages.

 

[OdetteOdile]

Vermont maple syrup

 

[JPie]

Vermont maple syrup

Yaaas! Real maple syrup beats the fake stuff any day.

 

[bludiva]

good chocolate (callebaut, etc)

kerrygold butter


Eggs and milk from smaller farms/ dairies

 

[WhatAboutTheCats]

good chocolate (callebaut, etc)

kerrygold butter


Eggs and milk from smaller farms/ dairies

There’s this german butter that I really like. I think it’s just called “german butter”? It’s not only delicious, it even washes off easily when I do the dishes

 

[WhatAboutTheCats]

I know it’s a luxury to be able to afford the prices that the farmers market vendors charge, but the environmental impact is lessened and I also hope that the farm workers are paid fair wages.

For sure farmers market prices are outside the budget of many families. It’s indeed a luxury. Hopefully the dollars going to farmers markets will lead to good things (supporting farm workers and sustaining the environment). Unless I misremembered, my local farmers markets also accept EBT so more people have access to fresh, local produce.

btw, have you ever tried duck eggs? I’m officially addicted.

 

[chroman]

Balsamic vinegar!

Not sure about the real top end of the price spectrum, but once you’ve gone at least to the mid-range stuff, the cheap stuff is hard to go back too.

 

[JPie]

good chocolate (callebaut, etc)

kerrygold butter


Eggs and milk from smaller farms/ dairies

Ooh yes, good butter makes a difference! And chocolate for sure.

For sure farmers market prices are outside the budget of many families. It’s indeed a luxury. Hopefully the dollars going to farmers markets will lead to good things (supporting farm workers and sustaining the environment). Unless I misremembered, my local farmers markets also accept EBT so more people have access to fresh, local produce.

btw, have you ever tried duck eggs? I’m officially addicted.

I LOVE duck eggs! I buy them whenever I can for my mom to make Chinese salted duck eggs. They can be made with chicken eggs, but duck eggs are so much better!

Balsamic vinegar!

Not sure about the real top end of the price spectrum, but once you’ve gone at least to the mid-range stuff, the cheap stuff is hard to go back too.

Yes!!! I’m lucky that I can buy 12-year aged balsamic from a local producer here in CA. Good balsamic makes a world of difference!

The producer is Bariani but they don’t list the aged vinegar on their site. Their olive oil is excellent too.

Home | Bariani Olive Oil | Shop Our Olive Oil Products

Bariani gives particular care to the process of crafting olive oils. We have a selection of high quality oils, vinegars, and soaps.

www.barianioliveoil.com

 

[GreenPapaya]

Cheese and dried/ cured meats. My husband is French and is very picky about those so we buy the imported ones.

Kimchi and pickles for me. I think a small jar is $10-18. I love pickle anything but the cheaper brands are too salty and not sour enough for me. I'm too chicken to make my own...

Chocolate - I love Leonidas pralines and my son loves Neuhaus.

 

[lala646]

Actual tree-ripened fruit. I grew up with an orchard, so we had the freshest, most delicious fruit. I miss it terribly! Getting really good fruit in NYC is damn expensive.

Bernachon chocolate.

Good french butter with sea salt. And seconding real maple syrup, good balsamic, and really good quality dry-aged steak.

 

[jaysonsmom]

This thread could not have come at a better time! I love seafood, and would pay pretty much any price to get good seafood. Here in Ca, we have some yummy Dungeness crab restaurants and a family of 4 could spend over $120 to share a couple of steamed crabs and a Korean seafood soup. I would gladly pay that price. Chinese lobster is also $50+ a pop, and worth every penny. Last night my daughter and I waited over 1 hour under scorching sun to try Maine lobster rolls from a famous food truck.....this is what we got for a $16.75 roll (the size of a street taco) with no sides, no dressing and no drink! Totally not worth it!

 

[stracci2000]

Local honey!
It's expensive, but totally worth it.
Plus, I am supporting local beekeepers.

 

[JPie]

Cheese and dried/ cured meats. My husband is French and is very picky about those so we buy the imported ones.

Kimchi and pickles for me. I think a small jar is $10-18. I love pickle anything but the cheaper brands are too salty and not sour enough for me. I'm too chicken to make my own...

Chocolate - I love Leonidas pralines and my son loves Neuhaus.

Pralines are my favorite!

The cured meat sliced to order is always better than the pre-packaged stuff, and ironically it’s often cheaper. But yeah, I agree with your husband! I’d go one step further and say getting a whole leg of ham is the ideal scenario

I think the jackpot for kimchi is when you manage to find it at a shop that makes their own.

Actual tree-ripened fruit. I grew up with an orchard, so we had the freshest, most delicious fruit. I miss it terribly! Getting really good fruit in NYC is damn expensive.

Bernachon chocolate.

Good french butter with sea salt. And seconding real maple syrup, good balsamic, and really good quality dry-aged steak.

Tree-ripened fruit makes a world of difference! I’m enjoying peaches quite a bit.

This thread could not have come at a better time! I love seafood, and would pay pretty much any price to get good seafood. Here in Ca, we have some yummy Dungeness crab restaurants and a family of 4 could spend over $120 to share a couple of steamed crabs and a Korean seafood soup. I would gladly pay that price. Chinese lobster is also $50+ a pop, and worth every penny. Last night my daughter and I waited over 1 hour under scorching sun to try Maine lobster rolls from a famous food truck.....this is what we got for a $16.75 roll (the size of a street taco) with no sides, no dressing and no drink! Totally not worth it!

Fellow Californian! My friend and I have had a tradition for the last six years that we call Crab Fest. I go to Chinatown and buy a bunch of Dungeness, and we stuff ourselves silly with them. We figured that it will be hard with Covid-19 this year, but we’re determined to find a way!

 

[JPie]

Local honey!
It's expensive, but totally worth it.
Plus, I am supporting local beekeepers.

Agreed! It’s supposed to help with allergies too.

 

[GliderPoss]

Hard to pin point a specific food... local honey definitely but also quality meat. I don't even bother to eat cheap meat at all.

 

[OreoRosies86]

Quality meat, good seafood (no shortage of that in my seaside town!), bakery fresh bread, Swiss chocolate.

My college roommate is from Europe and pointed out once that I shop like I’m from her city. No grocery store, but multiple stops at the shops that carry things I like. Of course Covid has ruined that too.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Last night my daughter and I waited over 1 hour under scorching sun to try Maine lobster rolls from a famous food truck.....this is what we got for a $16.75 roll (the size of a street taco) with no sides, no dressing and no drink! Totally not worth it!

A couple of months ago my SIL flew these lobsters in from Maine.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Bird's nest soup. Chinese people say it'll keep you looking young forever...



Shark fin soup...


Sea cucumbers


Abalones

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Not that im buying any luxuries while im not working
but i would normally buy the American stone fruit and strawberries in the middle of winter, even it was just a couple of plums to eat on the way home

I also love those English orange flavoured chocolate that comes segmented in the shape of an orange

Pine nuts
i could eat $20 worth on the way home from the supermarket

My favourite windsor blue cheese that comes from white stone cheeses in Oamaru in North Otago

 

[PintoBean]

Chocolate croissants

 

[voce]

Hair moss / fa cai / fat choy
It's delicious in soups!

@WhatAboutTheCats @JPie if you can get fresh duck eggs, they make marvelous omelets! Even when eaten fresh, not salted or anything, it's so much more delicious than regular chicken egg. We used to have a few ducks to lay them every week; we got baby ducks from a fair and raised them to be adults. But, once the rats started to come after the duck poop in our backyard, we had to release the ducks into nature because ducks are messy, and we didn't want to feed rodents!

*edit*

It’s been banned in China for 20 years. But it’s still a popular Chinese New Year ingredient in Toronto

Fat choy, a traditional ingredient on the Chinese New Year table, is causing desertification in China, warns environmental group

www.thestar.com

This ingredient could be linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinsons? Plus it's bad for the environment? I guess I'll stop eating it.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Good quality cured meats and cheeses, meat and eggs in general, actually. If I have to pick one “expensive food” that I love and think is absolutely worth every penny, I’d pick foie gras.

 

[voce]

Do spices count? If so, saffron and vanilla--the real kind, not the imitation kind.

 

[dk168]

Probably good quality meat, including bacon.

Foie gras is another indulgence, however they are far and between.

I prefer to eat at gourmet restaurants as I lack the skills and patience to cook at that level, nor the deep pockets to stock so many different and expensive ingredients.

DK

 

[Dancing Fire]

Hair moss / fa cai / fat choy
It's delicious in soups!

A bag of 25 yrs old fat choy from my MIL...



My wife put some duck eggs into a jar of salted water yesterday. It'll be ready to eat in 30 days.

 

[Dancing Fire]

It’s been banned in China for 20 years. But it’s still a popular Chinese New Year ingredient in Toronto

Fat choy, a traditional ingredient on the Chinese New Year table, is causing desertification in China, warns environmental group

www.thestar.com

This ingredient could be linked to Alzheimer's and Parkinsons? Plus it's bad for the environment? I guess I'll stop eating it.

IMO,The fat choy they sell in Asian markets today are FAKE. The price is too cheap to be real, plus they don't taste like our 25 yrs old fat choy.

 

[voce]

IMO,The fat choy they sell in Asian markets today are FAKE. The price is too cheap to be real, plus they don't taste like our 25 yrs old fat choy.

Yeah, they have to be fake. But, if it's a health hazard, I have to refrain from eating it. I want to live well in my old age and not get dementia.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Yeah, they have to be fake. But, if it's a health hazard, I have to refrain from eating it. I want to live well in my old age and not get dementia.

Only the fakes are a health hazard. I don't know what the hell they make fake fat choy from. All I can say is they don't taste like the old fat choy we have.