Author Topic: Ingredient motherlode! (Read 14535 times)

Steve · « **on:** January 28, 2005, 08:32:59 PM »

My wife called me at the office today and asked that we go out for dinner tonight. Wanting to try someplace new, I asked a co-worker if he had any recommendations. He suggested an Italian restaurant that was about 2 miles from my house. The place was called Vinny's Italian Grill.

As my wife, three kids, and I walked across the cold parking lot the smell of pizza filled the air. When we walked into the restaurant we were greeted by rows of 6# cans of every imaginable Stanislaus and Escalon product!

A large placard next to the counter proudly proclaimed the use of Grande cheeses.

Bags of All-Trumps flour abound!

I was in heaven!!

Calmly, I asked the manager if any of these goods were for sale. He immediately snapped back "absulutely" and said that I could not only buy what was on display, but I could order any Stanislaus or Escalon product that he didn't stock. I began to feel a little weak at the knees. Dare I ask about the cheese? I cleared my throat and asked the price of Grande whole milk mozzarella. He said that it's sold by the pound for two dollars and change. The 6# cans of tomatoes (all varieties) were $6.00 each. And, he said that he would check into the Ezzo pepperoni for me (they don't carry it.) Then, after a delicious meal (excellent pizza, I might add) and several great ales, the waitress said "oh, and did you know that Kroger sells the 6-in-1 tomatoes?" I swallowed deeply. Uh, "no," I said. I told her that I shop Kroger all of the time and have never seen them there. Well, after a run to Costco, we stopped by Kroger. I checked out the canned tomatoes in the vegetable isle and no luck. Then, on a hunch, I went across the store to the sauces. Way down low on the bottom shelf was one row of.... drum roll... 6-in-1 tomatoes ($1.99/can)

So, my world has just turned upside down. Not only did I find an excellent NYC style pizzeria to order take out (for those times when I don't want to cook), but I can now drive two miles down the road and buy virtually any specialized ingredients for my pizza making!!

Steve · « **Reply #1 on:** January 28, 2005, 08:37:34 PM »

Oh, did I mention that life is good?

canadianbacon · « **Reply #2 on:** January 28, 2005, 08:40:48 PM »

U lucky dog !!

scampi · « **Reply #3 on:** January 29, 2005, 12:46:10 AM »

Hi Steve, I have been buying Stanislaus and have tried almost all of their products in the search for the perfect sauce. Everyone seems to recommend the full red combined with 7/11 and then add your ingrediants. My sauce is a little different but you may want to try it. I use the New York or Nuevo Yorke Pizzaletto sauce which already has olive oil and basil in it. I take the whole can and dump it into a bigger container and ad the following...2 tablespoons oregano, 1 teaspoon of the following, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and granulated garlic (not garlic salt!!). Stir it in and let it sit for 24 hours in the fridge. It wont taste good right away but give it a day and mmmm ...That's it..no mixing of different sauces. Probably the easist sauce I've ever made and it's awesome (at least to me it is) True New York sauce has the carrots making it orange and sweetening it a little. I don't like adding sugar but if you think it needs sweetness there's plenty of other things you can do to it.

canadave · « **Reply #4 on:** January 29, 2005, 03:23:28 AM »

LOL!!!

Steve, your post made me absolutely kill myself laughing. Isn't it an incredible feeling??

I only wish I could get that feeling here in Canada, but apparently we're on another planet when it comes to good ingredients like that.

Dave

Randy · « **Reply #5 on:** January 29, 2005, 08:34:26 AM »

You lucky #@*#*.

A great story that was well written. No doubt about your excitement.
I am going to FL soon and on my way through a big city I will stop at Kroger although I vowed I would not shop there because of the automated check out. Trust me on this one, I remember when people use to pump your gas and clean your windshield as well as check your oil but we as consumers threw those jobs away. This country needs those jobs. Don't use automated check out.

Sorry about the soap box.

Randy

Randy · « **Reply #6 on:** January 29, 2005, 09:09:36 PM »

i cant believe in that last post the typos I made.
Anyway Steve I checked at a Kroger and no such luck here. I asked and the stockwoman said each state has their own store requirements. Said you could order them but that store is 45 miles away.

Randy

Jason the Pizza Man · « **Reply #7 on:** February 11, 2005, 08:16:58 PM »

uhhhhhhh, do you live in Midlothian VA???

Steve · « **Reply #8 on:** February 11, 2005, 10:52:13 PM »

Quote from: Jason the Pizza Man on February 11, 2005, 08:16:58 PM

uhhhhhhh, do you live in Midlothian VA???

Short Pump!

LeeB · « **Reply #9 on:** February 18, 2005, 01:41:04 PM »

Steve,

Last night on my way home from work I made a bee line to Kroger and looked where the canned tomatos are and just like you, no luck. Then I went to where they had like spaghetti sauces and they had lots of different ones, but not 6 in 1 tomatos. Is that where you found yours, by the spaghetti sauces?

?

Steve · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2005, 02:23:15 PM »

Quote from: LeeB on February 18, 2005, 01:41:04 PM

Steve,

Last night on my way home from work I made a bee line to Kroger and looked where the canned tomatos are and just like you, no luck. Then I went to where they had like spaghetti sauces and they had lots of different ones, but not 6 in 1 tomatos. Is that where you found yours, by the spaghetti sauces??

Yes, near the sauces they had several different types of canned tomatoes including 6-in-1.

If Kroger carries it here, they can certainly special-order it for you there. Ask the store manager to get some for you.

davtrent · « **Reply #11 on:** April 26, 2005, 11:07:49 AM »

Steve,

I was pleased to read about your fortunate discovery of a local restaurant willing to sell ingredients to its customers. Vinny's Italian Grill should be commended. This business practice is both customer friendly and financially astute.

After several years of loyal patronage to my (then) favorite Italian restaurant, I inquired about the possibility of purchasing a block of mozzarella cheese. They reacted as if I'd just asked to purchase plutonium. It was not for sale.

I had decided that I needed to make a road trip to Richmond to bring back an ice chest packed with Grande cheese. I did a web search to determine the exact location of Vinny's Italian Grill and discovered that they are a franchise with multiple locations, two of which are in NC (Apex and Hillsborough).

I visited Vinny's Italian Grill & Pizzeria (5464 Apex Peakway, Olive Chapel Shopping Center, Apex, NC) yesterday afternoon (after the lunch rush) and spoke with one of the managers (Mark).
He was very friendly and accommodating. I explained how I was aware of the restaurant and even showed him a copy of Steve's initial post. He seemed pleased. I left with several pounds of Grande whole milk mozz. and and a #10 can (105 oz.) of Stanislaus Pizzaiolo "authentico" pizza sauce.

I'll definitely return for dinner--- the (NY style) pizza looked great, the prices reasonable, the staff personable, and the place was very clean with a pleasant "market" ambience. I plan to be a good customer and not just an ingredient vulture

.

If you live in Virginia or North Carolina, there may be a Vinny's near you. This link will provide their current locations: www.vinnysitaliangrill.com/customers/locations.htm .

Regards,

David

Steve · « **Reply #12 on:** April 26, 2005, 12:44:28 PM »

That's great news, David!

I should have mentioned that Vinny's was a chain as there are several here in Richmond.

dankfoot · « **Reply #13 on:** April 26, 2005, 04:30:34 PM »

David,

I'm very happy to read your post. I too live in NC (Raleigh) and I have heard a lot of good things about Vinny's. If I am not mistaken it is one of the top pizza joint listed on triangle city search.com

So he had no problem selling you some ingredients?

That is very good to know thanks.

pam · « **Reply #14 on:** July 25, 2005, 09:11:18 PM »

Quote from: davtrent on April 26, 2005, 11:07:49 AM

I visited Vinny's Italian Grill & Pizzeria (5464 Apex Peakway, Olive Chapel Shopping Center, Apex, NC) yesterday afternoon (after the lunch rush) and spoke with one of the managers (Mark).
He was very friendly and accommodating. I explained how I was aware of the restaurant and even showed him a copy of Steve's initial post. He seemed pleased. I left with several pounds of Grande whole milk mozz. and and a #10 can (105 oz.) of Stanislaus Pizzaiolo "authentico" pizza sauce.

I'll definitely return for dinner--- the (NY style) pizza looked great, the prices reasonable, the staff personable, and the place was very clean with a pleasant "market" ambience. I plan to be a good customer and not just an ingredient vulture .

I stopped by the Vinny's in Hillsborough for lunch today. The prices are extremely reasonable, and the pizza is top notch. (Mind you, they could make a decidedly mediocre pie and it'd still be better than anything else in the area. When I first moved to Durham 5 years ago, I asked a cop where the best place to get a decent pizza was. He thought it over a couple of minutes, then called his partner over and asked him, and after a couple more minutes of thinking, the second cop said, "You can't get a decent pizza in Durham."

Sadly, until now, he's proved to be right.)

Anyhoo ... I was able to buy a #10 can of 6-in-1 and a #10 can of marinated artichokes (yum!), but they wouldn't sell me any cheese or flour.

(Cashier said they're not allowed to.) I'll give it another try in a couple of weeks: hopefully, the cashier was misinformed, but I was really looking forward to smoking a couple blocks of Grande mozzarella tonight.

lilbuddypizza · « **Reply #15 on:** July 26, 2005, 07:28:01 AM »

Great story. It reminds me that I am very lucky to live in Chicago. Not only for the pizzas, but the supplies as well. I can go into almost any store and get great tomato and cheese products. If not, there are an abundance of Mom & Pop Italian stores scattered throughout the city. Life is wonderful.

pam · « **Reply #16 on:** July 27, 2005, 05:40:52 PM »

Went back to the Hillsborough location today. Spoke to the manager about buying cheese. Showed him Steve and Dave's posts. He seemed reluctant at first: "What? You want the Grande?" "What do you want it for?" "It's expensive," etc.

Told him it was strictly for personal use, that I smoke my own mozz, and that Grande's the only stuff I've found that doesn't dry out or go rubbery.

He relaxes. Turns out, he's a big fan of smoked cheese. We talk a little about how-tos of smoking cheese. That's when I knew I was going to get the Grande.

) (Note to self: take him a couple of blocks of smoked swiss and cheddar.)

OBTW, how much it is?

$2.67/lb, and do I want whole milk or part-skim.

Bought a 7 lb. block of whole milk for $19.98 including tax.

Steve · « **Reply #17 on:** July 27, 2005, 08:10:48 PM »

pam · « **Reply #18 on:** July 27, 2005, 11:00:43 PM »

Quote from: Steve on July 27, 2005, 08:10:48 PM

Oh yeah ... thanks for the "heads up" on Vinny's, Steve!

And thanks for running down the fact that they've got locations in Hillsborough and Apex, David!

pizzoid · « **Reply #19 on:** December 13, 2006, 11:49:56 AM »

Quote from: pam on July 25, 2005, 09:11:18 PM

I stopped by the Vinny's in Hillsborough for lunch today. The prices are extremely reasonable, and the pizza is top notch. (Mind you, they could make a decidedly mediocre pie and it'd still be better than anything else in the area. When I first moved to Durham 5 years ago, I asked a cop where the best place to get a decent pizza was. He thought it over a couple of minutes, then called his partner over and asked him, and after a couple more minutes of thinking, the second cop said, "You can't get a decent pizza in Durham." Sadly, until now, he's proved to be right.)

The info one just trips over from the past is incredible here.

Pam, try Sal's in Chapel Hill http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,4277.0.html

Now I'm not gonna get any barbecue, I'll be eating pizza the whole time I'm in NC!

I wonder if Vinny's is open for breakfast.......

- Al