Penzeys Now Open in Menlo Park
Just in time to spice up your Thanksgiving, the king of spices, Penzeys, has opened in Menlo Park at 771 Santa Cruz Ave.
This is the first Northern California outpost of this renowned retailer that sells more than 250 spices, herbs, and seasonings.
The Menlo Park store is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Yup, we were there Sunday morning. Just went in for vanilla extract….and then $35 later….you know how it goes at places like these!
So one interesting thing they had was Mexican vanilla extract. It smells less medicinal and more flowery/sweet than their Madagascar vanilla. When I went up to the counter to purchase I said something like ‘gosh I’ve never tried this one before!’, and the woman working behind the counter said that they only carry Mexican vanilla in the stores, not in the catalog. Apparently very little of this type of vanilla is imported, and Penzey only gets enough to stock the brick-and-mortar stores.
Hmm, but now that I look at the Penzey’s website it looks like they carry Mexican vanilla beans for mail order, but not the extract.
Aaaanyways, if you visit them on a Sunday, you can also hit the farmer’s market in the parking lot behind the store. Bonus!
Rena, thanks for the awesome tip. I will make a beeline for the Mexican vanilla extract when I pop into the store. Can’t wait to check it out. And I will try to time it so I can pick up some great fruit, perhaps, at the farmers’ market to bake up something sweet and wonderful with the new extract.