My Summer Vacation

This month's article is a little late because I spent last week away from the computer and with my husband in St. Louis. We went to see the usual sights -- the zoo (too hot for most of the animals) the Arch (where there was a fire so the tram to the top was closed) and Union Station (way too much, it was in between our hotel and the Metro stop) -- but the destination on the top of my list was the Penzeys spice store.

I've been getting Penzeys' catalogs and buying from its Web site for several years, but had never before had a chance to see one of the stores. There are now 13 stores, mostly in the Midwest, but the bulk of the Wisconsin-based company's sales still come through mail order and the Web site.

I've got to say, though, as much as I love the ease of thumbing through a catalog and running to the Web to order whenever I want, nothing beats the experience of the store.

It was raining as we drove through the city to the little shopping district where the store sat in a block of old buildings that looked like some small town's downtown. The tiny umbrella my husband and I shared provided protection for about half of my body, and when we entered the store I was shivering.

The friendly lady running the store offered me paper towels, but I wasn't about to let a little cold distract me from my mission -- to smell everything I could get my nose on.

This is where real life beats the Web every time. The store is stocked with jars full of the delicious spices offered by the company -- everything from salt-free adobo seasoning to lemon grass to whole vanilla beans.

These are exceptionally high-quality spices, every one of them smelling so much better than what you'd find at the market you want to take them all home.

But what's really superior at Penzeys are the spice blends, which can really only be experienced in person. One whiff of the fiery Vindaloo curry seasoning had me completely warmed up.

There's no way to describe the deliciousness of the spices we picked up that morning -- the rich lemon flavor of Sunny Spain salt-free lemon pepper, the smoky goodness of Northwoods Fire, and the spicy Pizza Seasoning that smells like Itallian sausage in a bottle.

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