March 16, 2008
CALGARY: Bitten by knife envy
Posted by are you gonna eat that? under Calgary, Misc., Shopping | Tags: grocery, knives |We finally took the opportunity of a sunny (last) weekend to wander down to Inglewood to check out the newly opened Bite Groceteria, a gourmet food store carrying exclusive products.
It displays dried pastas, spices and truffle oils and unique cutlery like a boutique, and carries some beautiful-looking, vacuum-packed Rougie duck from Quebec.
A real gem is the fire-red room in the back that’s the physical version of the online store run by a former chef who really knows his knives.
Kevin Kent has a passion, to say the least, for beautiful blades. He lays them out, like precious jewels, on orange lentils in glass display cases for a stunning effect. I’ve never really looked closely at knives before, but here — especially the hand-forged Japanese Murata — they glisten like diamonds. They’re gorgeous!
These knives aren’t cheap, but they’re durable; I can’t even begin to count the number of crappy $20 knives I wasted my money on in my university days.
Putting down his Sunday coffee mug, Kevin chatted to us for a while, explaining the difference between the knives and what they’re used for. He’s a great salesman — because he never pushed anything on us. We left wondering if we could register for wedding gifts there. Hmm…
You can also bring your knives to Kevin for sharpening, but you’ll be tempted to walk out with some new ones.
Check out Knifewear website here.
Bite Groceteria, 1212A-9th Ave. SE, Calgary, (403) 263-3966. Open Tuesday to Friday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. then 4 p.m.-10 p.m. and weekends 12-6 p.m. Closed Mondays.
March 18, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I just wanted to say I think your blog is exceptional. Your posts are thoughtful and always insightful about the food you’re enjoying.
I’m not sure what you do in real life but I hope it includes creative writing because you have a great talent for it. If I owned a newspaper the first thing I’d do is hire you as my food critic.
March 25, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Oooh, what gorgeous knives!
No matter how many knives I have, I can always use “just one more.”
But, even though I collect them, when I have too many and one or two are getting neglected–I will usually pass them on to a friend, preferably one who cannot afford a really nice knife. Most of them, if I had bought them new for them, would be funny about accepting them, but when I give them something I have used and loved for a few years, they always take it for what it is–a love gift.
Thanks for sharing those beautiful knives with us!