Thanks Melanie, I went to the Marina Foods in Cupertino and got a couple-- the chicken soup I made was the most flavorful that I've made in a long time.

Back in the north east, stewing hens are relatively easy to find at supermarkets. I've had no such luck here in the south bay, checking the major names (safeway, pw market, lucky, trader joes, whole foods). I don't see them by the bagged poultry and when I ask, a lot of the guys behind the counters have no idea what I'm talking about.

So my questions--
does anyone know where I can find stewing hens for sale in this area?
what exactly does California do with its hens that are too old to lay eggs? Surely they must be sold somewhere in these parts.

I'm looking for one of those places where you go choose a duck, and then they grab, weigh, kill, clean and cut it for you up. Anything like that out here? There were quite a few around when I lived on the east coast.

Whole Foods in Cupertino n/a
Whole Foods in Los Altos n/a
The closest place I've found to non-yuppie quantities of spices is Bharat Bazaar on Reed Ave in Sunnyvale. They're not bulk spices, but they are enough to last a while.

Now I'm on a quest to find somewhere that's got bulk dried herbs such as dried oregano. Any suggestions?

Just about all of the ethnic stores around here carry spices in the little 2 oz plastic packets-- are there any places in the Sunnyvale/Santa Clara co. area which carry bulk spices in bins? In particular I'm looking for:
black pepper (tellecherry)
nutmeg
star anise
cassia (scratch that; seen some nice big bundles of cassia in a few mexican supermarkets)

I'm looking for a type called "Green Tea with Toasted Rice"

Anybody know where I can find loose organic tea (available in bulk?) in Santa Clara county, preferrably the Sunnyvale area?

Thanks in Advance

Anyone know where I can get some salted cod to cook with in the Sunnyvale area?

Thanks for the info! I actually found it a few places-- the Pennsylvania LCB site (http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/WebApp/Product_Management/psi_ProductInventory_Inter.asp?cdeNo=028204) listed a bunch of stores across the border... and there's an NJ liquor store in Madison (Bottle Hill Wine & Spirits aka http://www.winerx.com/) that has access to warehouses all over NJ. I went the latter route, paying a premium for it, but not having to worry about making a trek out west. ;-)

Anyone know where I can find Hewitson's Mermaids Muscadelle in the tri-state area? I enjoyed a very nice bottle in late '05 at the Mermaid Inn in NYC and have been on a quest to find it again ever since; unfortunately I can't find it anywhere.

I have been to the Hewitson site and contacted the two liquor stores listed in their NY stocklists only to find that those two places do not have the Muscadelle in stock.

Any advice on where to find it?

Any ideas where I can get some real pan fried chicken made from scratch in the central NJ / Plainfield areas? Fried in canola or olive oil preferred.

By "straw mushrooms" I DO NOT mean Enokis--

I mean the critters that can be found here:
http://www.foodsubs.com/Mushroom.html...

They are darker at the peaks of the caps and gradually become lighter colored toward the edges. I've never seen them served in restaurants here on the east coast, but when I was in California, they were all over the place. They have a nice meaty taste and aren't nearly as woodsy tasting as Shiitakes.

Are any grocers or suppliers in the Plainfield, NJ/07060 ZIP code area (or in the NYC area) that carry them fresh or dried?

Thanks in Advance,

Vijay