Close to the Edge: Near Death on the Orange Line
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Max Goes to Longwood: Wild Things on the Subway
Saturday Happenings
Sunday Happenings
To kick off our Grocerygate series on where to shop for Thanksgiving, we have a guest post from Ann Woody. Enjoy!
Have you been to Russo's in Watertown? If not, now's a great time to visit. With Thanksgiving on the way, Russo's is the perfect place to gather all of your Thanksgiving needs. From the front of the store to the back; from apple cider to pumpkin pie; here's a Thanksgiving shopping guide to Russo's.
When you walk into Russo's, you get the feeling that you've been transported to a local farm stand combined with a small European market. At this time of year, the outdoor portion of Russo's is enclosed in a kind of semi-permanent tent. Despite the temporary look of this outside structure, make sure you explore it thoroughly, since it's the permanent home to some great Thanksgiving bounty.
Russo's houses one of the best selections of potatoes in the greater Boston area. Whether you are looking for Russet, Yukon Gold, fingerling, red skin, or even purple, Russo's has them all. The quality of their Yukon Gold potatoes is particularly fine and the red skin potatoes come in every size imaginable. One thing you definitely won't find is the dreaded green potato. A fine selection of sweet potatoes, yams, and parsnips are also available for your Thanksgiving table. (Check our mashed potato tips to learn how to make super-smooth potatoes—or use the ol' potato masher if you like 'em lumpy.)
Before you venture inside the store, don't forget to check out the aisle containing baskets of apples. Varieties such as McIntosh, Jonagold, and Granny Smith are sold in 4-5 pound baskets for 98 cents a pound. Hooray for apple pie! Fresh local apple cider is also available for the apple fiends (or just buy the fruit and make the cider yourself!).
Upon entering Russo's, visitors are greeted by a fantastic sight: aisle after aisle of beautiful fresh produce. Shelves hold everything imaginable, and the fruits and vegetables create a rainbow of delicious color. For Thanksgiving shoppers, pomegranates, apples, green beans, asparagus, garlic, shallots and fresh spinach are only a small sampling of the available produce.
But wait—what about the bird, the center around which Thanksgiving dinner revolves? While Russo's doesn't normally provide much in the way of uncooked meat, this year, Russo's is offering all natural Vermont turkeys from Stonewood Farm for just $2.98 a pound. You can order your bird at the register or call the store to snag a gobbler. If you're shopping before Thanksgiving, they'll include a turkey flier when they bag your groceries.
Learn how to round out the rest of your Thanksgiving dinner after the jump.
So you have the turkey, and you have the veggies. What about side dishes and dessert? Well, Russo's has you covered there as well.
If exotic cheeses are your idea of a perfect Thanksgiving side, you've come to the right place. Russo's cheese case houses an overwhelming selection of domestic and foreign cheeses. Comte, gruyere, varieties of brie, and Australian cheddar sit alongside rare delicacies such as Fleur de Marquis (an artisan sheep's milk cheese from Corsica, pressed with herbs, juniper berries, and chilies) or Bleu de Gex (a cow's milk blue cheese from the Haute-Jura region of the French Alps; each wheel is made by a small cooperative). If you are looking for something to pair with your delicious cheeses, Carr's water crackers and decadent specialty food items from Stonewall Kitchen can be found in the shelves under the prime produce.
If you are too lazy to cook this Thanksgiving (or if you simply recognize that professionals can produce much better food than you can), Russo's has a Thanksgiving menu with a dizzying array of options. Get a full meal with all the trimmings, or just fill a hole in your menu with a tasty treat like a shrimp appetizer platter or a pumpkin cheesecake. If you want to sample their fare before you commit, head to the prepared food counter—there are options for everyone, from rotisserie chickens to vegetarian dishes.
Even given all of these options, the best thing about Russo's is the price. Russo's is dedicated to providing their quality products at a reasonable price, and first time shoppers are often shocked at how little their full carts cost them.
Now that we have you hooked, a few words of caution. Mundane items such as sugar and flour are not easy to find at Russo's, nor are brand name snack foods, so you might want to plan a separate shopping trip to stock up on items like these. The store is open from 8am to 7pm weekdays and 8am to 6pm weekends. Russo's will be closed on Thanksgiving, so stock up early. Also, note that weekends and evenings at Russo's tend to be something of a mob scene: the small aisles make it difficult to navigate with so many people, and there are often long lines. As closing time approaches, items like premade foods, breads, and pastries may run out, so shop early if you can.
Catering menus, directions, a list of weekly specials, and a whole lot more (including weekly specials) can be found on Russo's website.
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