When I recently discovered my husband was going on a work trip to India, I excitedly exclaimed “You’re going to bring me back a spice thingy, right?” (I have since learned that the proper name for a spice thingy is a Masala Dabba.) While he was there, he did manage to find someone to track one down for me, and it left me with seven little spice containers to fill with spices so I can attempt to make some lovely curries at home. After extensive research, I decided on the spices I needed. (There are a lot of differences in spice recommendations depending on whether you are doing northern or southern Indian cooking and even more ideas about what to do with the seventh container.)
But where do I get such lovely spices? After a bit of googling for places in San Francisco, I found Spice Ace. It looked like exactly the kind of store I was looking for (and exactly the kind of store that I would love) so I grabbed a bus (I’m still a Londoner at heart I suppose) and headed over to see if they had what I needed.
They pretty much had everything I was looking for (and then some). I spent quite a bit of time browsing the goods, and most of the spices have sample jars that you can smell/taste from so that made things interesting. I started finding other spices that I had read about from many a recipe in the past. Did I need Nigella seeds to put in my Naan bread? I’m pretty sure I did. What about some fennel pollen salt? Wouldn’t that make an interesting rim for Margaritas? Beetroot powder? What sort of drinks could be made with that? (Also I basically dreamt about using it to attempt some beetroot macarons that evening as well.) I’m pretty sure next time I go I need to bring someone with me to control my impulsiveness.
Spice Ace is pretty much a cook’s dream shop. All the spices I’ve ever contemplated using were there and even those I never knew I needed (and now think I do). I did manage to fill my Masala Dabba with all the spices required and made a pretty fantastic fish curry over the weekend. Spice Ace gets five stars from me, and I see myself coming by here quite often. They also have an online shop in case it’s too far away for you! (You can even check out my full Masala Dabba below!)
Spice Ace
1821 Steiner Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
