BillyKnowsBest

The Best Sports Rehydration Drink: O.N.E. Coconut Water

I saw O.N.E. Coconut Water stacked high and priced low at Whole Foods a few weeks ago and decided to try it.  It's delicious and very good for you..  Coconut Water is 100% natural (drained from young coconuts), and has five essential electrolytes: calcium, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium and sodium.  It has more potassium than a banana, no fat, no cholesterol, no preservatives. With just 60 calories in an 11 oz serving, it's naturally sweet without added sugars or artificial sweeteners . Beats the pants off Gatorade and Vitamin Water, naturally ;). Find it at your local Whole Foods, or order it from amazon.com.

The Best Sourdough Bread: Boudin Bakery

San Francisco is famous for its Sourdough bread.  During the 2.5 years I worked there after selling my company to PlanetOut, I became a frequent customer at the Boudin Bakery (pronounced "boo-DEEN"), which can trace its history back to 1849.  Ever since (my stint at PlanetOut -- not 1849), I've brought loaves of their bread home with me. It's perfectly tangy, chewy on the inside and crusty on the outside. Yesterday, I  bought my favorite turkey/havarti/avocado samdwich on a Sourdough roll at their SFO location before boarding my flight.  And happened to leave my wallet on the counter.  A big shout out to their manager Larry Mantanona, my friend Gina Gatta, and FedEx for reuniting it with me this morning. I thought I couldn't love Boudin more, but now I do. You can buy their breads online, but it's best fresh from the bakery.  If you find yourself in the San Francisco Bay Area, or at Disney's California Adventure, or flying through SFO, do not miss the opportunity to try it. And if you visit Boudin at SFO, thank Larry for me.

The Best Chunky Tomato Sauce: Bertoli Premium Pasta Sauce

Prior to 1989, most store-bought tomato sauce was very similar, because market research at the big food processing companies was geared toward finding the ideal singular version of any given food product. The proliferation of tomato sauce varieties on the store shelves today is a direct result of the huge market share gain that Prego enjoyed in the early 1990s as a result of ground-breaking consumer research done by Howard Moskovitz for Prego, which discovered that tomato sauce preferences fell into three broad categories: Plain, spicy and extra-chunky.  Optimizing different varieties for these three palate preferences made a huge difference. 

I'm an extra-chunky kind of guy.  And of the extra-chunky sauces, I really like Bertoli Premium.  It's sweetened with concentrated carrot juice, not sugar or corn syrup, comes in (for me) a convenient 13.5oz microwaveable pouch, and is on sale often (like now!) at Amazon.com: 6 pouches for $12.35 when you sign up for "Subscribe & Save" (easily canceled) and use coupon code MY9UNILE.

Numi Flowering Teas

I first discovered flowering teas on a visit to China. These teas start as tightly bound balls of tea leaves and fragrant flower petals that are sewn together.  When steeped in hot water, they bloom into elaborate, captivating "blossoms."  They are a fragrant, beautiful and impressive way to enjoy tea; a great gift for any tea lover.  Numi Teas are some of my favorites -- organic and fair-trade certified, their full, pure flavors range from familiar to exotic. Numi Flowering Teas are currently on sale at Amazon.com -- save 30% when you use coupon code "NUMFLWT5".

Roland Balsamic Glaze on Sale at Amazon

Roland Balsamic Glaze is a concentrated, reduced Balsamic Vinegar Glaze, great as a flavoring glaze or sauce on meat, poultry, vegetables, fresh fruit, and ice cream. I'm particularly fond of it on baked Salmon,  and the squeeze bottle package makes it easy to use as a decorative drizzle garnish on, around or under food for a fancy restaurant presentation.  It comes in Original, Pomegranate, Blood Orange, Fig and Tamarind flavors. Save an additional $20 off any $49 Roland purchase at Amazon.com when you use coupon code "ROLAND59" during April, 2009. 

The Best Way to find Local Produce

People worldwide are rediscovering the benefits of buying local food. It is fresher, tastier and more nutritious than typical supermarket produce, which has been shipped from miles (sometimes thousands of miles) away.  It's better for the environment, as less fuel is required to transport it, and good for your local economy.  Finding locally produced food can be a challenge, but localharvest.org makes it easier.  Simply input your zipcode, and you'll find local farmer's markets, Community Supported Agriculture organizations, pick-your-own farms, co-ops, restaurants and markets featuring locally-sourced food.

Powdered Calamansi Seasoning

One of the few benefits of serving jury duty in New York city is the courthouse proximity to Chinatown.  I love searching the Asian markets there for interesting food items, and found a real winner there during my jury duty lunch hour.  Calamansi is a Philippine Lemon -- and Powdered Calamansi  is my new favorite seasoning for broccoli.  Just sprinkle generously over steamed broccoli for an unusual and appealing citrus kick.  Label directions also suggest it for noodles, marinades and dips. Look for it at your local Asian market, or buy it online from philamfood.com.

The Best Cashews: CVS Fancy Whole

So, my friend Mark challenged me to find the best Cashews.  I bought some very spensy mail order nuts in the process, and these on a lark at my local CVS.  Sometimes, what you're looking for is in your own back yard.  They're a tad oily, but generally large, fresh and sweet.  And just $5.99 for 9.75 oz.  Find them at your local CVS, or order them online from CVS.com.

The Best Gift and Fruit of the Month Club: Harry & David

I've been a big fan of Harry & David for many years, for a wide variety of reasons.  They offer a variety of individual fruit, food and flowering gifts, but they're best known for the Fruit-of-The-Month clubs they pioneered, and with good reason.  They are now available in 3, 5, 8 or 12-month clubs.  You can choose to start the club with a deluxe fruit basket, or Tower of Treats.  You can choose a medley club, where each month delivers a box of two different fruit treats, or a light-sized club, with half-sized boxes for singles or couples.  You can also choose organic fruits, vegetables, or an exotic fruit selection.  There may be many configurations to choose from, but they all have one thing in common: The best fruit available, with the best service imaginable. 

A few years ago, the Wall Street Journal rated gotfruit.com as the "best overall and best value" fruit club, but I disagree. I tried it that year, and went back to Harry & David the next.  Yes, it's more expensive, but it's worth the small premium for the impressive presentation, fruit quality and customer service. If the delivery isn't 100% perfect, H&D stands ready to replace it with a simple phone call.  If you have great access to high quality fruit in your hometown, you won't be blown away by every month's selection.  But there are always a couple selections that will knock your socks off.  And even the more ordinary selections are still excellent.

And don't forget to check out their single fruit shipments for more modest gifting, and the "Tower of Treats" which are extremely impressive, looking like they cost much more than they do. 

The Best Gluten-Free Crackers: Glutino

My friends Juan suffers from celiac disease -- an allergy to gluten, a protein composite found in wheat, rye and barley.  Until you know someone who can't eat it, you don't realize how many foods contain gluten -- obviously breads, pastas, cereals, but also hundreds of unexpected products, where gluten is used as a thickening or binding agent. Just look for modified food starch on the ingredient list of everything from salad dressing to jelly beans to understand how pervasive gluten is in our everyday diet.  Finding gluten-free products becomes a constant challenge for those who can't eat it -- and finding products -- particularly baked goods -- that taste like the "real" thing is especially difficult.  So I was very excited to discover Glutino crackers, which taste like delicious crackers. And even more excited to find them on sale big time at Amazon.com today -- $1.86 per box when you buy a case of six and choose the "subscribe and save" option! How appropriate that today is Juan's birthday?  Happy Birthday, Juan. Hurry!  They're only on sale through Oct. 31, 2008.