epicure imports

This weekend, we went to Epicure Imports for some gourmet goodies. The restaurant wholesale warehouse, which is open to the public just six times a year, stocks all kinds of delicious imported foods, including charcuterie, fine chocolates, and packaged goods at a discount.

We went primarily in search of this amazing truffle tagliatelle, which I've been unable to find anywhere in stores. We bought it last winter and it's amazingly addictive with the addition of just a little bit of butter and perhaps some fresh parmesan. For comparison's sake, this particular pasta sells for $18 a box online (ack!) versus $10 a box at the warehouse sale.

We also came away with some cheese, sausage, truffle butter, and a few other goodies, although compared to most shoppers there, our basket was pitifully small. Part of the fun of going is really to see people loading up their shopping carts with huge quantities of food and hearing all the totals being rung up. It's pretty exciting to see the vast amounts of money people are able to spend on food! We certainly don't eat like this all the time, but it's nice to have a little taste of it now and then.

Epicure's website is rather unreliable, but they recently did set up a Facebook page, which is sporadically updated, but I am also posting their 2011 sale dates below.

Epicure Imports 2011 Open Warehouse Dates
6900 Beck Ave., N. Hollywood, CA 91605
818-985-1500

February 11 - 12
April 15 - 16
June 10 - 11
September 23 - 24
November 18 - 19
December 16 - 17

Please remember to call ahead to verify hours and dates. If you're in the Los Angeles area and you love to eat, Epicure is definitely worth a trip.