P&C Market

[Pat]

Many years ago, the corner market at 11th and East Capitol, SE, was a grungy place known as Sam's. It was owned by ex-cops and the actual name across the door escapes me. I didn't buy much there, but one bad bottle of milk was enough that I never bought milk there again.

Fast forward to the 21st century. P & C Market has been in the space for several years. I was out of milk and dreaded the walk to the Safeway, when it occurred to me that they have Trickling Springs Creamery products at P & C. I'd once bought Trickling Springs ice cream there. Expensive but very good. OK, the 1/2 gallon of 2% milk was $5 plus tax, but it was convenient and I know it's good quality.

This is a very different store than the one I became used to, and it's time for me to get with the program. (Someone I know bought a very expensive but amazing Polyface turkey there last Thanksgiving.)

[Tujague]

P & C Market has been in the space for several years. I was out of milk and dreaded the walk to the Safeway, when it occurred to me that they have Trickling Springs Creamery products at P & C. I'd once bought Trickling Springs ice cream there. Expensive but very good. OK, the 1/2 gallon of 2% milk was $5 plus tax, but it was convenient and I know it's good quality.

This is a very different store than the one I became used to, and it's time for me to get with the program. (Someone I know bought a very expensive but amazing Polyface turkey there last Thanksgiving.)

Actually, they've been there just under 18 months. But, yes, they are very different from any other neighborhood market on the Hill, if not the city. This is not the place to go for cheap snacks or staples, though they have some of that. Instead, the focus is on pricey, gourmet items (many of them Spanish) that you won't easily find anywhere else (in fact, they recently put out a Facebook alert asking for some contacts in FDA for assistance in importing some items). But it's not all over the top. They have a small but interesting selection from wines, some at decent prices; on weekends they have great, cheap scones; and they also have an excellent longaniza sausage that is much better than anything you can find in any of the local Filipino markets. Best of all, they have done some nice neighborhood gathering events, so even if the products they sell are high-end, the attitude is local.

[Tujague]

Just want to give a shout-out to Chase, Pablo, Brett, and all at P & C Market for their wildly successful, second annual Polyface Pig Roast and Potluck last night. The pork was fabulous, the side dishes creative, and having a marketer for Great Lakes brewery on hand to sample their beers was a genius touch. This was a great neighborhood event for Lincoln Park, and a good reminder of how fortunate we are to have these entrepreneurial souls amongst us!

[Banco]

Just want to give a shout-out to Chase, Pablo, Brett, and all at P & C Market for their wildly successful, second annual Polyface Pig Roast and Potluck last night. The pork was fabulous, the side dishes creative, and having a marketer for Great Lakes brewery on hand to sample their beers was a genius touch. This was a great neighborhood event for Lincoln Park, and a good reminder of how fortunate we are to have these entrepreneurial souls amongst us!

Nice to find a thread on this neighborhood treasure. This is also the only place I know of East of the Washington Monument that sells "00" Italian pasta flour. So great to be able to go here and spare myself the trip to Dean and Delucre. We're ordering a Polyface Turkey from them this year. Do they have a website?

[Tujague]

We're ordering a Polyface Turkey from them this year. Do they have a website?

P&C doesn't have a Web site that I know of, but they do have a Facebook page that they update intermittently.

[Pat]

Realizing that I misread the recipe I'm using tonight (and it's one I've made several times before...d'oh!), I headed to P & C to look for caperberries. I didn't want to deal with Safeway or Harris Teeter, and it seemed like something they would have. There weren't any with the jars of pickled things, so my heart dropped a little but I asked anyway. They had them fresh packed in the refrigerated case, where it didn't occur to me to check.

It amazes me what they stock there. It really is a gem of a store. The caperberries look beautiful too.

[Pat]

I needed smoked trout for something and so checked here. Yep, they had it. Amazing. I'd only checked one other place so far but didn't feel like checking lots and lots of stores, so I gave them a shot before going farther afield.

[Pat]

The store is rebranding. It also looks like an ownership change.  The new name, to which they are in the midst of transitioning, is "Wine & Butter." They will be closed for a while sometime fairly soon to complete the process, but I didn't ask for how long.  They are going to open up the wall between the store and Surroundings florist next door and also add an espresso bar.

I'd been getting increasingly disappointed in the selection in the store and haven't been going in so much. The selection is looking a little better again.  The second-to-last time I'd been in, they didn't have a freezer any more. Now they have one again.  

[Mark Dedrick]

So is Surroundings closing? Or they will just be more integrated? 

[Pat]

That's staying.  It sounds like they're making them more connected to each other.  Sorry that wasn't clear.