Dean DeLuca

It's Sunday afternoon on New York's affluent Upper East Side, and one look at the crowd milling around the Dean & DeLuca store at Madison and 85th Street gives even the most casual observer a good idea of just how incredibly successful the high-end grocer has become. It should not come as a great surprise, then, that Dean & DeLuca is the recipient of the Luxist Awards' Editors' Choice Award for Best in Food.

Women decked in pearls and Metropolitan Museum of Art pins stroll past color-coordinated fruit displays while men in tweed jackets pause at the seafood counter to choose from King Salmon, Chilean Sea Bass and Black Cod, each at least $20 per pound. An elderly woman from Paris admires a stack of ten squares of chocolate, tied together and wrapped in pastel paper.

"The last time I came in, the first thing I saw were these," she says, pointing to the $62 bundle of chocolates. "They're so pretty that I never even opened them."

Best Gourmet Sauces
The first nominee has received countless awards while the second nominee offers a wide array of gourmet marinades and sauces that represent just about every corner of the globe. The third nominee has been around since the late 19th century while the fourth uses only natural ingredients and is the leading all-natural brand. The final nominee started out as a hometown favorite in Chicago before rolling out across the country.

B Gourmet
Dean & DeLuca
Porky's Gourmet Foods
Stubb's
Sweet Baby Ray's

Best Grill
The first nominee is known for its precision craftsmanship and distinctive styling while the second nominee is made by America's favorite home appliance brand. The third nominee was founded by a group of individuals who started out by manufacturing restaurant ranges while the fourth nominee makes grills that one might expect to find in a restaurant setting. The final nominee is a household name that is credited with revolutionizing the backyard barbecue.

Jenn-Air
Kenmore
Lynx
Viking
Weber

Best Online Meat
The first nominee provides meats to some of the best-known steakhouses in the country, while the second nominee was one of the first steak companies to offer mail order. The third nominee has been owned and operated by the same family for five generations while the fourth nominee is a New York institution with customers around the world. The final nominee---famous its steak houses---is now selling its meats to customers through a new online service.

Allen Brothers
Chicago Gourmet Steaks
Lobel's of New York
Ottomanelli Brothers
Peter Luger

Best Online Seafood
The first nominee is a top food Mecca in New York City and the Hamptons, while the second nominee is one of the country's finest online grocers. The third nominee is famous for its seafood restaurants along the eastern seaboard, while the fourth nominee, which is based in America's oldest seaport, specializes in shipping live seafood to its clients. The final nominee, which is based in New York, focuses on freshly caught, wild seafood

Citarella
Dean & DeLuca
Legal Sea Foods
The Fresh Lobster Company
Wild Edibles Seafood Market


Best Outdoor Furniture Line
The first nominee offers pieces designed and created by true artisans while the second offers pieces known for their impeccable quality, timeless style and classic beauty. The third nominee manufactures furniture that emphasizes the three F's: form, function and fun, while the fourth nominee is world-renowned for its wicker creations. The final nominee has been making its high-quality, extremely durable furniture since 1866.

Castelle
Century Furniture
Laneventure
Lloyd/Flanders
Woodard

It is estimated that Americans eat an average of 16.3 pounds of fish or seafood per person, according to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. According to Datamonitor, the world-leading provider of global business information, Americans will spend $14 billion for seafood products this year, with the majority spent on fresh seafood, rather than frozen or canned seafood. The United States is the third largest seafood market in the world, behind Japan and China.

But where are the best places to buy seafood?

To figure out the best of breed, we asked Luxist readers to nominate their favorite online seafood companies. Each of the top five finalists has one thing in common---they all offer only the finest and freshest seafood available---and they all ship to locations throughout the United States (and elsewhere in some cases).

The top five online seafood companies are:

Citarella
Dean & DeLuca
Legal Sea Foods
The Fresh Lobster Company
Wild Edibles Seafood Market

Citarella is a top food Mecca in New York City and the Hamptons, while Dean & DeLuca is one of the country's finest online grocers. Legal Sea Foods is famous for its seafood restaurants along the eastern seaboard, while The Fresh Lobster Companywhich is based in America's oldest seaport, specializes in shipping live seafood to its clients. The final nominee, Wild Edibles Seafood Market, which is based in New York, focuses on freshly caught, wild seafood.

Dean & DeLuca is a nominee for a Luxist Readers' Choice Award for Best Gourmet Sauces.

The company is one of America's finest online grocers -- offering a wide array of food, wine and even kitchenware.

Dean & DeLuca's wide array of gourmet marinades represent just about every corner of the globe. There's a Wine Country marinade, a Moroccan marinade, Argentinean marinade, Vietnamese marinade, Thai and Indian marinades. There's also a delicous Black Truffle barbecue sauce, in addition to a large variety of pasta sauces, pestos, bruschetta toppings, salsas, steak sauces and mole sauces.

Today, the website makes the grocer's trademark gourmet sauces, herbs and spices available to those who aren't lucky enough to have a store nearby. Dean & DeLuca also markets its private label products to other retailers and wholesalers throughout the world.

Vote for the Gourmet Sauce that you believe is the best of breed. The voting period runs through July 31 and winners will be announced on August 1.

Though Dean & Deluca started out as a bricks-and-mortar location in New York -- offering a wide array of food, wine and even kitchenware -- it's now one of the country's finest online grocers, particularly when it comes to fresh fish. As such, Dean & Deluca has earned a Luxist award nomination in the best online seafood category.

In 1977, Joel Dean and Giogio DeLuca started their company in a small shop in New York's SoHo neighborhood. In those days, SoHo wasn't the chic shopping enclave it is today; rather, it was gritty corner of the Big Apple. Jack Ceglic, Dean & DeLuca's founding partner, designed the first store to feel like a turn-of-the-century food department. Beneath the hum of high ceiling fans, shelves overflowed with rare artisan foodstuffs from flavored salts to cured meats.

As the years went on, Joel and Giorgio continued to expand their operation, adding another New York shop with four times the space of the original in 1988. Boutiques throughout the city followed, as did locations in Charlotte, Kansas City and Washington, D.C., and Dean & Deluca expanded its offerings to include fresh fish.

For those of you who want to send a delicious delicacy to the one you love on Valentine's Day there are some great mail order options. Whether you like cookies or chocolates there is something for everyone.

We write about Dean & Deluca a lot here on Luxist in part because they consistently offer quality products for the discerning gourmand from various manufacturers around the world. Their offerings for Valentine's Day are no exception:

• From Valerie Confections an artisinal confectioner in Los Angeles, come chocolates designated as Pour Elle and Pour Homme. Each box contains 3 large chocolate hearts and 8 small hearts with the "For Her" gift box having traces of edible rose petals and the "For Him" gift box is completed with caramel and toffee filled chocolates. Each set of 11 pieces retails for $30.00 a box.
• Chocolat Moderne in New York city is represented with a red box filled with 12 hand painted chocolate hearts. The $36.00 box contains two each of six different flavors.
• For those who like their sweets from France, the Pyramide des Tropiques from Francois Pralus, is a great choice for serious chocolate lovers who are more interested in the chocolate itself than cute Valentine wrapping. A stack of 10 individual bars each made with beans from a different part of the world and a 75% cocoa content for $12.00.
  
• Eleni's specializes in selling hand iced cookies. There is an adorable box of pink and purple XO shaped cookies 18 for $50.00 If you go to Eleni's web-site there are just under 20 different designs from which you can pick the perfect option for your sweetie.

All of these purveyors have their own web-sites and it is up to you to decide whether you'd like to comparison shop quickly through Dean & Deluca or take your time and order individually from the different stores. Either way you will come away "smelling like roses" but "tasting like chocolate" a perfect combination for Valentine's Day.

Chef Tracy Griffith (right -- and yes, she's the half sister of Melanie Grifftith) has created a whole new kind of sushi, Americana style. Think BLT and Cowboy rolls, and a vegetarian option served with fresh Green Goddess dressing.

Griffith, who has the distinction of being the first female graduate of the California Sushi Academy and one of the few female certified sushi chefs in the world, has compiled her creative new sushi recipes into a book called Sushi American Style. The delicious, raw fish-free fare is also available (as of Monday) in NYC Dean & Deluca stores, and is coming to the rest of the country in 2010.

So, what's it all about? We had a quick chat with Tracy at the New York Times building store and sampled all the sushi in the gallery below.

Luxist: So, Tracy, you developed all these rolls yourself, right?

Tracy Griffith: Yes, for my cookbook, Sushi American Style.

L: What was your inspiration?

TG: My inspiration was sushi customers in LA. I worked in a sushi bar and they always ordered California rolls, and I was like "Why?"

L: Why indeed!

TG: They said "I don't like raw fish." So many people are afraid of, or don't like, raw fish. So, being a chef, I had to start making something else besides California rolls. I started thinking, "What's good with white rice?" It's a very neutral base, like pasta or bread, so [I made the] BLT roll after my favorite sandwich, and Green Goddess, because it's so great with asparagus. Chicken Run has chili-garlic peanuts on it because I was in Bali, and in Bali they put chili-garlic peanuts on everything, and I thought, "Wouldn't that be good?" So, that's how it all started; it was for customers who don't eat raw fish.

L: What are people saying so far?

TG: Oh, they love it! Actually, it's kind of funny, because they walk in and look at me like "What?" and then they taste it and go "Oh, wow! That's great!"

Click through the gallery to see our tasting notes on all the new American sushi that you'll find at Dean & Deluca.

Dean & DeLuca is the winner of the Readers' Choice Award for Best Online Gourmet Food.

Though it's now one of America's finest online grocers -- offering a wide array of food, wine and even kitchenware --- the New York-based company got its start well before the information superhighway received its first coat of pavement.

In the 1970's, Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca traipsed around the world in search of artisan-produced foods that pleased their customers as well as themselves. They wanted products that fired their imaginations, challenged their tastes and turned dinner into a creative exercise.

When the partners opened the original Dean & DeLuca in Soho in September 1977, the neighborhood wasn't the hopelessly chic shopping enclave it is today; rather, it was an authentically gritty corner of the Big Apple. As such, founding partner, Jack Ceglic, designed the first store to evoke a turn-of-the-century food department. Beneath the whir of ceiling fans, high shelves brimmed with rare artisan foodstuffs from flavored salts to cured meats.

Joel and Giorgio continued to expand their operation, adding another New York shop with four times the space of the original in 1988. Boutiques throughout the city followed, as did locations in Charlotte, Kansas City and Washington, D.C. Demand for the grocer's goods even spawned a store in Tokyo.

Dean & DeLuca's wide array of gourmet offerings range from black truffle barbecue sauce, cilantro lime butter and tapas to Asian inspired delicacies such as green tea truffles, purple sweet potato vinegar and organic sushi rice. It also has an impressive selection of meats, seafood, pates, ready-to-serve appetizers, artisanal cheeses and sweets. In search of a Mediterranean sea salt? How about a Himalayan salt harvested from the beds of ancient seas? Look no further than Dean & DeLuca. The company has also launched a new wine division with knowledgeable staff who can recommend the best food and wine pairings for any event.

Today, website makes the grocer's trademark meats, fish, cheeses, herbs and spices available to those who aren't lucky enough to have a store nearby. Dean & DeLuca also markets its private label products to other retailers and wholesalers throughout the world.

Dean & DeLuca is a nominee for a Luxist Award in two categories: Best Online Gourmet Food and Best Gourmet Grocer/Food Hall.

Though it's now one of America's finest online grocers -- offering a wide array of food, wine and even kitchenware --- the New York-based company got its start well before the information superhighway received its first coat of pavement.

In the 1970's, Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca traipsed around the world in search of artisan-produced foods that pleased their customers as well as themselves. They wanted products that fired their imaginations, challenged their tastes and turned dinner into a creative exercise.

When the partners opened the original Dean & DeLuca in Soho in September 1977, the neighborhood wasn't the hopelessly chic shopping enclave it is today; rather, it was an authentically gritty corner of the Big Apple. As such, founding partner, Jack Ceglic, designed the first store to evoke a turn-of-the-century food department. Beneath the whir of ceiling fans, high shelves brimmed with rare artisan foodstuffs from flavored salts to cured meats.

Joel and Giorgio continued to expand their operation, adding another New York shop with four times the space of the original in 1988. Boutiques throughout the city followed, as did locations in Charlotte, Kansas City and Washington, D.C. Demand for the grocer's goods even spawned a store in Tokyo.

Dean & DeLuca's wide array of gourmet offerings range from black truffle barbecue sauce, cilantro lime butter and tapas to Asian inspired delicacies such as green tea truffles, purple sweet potato vinegar and organic sushi rice. It also has an impressive selection of meats, seafood, pates, ready-to-serve appetizers, artisanal cheeses and sweets. In search of a Mediterranean sea salt? How about a Himalayan salt harvested from the beds of ancient seas? Look no further than Dean & DeLuca. The company has also launched a new wine division with knowledgeable staff who can recommend the best food and wine pairings for any event.

Today, website makes the grocer's trademark meats, fish, cheeses, herbs and spices available to those who aren't lucky enough to have a store nearby. Dean & DeLuca also markets its private label products to other retailers and wholesalers throughout the world.

Vote now for what you believe is the best of breed in Gourmet Foods. Readers' Choice Awards for Food will be announced on November 30th.

Crystal Clear spring water from Mount Herman and the finest selection of many generations of pure Russian Sturgeon go into making Karat Caviar, a recently introduced aquacultured Osetra caviar from Israel that took 16 years to develop, with incredibly delicious results. Karat uses the same Russian Sturgeon species (Acipenser Gueldenstaedtii) found in the famed Caspian Sea, raised in the most natural settings under pristine conditions to produce an imperial grade product usually associated only with increasingly scarce wild sturgeon.

Karat Caviar is produced by Caviar Galilee, one of the longest running fish farms in Israel, which has been involved in aquaculture since 1939. The Caviar Galilee Farm began growing Russian Sturgeon in 1992, when the first fertilized eggs were imported directly from Russia. The Farm is located in close proximity to the main source of the Jordan River – the Dan Springs, which flow with crystal clear snow waters from the peaks of Mount Hermon. The natural flow of water which gravitates through the Farm enables fish breeding in water that is clear, pure and rich in oxygen.

The Russian Osetra is produced from ten to eleven year-old fish. During the production process, the caviar is produced separately from each single fish and is then packed separately ensuring the product's purity, without mixing caviar from different fish. Freshness, consistent high quality, large pearl size, fine taste and texture and sustainability are the watchwords of Karat, which aims to put the rest of the farmed caviar trade to shame. Karat's exclusive 100% pure Russian Osetra is now available at Dean & DeLuca under the Galilee label, as well as at Zabar's and Whole Foods in the Southeast.