Foodie couples often celebrate Valentine’s Day with trip to a great kitchen store. They buy together, cook together, and enjoy all the ensuing benefits.
Kitchen stores abound, although many of the independent ones have fallen victim to “chain creep.” Independent stores, particularly ones of quality, have become rare. And, if you travel outside of a major metropolitan area, they are almost extinct. So, Suzen and I feel very fortunate to be so “close” to the Blue Cashew in Rhinebeck, New York. I say “close” because it is about 25 miles, a bridge, and a river away from our house.
In New York City, you measure distance in blocks: 20 blocks to the mile. Upstate, you measure in miles or even tens of miles. But a drive to Rhinebeck is hardly arduous. For us, the bridge over the river offers wonderful view of the truly rugged Catskills Mountains on one side of the river and the rolling hills of Dutchess County on the other. The sloping lawns of the great Dutchess estates flow from forest down to the Hudson.
Blue Cashew fits that quality of life to a “T.” It is a big, beautiful store. The layout is spacious. You can actually walk around without bumping into another person or sending a pan toppling off a table. The merchandise is carefully selected for quality. There aren’t five of everything. Just the one or two best of everything.
The calm beauty of the place — in contrast to the crowded jumble of most stores — lends itself to your imagination. You can actually sense how that plate will look on your dining table, how that pan will appear on your stove. And, if you need advice, then the gentlemen at Blue Cashew will deftly help you. They have lots of catalogs! And they can help you find anything.
There is a mathematical theory called “small worlds.” You’ve heard about part of it: the six degrees of separation. Between you and anyone else on the planet, there is a chain of six people who link you. It’s an attractive idea. Obviously impossible.
Blue Cashew co-owner Sean Nutley had just been to Paris.
“I have a niece in Paris,” Suzen said. “A journalist.”
“I know a good journalist there,” Sean said.
“Well, she’s not a journalist anymore,” Suzen offered. “She runs Yelp France and …”
“You mean Zeva?” Sean interrupted. “I just had dinner at her house in Paris. I love my Zeva.”
“Your Zeva?” Suzen asked. “She’s my niece.”
Maybe six degrees isn’t so farfetched.
If you are ever in or near Rhinebeck, do visit Blue Cashew. You’ll fall in love. For Valentine’s Day, or any other, it’s the perfect kitchen store for your imagination and dreams: www.bluecashewkitchen.com.