PFI, or Pacific Food Importers, is a warehouse, with cement floors and old-style shelves. I get giddy when I go in there. It is not DeLaurenti, but it carries many of the same things for a fraction of the price. PFI has the absolute best cheese counter in the city, nearly 25 feet long; olives in bulk; Essential Bakery Bread at a fraction of the price; and a whole wall full of fragrant olive oils. There are sections for honey (avocado, tea tree, and pine cone, from Lebanon to Tanzania to Greece), jams (try one of the several varieties of sour cherry or rose petal), Dutch candy, British and German cookies, high-end bulk chocolate (I like the 70 percent Onyx), and tea from all over the world. There’s a wall of artisan pasta, sardines from every country where they are fished, amazing prices on all types of tomatoes and salted cod, anchovies, almond paste, nuts, and even phyllo and sometimes Turkish brik. Shipments come and go, so don’t expect them to always have the same things, but this is part of the joy of shopping at PFI: You are always trying something new. I especially love it around the holidays: In addition to the normal delights, PFI imports all manner of seasonal, occasional foods from the best places to eat in the world.
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