Rancho Gordo beans, from Napa Vally, are perfect example of our philosophy of making “regular food” special again.  Beans, yes beans, are something to talk about.  These are not your beans-in-a-can beans, these are hand selected bean varieties from the Americas – some on the verge of disappearing – that are non-genetically altered seeds or plants, picked at perfection, dried, and bagged. The beans always have a fresh taste, full of unexpected flavor from a simple bean.  Soak and cook the Vaqueros in any dish, drop in a handful of rice beans to perk up a soup, or simmer Yellow Eyes all day with your famous stew – they’ll be perfect.  Classic as a side or the main course, Rancho Gordo beans will make any meal lovely.

Starting from just a few beans and growing to cover over twenty varieties, Rancho Gordo has something for anyone: not just pinto or black, but Yellow Eye or Vaquero. Share in something that had only existed in the lands where beans are a way of life, and are now brought to your kitchen.

For meal ideas check the Rancho Gordo recipe section!

For over 100 years and five generations Oaks Chocolate has been making chocolate candies in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and we now bring that delicious tradition to you!

Oaks have a thick layer of smooth, rich chocolate coating the outside, providing a snap when biting into the bar.  The inside is whipped chocolate, not too heavy and not too light. There are two types of Oaks bars: the Malty Melty has a center with  Malt powder – like those sweet shakes from your childhood, and the Melty Melty is all chocolate all the time.  Oaks bars are the ideal quell to your chocolate addiction – so much so even Saveur Magazine couldn’t ignore them, mentioning them in their top 100 of this year.

Lowly Peanut Butter, cast aside too long as a simple condiment only be spread on bread and share the spotlight with Jelly or even packed in celery (raisins optional). The time has come, time for Peanut Butter to become an experience instead of a simple treat. Cream-Nut Peanut Butter is just that; opening the floodgates of sweet unadulterated peanut taste by the spoonful from the jar (how we like it) or on your PB&Js. Chunky or smooth there is a consistency for everyone.

Made with vintage machinery, this peanut butter has an amazing homemade taste. Cream-nut is the reward of quality linage: the tradition of food carried for over 80 years.  Try it alone, or use it in your favorite peanut butter dish and you will taste the difference.

Pesto is a real thing of beauty. Simple ingredients, and strong green color that makes a good addition to pasta sauce and the like. It is also tricky to get right, too watery usually, but we at Southport Grocery found someone who got pesto right: Besto Pesto. Small batches of deliciously spreadable pesto with just right right amount of Parmesan and Romano cheese, basil, and a hint of lemon to make any cracker not getting a smear jealous. Besto Pesto is titillating on your tilapia, prefect for your pasta, and your bruschette will be begging for more.

You won’t have to bury this pesto, eat it on crackers or by the spoonful! You can find Besto Pesto in our freezer.

Obsessively good chocolate.  All very dark and all very delicious – TCHO chocolates are rich with all those ‘good things’ that chocolate provides: powerful antioxidants, amino acids, and happiness.  Here at Southport Grocery, we carry the 30 day prescriptions as well as single 5gram bars, small enough for a nibble.  Four types in the TCHO family: fruity, nutty, citrus, chocolatey – each with a distinct flavor and slightly different percent of cacao to bring out the richness of the chocolate.

A technology and chocolate came together to make TCHO, a chocolate manufacturing company at it’s core – one of the few artisan chocolate makers in the US. They don’t just melt other’s chocolate, they themselves create the chocolate in their factory on the famous San Francisco waterfront.  They are constantly checking the quality, from pod to bean to the machines. Small batch, tasty, hand picked – what is not to love?

TCHO obsesses over their chocolate and we’re sure you’ll do the same after one taste.

In the current landscape of tea there are a near infinite number of choices out there.  We have scoured and found some of the finest tea we’ve had – Rishi Tea. Luckily they weren’t far and were based less than 100 miles away in Milwaukee – Lisa Santos’, the owner of Southport Grocery, hometown.  From green to black to herbal and beyond, there is a tea for any palette.

Like a cup of tea you had with in the cafe?  We carry all of the tea from the cafe on the shelf – and some that aren’t.  One of our favorites is the Organic Jasmine Pearl tea (pictured left) – it’s light and has a smooth earthiness unlike many over-bearing green teas; an ideal soft pick-me-up tea for those long winter days that never seem to end.

Joshua Kaiser, founder of Rishi Tea, wanted to bring what had flourished in wine for years to tea -  exceptional, hand picked, organic, and made with the best possible leaves.  The midwest based Rishi Tea has grown, but their quality hasn’t been compromised – still visiting the tea fields and hand selecting just the right ingredients.

One of the greatest things about tea is sharing, and we want to share with you some of the best tea out there.

We’ve been Welcoming Winter for the past 7 weeks here at Southport Grocery & Cafe.

It’s another cold week in Chicago and I think we can all agree that we’re ready for Winter to be over.

To celebrate the final week we’re taking 15% Off Everything in the Grocery (except deli and bakery).

If It’s Not Nailed Down It’s 15% Off!!!

Stop by anytime this week for the eighth week of Winter Welcome …and stock up for Spring!