When it comes to stocking the pantry, New Orleanians have our tried-and-true staples -- Creole seasoning to sprinkle on the home fries, crab boil to zest up the stockpot, and Crystal Hot Sauce to add a kick to, well, just about anything. But when a recipe calls for Sargol Saffron or Madagascar Peppercorns, we may have to look beyond the spice aisle at our neighborhood Rouses. Stores like Whole Foods, Vom Fass, and St. James Cheese Company sell plenty of exotic edibles, but some specialty items can be hard to find and even harder on the wallet.

Enter Small Specialties Gourmet, a new online grocer that is promising unbeatable prices on hard-to-find spices, teas, coffees, and dried herbs ($1.20 per oz of Greek Oregano, for example, compared to the $2-6 charged by other online companies). Small Specialties was founded by Jeff and Dena Morris, a husband and wife team passionate about high quality ingredients and fed up with the pricey offerings at their local food stores in Raleigh, NC. Now, they're peddling ultra-gourmet goods from cyberspace and spicing up the kitchens of home cooks and restaurant chefs across the country.

Small Specialties currently offers over 100 products and plans to expand to nearly 500 within the next year. So, next time Thomas Keller's cookbook calls for Fleur de Sel, don't try to substitute Tony Chachere's; check out Small Specialties' website instead.

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