I finally made it over to Penzeys in Portland this weekend.  It was well worth the trip.  I went to their store in Minneapolis many years ago, and have ordered from their web site a number of times, but it’s a much different experience being able to see (and more importantly smell) everything first hand.  It’s a very nice little store in a strip mall over on 82nd, which is why I’d never been there.  From the hinterlands here in Hillsboro, the other side of Portland is a good 45 minutes to an hour away, so it’s not a casual trip.  I stocked up an some of their fantastic pepper (so good that after grocery store pepper you’ll find yourself thinking “wow, pepper tastes like that?”) and some Ceylon cloves that are quite a bit bigger than the usual ones you see in the store.  Powdered ginger, galangal, Mexican oregano, and ground Moroccan coriander were among my other purchases.  The hardest part is resisting the urge to try one of everything.  I was sorely tempted by the Russian sausage seasoning, which smelled really good.  On the way back (since I was all the way out there an everything) I stopped by Bob’s Red Mill for some excellent grain products.  When we moved a couple of months ago, I dumped large portions of my pantry, so I’m rebuilding all those staple ingredients I’m used to having on hand.