The Spice House

Drove up to Milwaukee on a cold winter day to visit some friends. Arrived a little early and decided to explore some of the shops on 3^rd Street now known as Old World 3^rd Street.
Yes, it’s exactly like going back to Old Milwaukee in the early 1900’s.
First I stopped at the Usinger’s Sausage Shop but, it was weird. Walked in saw some deli counters and a very small section of sausage and couldn’t figure out if it was a deli or what??? so, I walked out and went across the street to The Spice House.
Upon entering the very small but well stocked store, you see an old wood counter where spices are being measured and packed for shipping to customers. The smell is intoxicating and if you never used a spice to cook with, you are compelled to purchase several.
I am a home cook and enjoy spices so, I had to try a few new ones: Peppercorn Royale, a combination of white, green, black, red and pink peppercorns for my pepper grinder. Made my grinder smile with the new ‘corns.
I make pot roast in the crock pot a few times a year and the Spice House offers a blend of all the seasonings in 1 jar! Super convenient, just measure and add to the crock pot. The blend can also be used on steaks, burgers and meatloaf.
Also added Taco seasoning and an Italian herb blend to my purchase. Great for all my Italian and Mexican dishes. Total bill for 4 jars of spices, under $ 20!
The Spice House has 2 locations in Milwaukee, and 3 in Illinois: Evanston, Chicago (I’ve lived in Chicago since 1980 and didn’t know about these) and finally Geneva, IL.
When checking out the cashier kept searching thru a pile of books until she retrieved hers with her name written on top. They still do things the old fashioned way with handwriting your purchase.
Enjoy the experience! Spice House has been operated by the Penzey Family since 1957, another GREAT Spice resource.

What’s not to love here?
The spice of life can be found here on a pretty small footprint. It is Well organized. These seasonings can turn a basic chicken into finest gourmet entrée.
The selection is not as good as the original location when it comes to variety of bottle sizes. No one person could ever use a whole 2 oz of ground habanero powder!
So split and share. With 8 foodie foodie friends. They have kitchen gadgets and gift cards as well.
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My favorite spice shop around. Friendly and huge variety. Great to just browse and buy random things to try and cook with. Got some lavender and middle eastern spices on my latest visit.

I got the addresses mixed up when I wrote my original review. It has now been moved to the proper location.
This location, in the Milwaukee Market, is a micro version of the store on Old World Third Street. Just as good, but tinier and with a fraction of the atmosphere.
You can sample the spices here, too.
The beauty of this location is that you can pick up your meats and produce at another vendor in the market and then stop in here for your fresh seasonings before you head home. Genius!
84÷2015÷178

The customer service is beyond awesome. I am a customer for life. I bought a pair of crazy expensive salt and pepper mills which now do not work. Not at all the Spice House’s fault but I brought them in to the store to see what they recommend I do and the store manager was so helpful and willing to make it good even though it is the manufacturer of the mills issue I was nearly dumbfounded. In this ever so common world of zero customer service I was so pleased and highly, highly recommend the Spice House.
Their spices are fresh and extremely reasonably priced. anyone who prices out spices and what you pay at a grocery store I guarantee you will pay less for fresher spices at The Spice House.

Hello my name is Jennifer and I have a confession to make. I think I’ve visited this Spice House location weekly for over a year now. Most of the time Im buying something, sometimes I just sample sniff to get an idea what I want to buy next. While Im doing this I tend to chat up the staff and ask a lot of questions.
All of this «bad behavior» translates into three things: 1. I have a kitchen cupboard full of amazing-​smelling spices; 2. The food I cook tastes delicious; and 3. I have an arsenal of solid spice knowledge (for example, the differences between Korintje and Vietnamese Cinnamon). All of this adds up to a fabulous culinary experience.
If you go, be open to sampling the numerous spice blends they carry. My favorite, hands down, is Historic Third Ward Seasoning, which I use a lot. I loved Milwaukee Iron Seasoning and was over the top when I bought Gateway to the North and Hickory Seasoned Salt to make Milwaukee Iron Beans. Finally Mitchell Street Steak Seasoning ranks higher in my book than (gasp) McCormick’s Montréal Steak Seasoning.
Dont be afraid to talk to the staff about special projects too. I had a dream of converting a one-​off spice mix recipe into a dozen bottles to give as holiday gifts. In one visit I got bottles, bulk conversions of all ingredients (!!!), packaging advice, and a promise to have my bulk order ready the next day. That’s service!
The complaint I hear when I evangelize about the Spice House is that it’s pricey. I say you get what you pay for. And to me this is a good value.
Just go already!

They don’t carry everything in this location, you miss out on the smells of the main store on Old World Third Street but its convenient. I just call to make sure they have what am looking for because the store is smaller and stocked with the necessities but I always call before I go.

I have bought so many spices from this location of the Spice House, it’s not funny. I find it hard to believe that I can get this high of a quality of spice, for a fraction of the cost of crappy supermarket spices!
Spice House essentials:
Rose Water (for rose water lemonade, natch)
Warm Chili Powder
Cumin, Coriander
Their gift mixes:
Galena Street Rib & Chicken Rub
Old World Seasoning (All purpose sprinkle)
Brady Street Cheese sprinkle
Fox Point Seasoning
I love browsing here, and replenishing spices– twice the amount, for the same price as crappy supermarket varieties. Why shop anywhere else for spices?

Hello, my name is Nick and I am a spice addict.
I’ve been an addict for years now and with your support I shall continue to be for many, many years to come. But unlike most of you I have this overwhelming need to collect (a different addiction… that we won’t discuss later) and try new spices. With the help of the Spice House, I have managed not to feel overpowered by my addiction. To embrace it with only trying and picking up a spice here and there. See, this is because their selection is smaller (though still pretty darn vast) then their store. I can start in one spot and go around without my eyes going twenty directions and without being there for days (yes, I can spend more then a day trying spices). They have the basics but then they have rubs, a range of sea salts, sugars, blends, and so, so many spices… (quivering with delight)
The staff is pretty cool too or as I like to call them… the ENABLERS!
The cashier even said to me: «The spice is strong with you my friend. Spice long and prosper (as he tossed me a few samples)!”*
I know some of you are burnt out on the spice but all I have to say… The spice must flow, the spice must FLOW!
Just a few I’ve picked up so far
Hungarian Sweet Paprika (turns out, it is really good on pan fried tofu)
Truffled Salt (made with actual truffles and not that fake oil shit)
Crystallized Ginger
Hawaiian Black Lava Sea Salt
Dark Coco Powder
*No, not a true story.

Three words… FOX POINT SEASONING! I love both spice houses, this is the smaller store located in the market. You miss out on the smells that you will find in the big store and also some of the options and sizes, but this is a good location to stop at since it’s closer and has easy parking.
Like I always say, try the fox point seasoning… I love that stuff… could eat it with a spoon yum.
Until you try their spices, you might think the grocery store kind are fine… after you will never go back!

There are some pros and cons to this Spice House location.
Cons:
*Selection is definitely smaller than the 3^rd St location, but they have 95% of what the average cook is going to need
*Most of the basic spices (tarragon, sage, thyme) come in plastic bags vs the glass jars. You can buy jars there and stock them up at home if you want to.
Pros:
*Fresh, super high quality spices at reasonable prices,
*Helpful, friendly staff. I like my spices in jars and they kindly printed up labels for all the stuff I bought.
*Fun blends for pretty much everything — rubs, dips, dressings, baking.
*In the Public Market which means free parking. You would be very lucky to find a spot on 3^rd St and it for sure wouldn’t be free.
*Crystallized Ginger — mmmmmmmm
I love the 3^rd St location with it’s vast selection (most of which I don’t really need) and the heavenly smell when you come in. But this location has the same high quality and it’s jut a lot easier to get to. Plus, it’s next door to Aladdin meaning I can pick up some goodies there too.

Stopped by at the Milwaukee public market to kill time. Despite my utter distain of this glorified yuppie food court, I stopped at the Spice House and spent 15 minutes sampling spice mixes. Finally broke down and asked if they shipped out of state. Never seen anything remotely close in quality of ingredients and range of products. Can’t wait to get back to my kitchen.

They had a great selection of seasonings. I love the BBQ options and the variety of flavored sugars. The products are high quality and handmade. They have tester bottles so you can smell each product. They have a nice variety of baking goods. I like to get the quality vanilla extracts they have available. The prices are higher than I expected but I go back anyways. The staff are very nice.

Yes, there is a larger Spice House on Third, but if you’re enjoying the Public Market experience, as you should be, this is a perfect little shop to pick up some spices.
My dad is a fan of the Black and Red spice. My husband and I use Spice House rubs on our grilled meats, and their spices also make nice gifts.
Don’t get me started on the crystalized ginger. I could eat it like candy all day long.

I’m reading Rachel’s review and I feel like I’m stalking her spice collection. She’s got a lot of the same stuff I use. Vulcan Fire salt is win, especially on popcorn. Assorted sea salts, like Hawaiian Black and the Himalayan Pink are pretty useful, and, while you are most likely thinking… it’s salt, what’s the difference… you should taste them. Buy a few, lay them out in little colorful piles, and taste through them. It’s strange, but true… salt has different qualities. And you can buy them here.
I’ve bought large amounts of the dried herbs and smaller shakers, unprocessed items like star anice and cinnamon for grinding as needed. Korean black garlic is something most people don’t buy, or get put off by it’s fermented nature, but it’s tasty and you can get it here.
But she didn’t list two of my favorite items here. First, for making the tastiest of tasty Mexican hot chocolate, they have sweet ancho chile powder, which you typically don’t find in grocery stores. And, most importantly…
White Truffle Salt. Put this on popcorn. Put this on eggs. Periodically open the shaker and smell the goodness. Seriously. It’s in my drawer in my desk right now. Right here in Kosovo. I’m educating my highly ranked office to its glorious wonder. If security wasn’t so tight, I’d put up a picture.
That all said, the convenience of this location over Old World 3^rd, combined with nearby treats including chocolate, wine and lunch, makes this place my central stop for every spice desire I could have. They do not, unfortunately for gift givers, carry the giant selection of boxed spice collections, but that’s out of my range of needs.

I could spend hours in this tiny little nook of spiciness.
Super friendly, knowledgeable service.
The prices are spot on for the quality that you get.
This location also has a fun little kitchen gadget area that I love. It’s hard to leave without buying some random can opener or somethin.
5 stars. #BAM.

Holy sheeet.
This Spice House is the smaller counterpart to its flagship location on Old World Third St., & what this Spice House lacks in selection it makes up for in convenience, hence the five-​star rating.
I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s not lacking. Lack is not the word. Fantastic is the word. But it’s most certainly smaller and the selection is condensed by necessity of its location inside the market.
Vulcan Fire salt? I put in almost everything I eat… this stuff is the stuff of gods, IMHO. Crystallized ginger for baking and snacking. Himalayan pink rock salt. Seasonings named for Milwaukee neighborhoods like Walker’s Point and Wauwatosa and Cedarburg, and they’re full of things like grated shallots and arrowroot and toasted onion and dill. Real cinnamon, not the fake stuff… and three different types of it… they have Masala, too. Blends of high quality spices and the pure, authentic real deal and everything in between, this place is not messing around. I could spend forever at the flagship location just browsing, and the market location is great in its own right, too.
All my favorites are there and the convenience is stellar, as the Public Market is right on Water so its downtown/​Third Ward mainline. And the market is open ’till at least 8pm every night, so bonus points for that, too.
Spice House, I love you.