By Gene Barton

I’ve had the good fortune in the last year or so to do quite a bit of job-related traveling. Aside from trying to dine at as many Bubba Gump restaurants that I find myself near -- five so far -- I also enjoy sampling the local fare, both the dine-in and carry-on variety. These adventures have led me to some exceedingly tasty discoveries, many of which have become fixtures in the Barton pantry.

January found me in New York City, on a very cold and windy night that swirled snowflakes into the concrete canyons of Manhattan (just three days before a blizzard hit and crippled the city). Although it was late EST, I was still on Seattle time and hungry. I had Italian on my mind. The concierge at the Grand Hyatt recommended Nanni, a quaint restaurant just a couple of blocks away at 146 E. 46th St. (212-697-4161). She even phoned ahead to make sure they had a table available.

If you aren’t looking for Nanni, you’ll miss it tucked amongst the forest of storefronts. A few steps lead you down into the cafŽ, which Carl Lewis could jump across on a bad day and with a strong headwind. There are maybe 15 tables, adorned with white tablecloths. Imagine the restaurant in “The Godfather” where Michael offs Virgil Sollozzo and Capt. McCluskey. The waiters are old-school Italian. The food is magnificent. The price is right.

The Grand Hyatt itself is incorporated into the makeover that has restored Grand Central Station to its former grandeur and incorporated many modern touches as well. One of these is the Grand Central Market, reminiscent of our own Pike Place. This long, narrow cornucopia of sights, smells and tastes features two rows of merchant stalls that commuters parade between, picking up dinner fixings on their way to the subway.

At one end, I discovered the Ceriello Family stall. It features fresh pastas and a variety of jarred homemade sauces arrayed in large, round fruit baskets in front of the counter. Searching for something my health-conscious wife and I could both enjoy, I picked up a jar of the sundried tomato sauce with roasted garlic and basil. The beauty of this sauce is that I just mentioned almost half of the ingredients. Otherwise, it contains fresh parsley, olive oil, pepper and salt, along with regular tomatoes, of course. Nothing artificial. No sugar.

I took it home on the plane. My wife fixed it up with just plain old spaghetti and we tasted heaven. There hasn’t been any other pasta sauce in our house since. We restock regularly by visiting Ceriello’s web site at www.ceriellofinefoods.com and ordering six jars at a time. The price for each 15-ounce jar is $5.95 and well worth every penny. Buying six jars puts you over $30 and gets you free shipping. As first-time visitors, we also got a 20% discount. Try the prosciutto sauce, too, and there are many other tempting varieties. If you don’t see the sun-dried tomato sauce on the web site, call the number provided. They’ll get it for you (and give you the discount).

In December, I was in Kansas City, which bills itself -- among other things -- as the nation’s barbecue capital. On another recommendation, I sniffed out Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue restaurant near my hotel in Overland Park -- just one of many in the area. You may have heard of Jack Stack. On a recent home-shopping show filmed at Seattle Center and featuring a Seattle inventor’s new home-improvement vise, the vise and some of Fiorella’s Jack Stack barbecue sauce were the only sell-outs. And for good reason.

I took home a jar of the Original Sauce (mislabeled with Low Carb Sauce nutrition information) and it didn’t last long. I also brought home a catalog. An 18-ounce jar of sauce is $4.95 and there are several varieties. Shipping is $5.95 for orders up to $39, so buy seven bottles at a time. If you’re throwing a party, you can order anything on the menu, from ribs to side dishes. Visit www.jackstackbbq.com or phone 1-877-419-7427.

Finally, I have to plug Brookside Farms’ fruit spreads. Not jams. Not jellies. Spreads. Because they don’t have enough sugar in them to meet the FDA definition of jam or jelly, which is just fine with me. Ingredients: fruit, sugar, pectin. I favor the marionberry and blackberry seedless varieties. This family outfit is located in Sheridan, Oregon, home of the local federal minimum-security penitentiary. Call 503-876-2336. Or, if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by the produce stand on the north side of Highway 18 just east of the Spirit Mountain Casino, between Portland and the Coast. They carry an excellent selection of Brookside products.