These tins of sardines are so cool, you will simply drop to your knees. They’re from Brittany, the land that invented sardines. The tins are embossed with such gorgeous and retro graphics, you’ll want to keep them after you’ve gorged on the contents. But the clincher is that these are not your ordinary sardines. These are treasured vintage sardines; they’ve been in the tin for several years, marinating in their own natural juices and high-quality olive oil. The French know that the result of this minuscule artisanal production is that the little fish become so much more flavorful, something otherworldly and superbly succulent during their tin time. Only through Fairway can you get this vintage (millesime) sardine, hailing from a well-established French cannery that boasts 90 years of experience in preparing the delicacy.

Salty and intensely flavorful, eat these sardines plain, or toss them into vegetable salads and pasta with garlic and capers. Mash them onto toast with lemon and onions, or serve on top of pizza. You can even make an afternoon sandwich with sardines, avocado, and hearty bread, or mash and spread them on a bagel with cream cheese.

Fairway Marketplace is brought to you by Fairway Market, a specialty food chain that started back in 1933 with a small fruit and vegetable stand on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Today, Fairway Market is legendary for its experts and expertise in all things food, and a relentless obsession with quality throughout all of the different departments in its stores. In December of 2011, Fairway launched this online shop, so that we could bring the best of the best of what Fairway offers, at the same great values, to those who don’t live near one of our stores. Why keep all of this foodie goodness to ourselves? That simply would not be fair.