Healthy, organic, artisanal, and gourmet - this is what the Mercantile is all about. Located in Little Italy on College St. West, this little food shop has been around since 1999. They carry a wide range of products from tea leaves and spices, to organic candies, baking supplies, pasta, sauces, jams, preserves, etc. This is where you'll find those Martha Stewart-esque food products that you thought Whole Foods would carry, but doesn't. This is also where you should go if you have a foodie on your list to shop for. Some of the really interesting things I found were chocolate covered figs & cherries or chocolate covered pumpkin/ sunflower seeds! They also have a great selection of snacks that are healthy and great looking. One of the things they specialize in is gift baskets. There is a great selection of containers to choose from. Shanon, the owner, was at the store on the day I visited and was really helpful in putting together my snack basket. Everything is priced fairly. It definitely isn't much more expensive than Whole Foods. But, you can end up splurging a bit especially when you start to put everything that seemed interesting, which is pretty much everything they sell, into your basket. So, before you walk in, bring someone to moderate your spending!