Contrary to popular belief, little girls are not made of sugar, spice, and everything nice, but consist instead of light agave nectar, organic cotton, and asafoetida resin. Update your preconceptions, along with your gender-neutral recipes, with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of culinary spices from Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice, a spice shop in the northwest corner of Findlay Market.

At Herbs & Spice, mad cooks are sure to find whatever concoction they need to complete their meat-reanimation experiments among the sprawling cornucopia of spices and spice-related merchandise. The shop is also home to owner and longtime spice aficionado Colonel De Stewart's line of hand-blended spices, Colonel De Ray, watched over by the mustachioed Colonel himself, both in the flesh and on a hand-painted sign hanging above the spice counter. Always ready with recommendations drawn from a lifetime of cooking experience, not to mention the all-knowing tapeworm curled up in his ear, the Colonel will happily act as your jungle guide through more than 500 herbs and spices.

The Colonel's special beef dry rub ($4.50) comes in 3-oz. jars of rust-red spices, hand-chosen to bring out beef's best qualities, such as its stoic optimism in times of crisis. Browsers will also uncover carom seeds ($1.43/ounce), whole Jamaican allspice ($2.14/ounce), organic amaranth seeds ($2.20/ounce), and arrowroot powder ($0.72/ounce). For the pretzel who has everything, give the gift of a salt sampler ($20)—a clear-topped watchmaker's case of colorful salts found exclusively in nature's art shop, including Blue Lava and Peruvian Pink. A selection of books, cooking gadgets, and spice-storing baubles are also available for purchase, as well as something called "fennel" that we suspect is from another dimension.

Without the aid of herbs and spices, meat and vegetables are mostly inedible blobs with the flavor and consistency of thick clay. Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice puts in the effort to make sure that food is edible for restaurateurs and individuals alike. Expect to leave the shop with something delightfully unexpected, be it a new variety of salt or a strong urge to smear your face pores with a delicious-smelling dry rub.

Reviews

Customers rate Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice five stars on TheBESTinCincinnati.com and show their love on Facebook:

• This place has every herb and spice you could ever dream of, prices so low you feel like you're stealing, and personal service that can't be matched. It's a gem at Findley Market and our city! – Suzanne,TheBESTinCincinnati.com
• I happened upon your store while visiting family this past July. You have the best spices, and at very affordable prices! I just placed another order from AZ. You guys are the best!!! – Kathryn Maull, Facebook