5 replies to this topic

[argentinadave]

I've just moved to Boston from Argentina and was looking to outfit my kitchen. I want to invest in a good chef's knife - any ideas on places where I can actually see and touch them? Also need to get spices, and a lot of Asian ingredients - any suggestions?
Thanks!

[Chris Amirault]

Knives: Sur Le Table and Stoddards are decent shops for knives; I'd love to know more about better options, though, so share if you find some!

Asian: There are a lot of small Asian and Southeast Asian stores sprinkled throughout the Boston and Providence area. The big supermarkets are Super 88s; if you google that name, you'll find some options. Chinatown also has a bunch of stores. For fresh produce, best to hunt down where in the outskirts and suburbs the locals go. (If you want Providence options for "where the locals go," let me know. )

Spices: There's a Penzey's in Arlington, and they'll have just about everything you'd need to outfit a basic spice pantry -- and more.

[LindaK]

hi, and welcome to eGullet and the Boston area!

Here are several that I know of:

Stoddards. Knife specialty store. sadly, no longer in Boston proper but not far away either.
http://www.stoddards.com/

China Fair. Two locations, one in Cambridge (Porter Square) the other in Needham. A large selection of kitchenware, some but not most, for professional kitchens. Good prices.
http://chinafairinc....stomer/home.php

Eastern Bakers. This place serves the trade but will sell retail.
http://www.easternbakers.com/door/

there are also places in Chinatown, but I can't remember names. Worth wandering through the neighborhood to browse and eat!

And of course there are the usual retail places such as Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table. W-S has a discount outlet at the Wrentham Outlets, south of Boston.

[jk1002]

I second the williams and Sonoma outlet. They generally have all clad stainless 40% off, if you time it you may even get 50%.

They also had selection of knifes, they sometimes post special offers through their twitter account.

For spices, Christina's Spice Shop at Inman square.

[Chris Amirault]

The WS outlet in Wrentham is very good if you want to load up on All-Clad and other cookware. (There's a Le Creuset outlet there, too, along with at least one other kitchenware store.) But the knives at the WS outlet generally are low-end Henckels and worse. Which is to say: I wouldn't buy them.

[Moopheus]

Russo's in Watertown is good for general produce and Asian ingredients in particular--the carry a lot of stuff fresh that you might only see dried in other stores.

Christina's spice shop is very good, but more expensive than the Indian markets.

I have not been yet, but have heard that H-Mart in Burlington is worth the trip.