Cook's store in LA/Irvine?

[Matt_T]

My wife and i are in LA area for the long weekend and I was just wondering if there would be any neat and unusual cookware shops we should check out. We have Sur la Table and W-S in our own neighborhood; I was thinking of someplace where we might see unusual stuff like Sabatier carbon steel knives, Falk copperware, cool Japanese knives....

We have one more day here, we'll be in Alhambra in the morning, Irvine in the afternoon, and passing up through Glendale in the evening. Any suggestions?

PS: fresh exotic spices would be another area of interest. Years ago we ran into a store in Milwaukee that had a fascinating assortment of spices, flavorings and house-made sauces and blends....nothing like that around our home base in the Sacramento area, AFAIK.

MT

Edited October 8, 2007 by Matt_T (log)

[andiesenji]

There is Cookin Stuff in Torrance that should be close enough for you. It is a great store for gadgeteers and I stop there whenever I am in the South Bay or nearby.

There is always something that I simply "can't live without!"

I would also suggest you visit one of the Bristol Farms Market locations.

This is a high-end market chain that also has cookware/tableware and etc., shops attached to each store, as well as a place to have something to eat and fantastic bakery and deli items.

Although the take-out foods are so far beyond ordinary "deli" that I hesitate to use that description.

These are gourmet foods and very, very good.

Edited October 8, 2007 by andiesenji (log)

[chezcherie]

surfas isn't called "a chef's paradise" for nothing.

it's in culver city...looks like you will be in a big triangle of freeways, anyway, going from alhambra to irvine to glendale...i would try to triangulate my way there, for sure!

[Matt_T]

Thanks for the replies! Unfortunately they came after I had to log off for the day, but I get down to the Southland now and then and will file them away for future reference.

My own web search turned up Ross Cutlery in downtown LA. This place sounds like it has some fun stuff and is in an old building of architectural interest:

http://www.rosscutlery.com/

I planned to visit Ross but we got sidetracked and spent half the morning in an Asian market in Alhambra (or maybe Monterey Park)....a place called Wing Hop Fung at the NE corner of Garvey and Atlantic. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for Chinese appliances, sundries, tea, and the like. It has a good selection, and is newer, cleaner and better lit than many of the other markets in the area, or similar places we're familiar with in San Francisco. My wife is of Chinese descent and shops regularly in asian markets, and she was happy enough with the selection and value that we wound up spending about $200 on a wok, teapots and teacups, "ball" tea, various snacks and sundries. $200 may not sound like a lot but no one item cost as much as $20....we started picking things up by hand, then went back for a basket, and finally for a cart. They also had some higher-end anodized woks from Taiwan that went up to $150, and lots of electric appliances like rice cookers and electric kettles. One thing they didn't have was any decent knives or cleavers, nor much in the way of traditional iron or bamboo implements..

My favorite deal at WHF was a reasonably well made, western-style splayed saute pan, 10" diameter at the rim and maybe 3 qt capacity. It's brushed stainless with a 5mm thick, encapsulated aluminum disk bottom. The handle is a cast stainless affair, riveted, in a style that reminds me of Calphalon commercial or Tri-ply handles. Very nice pan for the bargain price of....$13! They had saucepans and a ~5 qt casserole in the same line but I only needed the saute.

If you go to Wing Hop Fung, do try some of pastries at Kee Wah bakery, a few doors down in the same shopping center. I especially recommend the Portugese custard tarts.

MT

[Chris Amirault]

Ross Cutlery is fantastic. Get them started on knives and settle in for an hour or so.

ETA: Matt_T, was the place in Milwaukee Penzey's?