Updating the Kitchen Essentials

[rooftop1000]

Jesse find someone with a Restaurant Depot membership...Make a friend at the deli where you get your roast beef fix or stand in the parking lot and ask someone to bring you in if you have to. There is one in Oakland. My last cookwear purchase there was a 12 inch nonstick pan with the aluminum disk on the bottom, and rolled aluminum handle for maybe....23 bucks. I wish I had my own membership.

tracey

[fifi]

We just got Restaurant Depot here and I find their "to the trade only" policy bizarre. Every other place in town couldn't give a flip. Guess I won't go shopping there.

Restauant supply places are Nirvana for baking sheets, pans and all sorts of things.

[Dave the Cook]

The great thing about the eGCI course is that even if you can't go out and load up a credit card with Sitram, Staub and Falk Culinaire, you can go out armed with sufficient knowledge to make an intelligent assessment of pretty much anything you run across. So maybe you don't have the $150 for a clad copper saute evasee -- based on what you know, you can decide if $19 is reasonable for a scratch 'n' dent 3 1/2-qt Cuisinart MultiClad saute pan with lid.

I had to rebuild most of my batterie about a year ago with a teeny tiny budget (okay, no budget). What I learned is that if you are poor but patient, deals like this show up at places like TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning and Marshall's -- not all at once, but often enough to make it worthwhile to stop in regularly. I've put together the basic set of stuff: 3-1/2 and 5-qt saute pans, 1, 3 and 9-quart saucepans, and a 16-qt. stockpot, all in name-brand, stainless-clad, decently-thick aluminum, for less than $200.

[winesonoma]

We just got Restaurant Depot here and I find their "to the trade only" policy bizarre. Every other place in town couldn't give a flip. Guess I won't go shopping there.

Restaurant supply places are Nirvana for baking sheets, pans and all sorts of things.

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Around here places that sell things care about MONEY. If I want to buy it why won't you sell it to me? Or is that some strange new business model?

[Dave the Cook]

We just got Restaurant Depot here and I find their "to the trade only" policy bizarre. Every other place in town couldn't give a flip. Guess I won't go shopping there.

Restaurant supply places are Nirvana for baking sheets, pans and all sorts of things.

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Around here places that sell things care about MONEY. If I want to buy it why won't you sell it to me? Or is that some strange new business model?

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Sometimes they aren't set up to take credit cards, handle cash or deal with sales tax -- or retail-level customer service.

[andiesenji]

Down here we are lucky to have Star Restaurant Supply in Van Nuys.

They will sell anything to anyone, have been open to the public since the day they opened (and I have been shopping there since the first week they opened in 1963).

Now they are online at starkitchen.com

And if you want something and they can find who makes it, they will order it.

about 15 years ago I ordered a rolling bin as a gift for my best friend, to hold 2 big bags of dog food, with a sliding stainless steel top to hold her dog dishes. (She owns a kennel.) They got it and APOLOGIZED because it cost 110.00.... It was a super bargain, my friend still uses it and it is as good as the day it was new. Comparable bins, with domed plexiglass tops were much more costly and not at all useful.

Their prices are excellent. The place is like Aladdin's treasure cave for a foodie!

[Richard Kilgore]

The great thing about the eGCI course is that even if you can't go out and load up a credit card with Sitram, Staub and Falk Culinaire, you can go out armed with sufficient knowledge to make an intelligent assessment of pretty much anything you run across. So maybe you don't have the $150 for a clad copper saute evasee -- based on what you know, you can decide if $19 is reasonable for a scratch 'n' dent 3 1/2-qt Cuisinart MultiClad saute pan with lid.

I had to rebuild most of my batterie about a year ago with a teeny tiny budget (okay, no budget). What I learned is that if you are poor but patient, deals like this show up at places like TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning and Marshall's -- not all at once, but often enough to make it worthwhile to stop in regularly. I've put together the basic set of stuff: 3-1/2 and 5-qt saute pans, 1, 3 and 9-quart saucepans, and a 16-qt. stockpot, all in name-brand, stainless-clad, decently-thick aluminum, for less than $200.

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I should point out that the Sitram is not all that expensive - about $50 for the 11 inch saute (about 5+ qt.) with the aluminum disk (Profissiere line) BEFORE the Amazon discount.

Other than that, I agree with Dave about the patient bargain hunting. I have done it, too, and saved bunches. I estimate that I have bought much cookware or equipment that patient waiting has saved me 40 - 70% off the regular retail. TJ Maxx and Marshall's are also great for saving money on tabletop serving ware, dinner ware, earthenware or stoneware baking pieces, glasses, kitchen tools, etc.

[Marlene]

The great thing about the eGCI course is that even if you can't go out and load up a credit card with Sitram, Staub and Falk Culinaire, you can go out armed with sufficient knowledge to make an intelligent assessment of pretty much anything you run across. So maybe you don't have the $150 for a clad copper saute evasee -- based on what you know, you can decide if $19 is reasonable for a scratch 'n' dent 3 1/2-qt Cuisinart MultiClad saute pan with lid.

I had to rebuild most of my batterie about a year ago with a teeny tiny budget (okay, no budget). What I learned is that if you are poor but patient, deals like this show up at places like TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning and Marshall's -- not all at once, but often enough to make it worthwhile to stop in regularly. I've put together the basic set of stuff: 3-1/2 and 5-qt saute pans, 1, 3 and 9-quart saucepans, and a 16-qt. stockpot, all in name-brand, stainless-clad, decently-thick aluminum, for less than $200.

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And an egg poacher.

A 9 quart saucepan? I don't think I've seen too many of those!

[C.J. Updike]

I forget where I heard this advise from, but if you are confronted with making an either or decision just remember; A pot can imitate a frying pan, but a frying pan can never be a pot.

[dvs]

eastbay restaurant supply (in Oakland) & economy restaurant supply (in SF) are both open to the public. check them out!

[andiesenji]

I should point out that the Sitram is not all that expensive - about $50 for the 11 inch saute (about 5+ qt.) with the aluminum disk (Profissiere line) BEFORE the Amazon discount.

Other than that, I agree with Dave about the patient bargain hunting. I have done it, too, and saved bunches. I estimate that I have bought much cookware or equipment that patient waiting has saved me 40 - 70% off the regular retail. TJ Maxx and Marshall's are also great for saving money on tabletop serving ware, dinner ware, earthenware or stoneware baking pieces, glasses, kitchen tools, etc.

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I agree with Richard and Dave. Patience is the key! You can also watch for notices of "going out of business" for shops that carry the lines of cookware you want.

They often sell them for pennies on the dollar. From time to time department stores will close out a line of cookware to carry a different brand. Those are sold at very deep discount. Now that most of them have web sites, you can check there rather than depend on print media notices.

I have a couple of Sitram pots which are made for the induction range (a magnet has to stick to the bottom) because my other stockpots are copper or aluminum. I found them at one of the "factory" outlet stores in Lake Elsinore for less than 50% of the regular price listed on line at "bizrate" or "epinions".

So if you have one of these factory outlet malls in your area, check them out. However, you should go online first and print out the best prices and deals such as free shipping, no tax if ordering from out of state, to make sure you do get the best price. Sometimes these places will reduce the price if you have a catalog or printout showing a better price. Don't be afraid to ask, the worst they can say is "no" and they might say yes.

[rjwong]

Down here we are lucky to have Star Restaurant Supply in Van Nuys.

They will sell anything to anyone, have been open to the public since the day they opened (and I have been shopping there since the first week they opened in 1963). 

Now they are online at starkitchen.com

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For your convenience, I made a link to Star Kitchen. It is a really good store. I can just stay in there for a long time and dream.

FYI Van Nuys is located right in the middle of the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles area, about a 20-30 minute drive west from Universal Studios.

[andiesenji]

Down here we are lucky to have Star Restaurant Supply in Van Nuys.

They will sell anything to anyone, have been open to the public since the day they opened (and I have been shopping there since the first week they opened in 1963). 

Now they are online at starkitchen.com

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For your convenience, I made a link to Star Kitchen. It is a really good store. I can just stay in there for a long time and dream.

FYI Van Nuys is located right in the middle of the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles area, about a 20-30 minute drive west from Universal Studios.

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And they have thousands more items than those listed on the web site. I know people who drive from Las Vegas to load up their van with stuff at Star.

[Grovite]

I'll add on to the folks that are telling you to build your collection up as you can, it's a good idea and you can shop for bargains.

If you have a friend that works at a Bed, Bath & Beyond, ask them about their "employee incentives". Once a month, they get various products at cost, not just their standard discount. I was able to stock up on some All-Clad MC2 for cheap becasue of this.

[mizducky]

I'll be cooking for two, but would like the capacity to occasionally cook for six or so (having friends over, having leftovers, etc.).  We tend to cook Italian pastas and bean dishes, dishes with simple pan sauces, Indian and Thai curries, stir-fries (should be fun on our wimpy electric range), simmered chicken or fish dishes, etc.  I expect my cooking to branch out quite a bit now that I'm free the extremely limited campus grocery store.  The girlfriend is a non-beef-and-porkitarian.

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Especially if you do a lot of bean dishes, a pressure-cooker is a great tool to add to your new kitchen arsenal at some point--also great for soups and braised dishes when you don't have the time to do it the slow way. High-end cookers can cost a mint, but you can get a totally decent and useful one for cheap ($30-ish or less, depending on sales) at your typical big-box discount store like Target etc. (While I'm a big fan of equipping one's kitchen from yard sales and second-hand stores, a pressure cooker is one gizmo I would buy new; you don't want to be messing with a cooker with a worn-out locking mechanism or whatever.)

[nickrey]

All my life I've had kitchen exhaust fans that make noise, act as a grease trap, and completely fail to extract any smoke from the environment.

After my first experience making blackened fish when every smoke detector in the house went off, I'd reconciled myself to cooking this outside on the wok burner on my barbecue grill. Same thing with tea-smoked duck. And if I made curry, the house would smell like an Indian restaurant for days.

But this all changed yesterday when I had a Smeg retractable range hood installed. 800 cubic meters of air extracted per hour. The first test was blackened fish, which worked like a dream.

What piece of kitchen equipment have you bought that has really changed your cooking behaviour?

[Peter the eater]

What piece of kitchen equipment have you bought that has really changed your cooking behaviour?

Not high tech but I'll go with copper pots, old school with the tin lining. Heats fast and responds on demand. Very different from contemporary non-stick.

[Anna N]

Induction hobs.

[Pierogi]

My KitchenAid, a cast iron skillet, a Le Creuset Dutch oven and a Le Creuset stove-top grill pan.

[ChrisTaylor]

For me it's a good knife or two. Cast iron or, at least, heavy cookware. These changed everything for me.

[Fat Guy]

The Blendtec or Vita-Mix or other high-power blender. My blender allows me to make things that just weren't achievable without this piece of equipment, like all-fruit frozen desserts and smoothies that incorporate things like whole flax seeds.

[lstrelau]

My Thermomix - a well-designed, versatile multi-useful tool. Cooker, food processor, scale, blender, steamer....and things I am still discovering! I wouldn't like to give up the rest of my kitchen equipment but if I lived in a tiny apartment (who knows what the future holds!) I could live and eat quite happily with this one machine (well a broiler or BBQ would be nice too).

[ScoopKW]

My light saber -- aka, the Tadatsuna 11" gyuto. Doesn't make the "woosh woosh" sound, or cut through solid rock. But otherwise identical in function.

[Deus Mortus]

I have just bought a Kai Shun Santoku knife a few weeks ago and I haven't stopped cutting things all day long, only stopping when my girlfriend is here, because she tells me it freaks her out to see me smiling at a knife like that.

[mgaretz]

My KitchenAid Mixer and my Blendtec.