mortar & pestle opinions, please.

[pleiades]

I want to have a crack at aioli this week, a Grand aioli platter is my assignment for a dinner party. Lulu Peyraud recommends a marble mortar and wood pestle. So I went shopping online. Funny I should do this right now, as Halloween preparations seem to be in full swing out there in alternative-spirituality land, and I underestimated how popular these simple tools are within this, um, demographic.

Anyways, Williams-Sonoma has the aforementioned combination at an eye-watering $65. Is this what I should expect to pay for quality stuff (I'm ok with it if that is the case), or is this an example of soak-the-noob that WS is so fond of?

Edited October 26, 2003 by pleiades (log)

[Mayhaw Man]

I picked mine up at an antique shop in New Orleans for $15.00. It is a nice old ceramic one. Neither piece looked very worn, although they are (I think) fairly old. It is an old pharmaceutical one. God knows what was being ground in it in it's previous life. But it works really well and I like the way it looks.

[Al_Dente]

I want to have a crack at aioli this week, a Grand aioli platter is my assignment for a dinner party. Lulu Peyraud recommends a marble mortar and wood pestle. So I went shopping online. Funny I should do this right now, as Halloween preparations seem to be in full swing out there in alternative-spirituality land, and I underestimated how popular these simple tools are within this, um, demographic. 

Anyways, Williams-Sonoma has the aforementioned combination at an eye-watering $65. Is this what I should expect to pay for quality stuff (I'm ok with it if that is the case), or is this an example of soak-the-noob that WS is so fond of?

Someone bought me the marble variety-- the pestle, or is it the mortar (the stick part, not the bowl), cracked in half after a few uses.

[marie-louise]

I bought an 8-inch granite one from this place at the recommendation from an eGulleteer whose name I have forgotten. I've been quite happy with it, and it came in a couple of days.

[MatthewB]

I bought an 8-inch granite one from this place at the recommendation from an eGulleteer whose name I have forgotten. I've been quite happy with it, and it came in a couple of days.

FWIW, I picked up an 8-inch granite that looks the same for $25 at a local Asian market.

Also, check Sur La Table for marble sets. Much less expensive than W-S.

[Mottmott]

I think the granite version is probably available in most Asian markets with small price variations. Mine was a few dollars less in Philadelphia

[mudbug]

I picked up an eight inch granite version at a local Latino grocery store for $10.99 within the past month. Love it. Works great and can't beat the price.

[cjsadler]

You can a ceramic one at IKEA for $5. They look like they're as good as the one I got at a kitchen store for $12.

Edited October 30, 2003 by cjsadler (log)