My Favorite Food Things - Day #9 - Foodie Stores

Put me in a food/gadget store and good luck getting me out! These types of stores are my favorite shopping venues. I love strolling through Crate and Barrel, Williams-Sonoma, and Sur La Table but these chain stores only pass the muster part of the time. The best treats are those one-of-a-kind type stores.

The best kitchen gadget store in the world is Pages (121 Shaftesbury Avenue) in London. Now, I will preface by saying that I have yet to visit Paris’ Dehillerin and others. (So, I expect this answer to change, but for now it is Pages in London.)

This shop is full of all types of gadgets, plates, cookware, whisks, and the like. I was staying in a flat just around the corner from this little gem one summer and was delighted to stumble upon Pages during one of my walks.

A good kitchen store has got to offer me one of two things - something new or ingredients that I can’t find any other place. For the former I don’t mean a new utensil that I haven’t heard of – I mean inspiration. I rarely use those fancy utensils – I like my knife, palm, and old fashioned elbow grease to get most of my work done. For the later I am talking about spices or vinegars, or wines, or nuts, or meat that are hard to come by.

A great kitchen store has got to appeal to my creative side – that is to say, it needs to inspire me. Pages had walls of serving pieces. Some ramekins so small that a grape would barely fit in. A set of wine glasses that gave the illusion that they were falling over. Inspiring! My brain started rushing with the endless possibilities of creating food based on serving pieces.

Here is a list of some of my other favorite kitchen stores.
(Photos follow in the same order as this list)

--Kitchen Arts (215 Newbury Street, Boston, MA)
--Mr. Marcel Gourmet Market (At the Farmer’s Market - 6333 West 3rd Street, LA, CA)
--Spoons and Spice (4700 South 900 East, Salt Lake City, UT)
--LeSanctuaire (315 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA)
--Market Kitchen Store (On Granville Island, 2-1666 Johnston Street Vancouver, BC)
--MoMA (11 West 53 Street New York, NY 10019)
--Great Market Hall (Fővám tér, Pest end of Liberty Bridge, Budapest, Hungary)