Going for broke on kitchenware at Olives, Too! and Kitchen Outfitters

OLIVES, TOO! by ROSHEILA ROBLES

It’s a shame nobody ever tells you how expensive your hobbies will be before you get hooked on them. I seem to have a knack for finding ones requiring copious amounts of time, planning and money: screen printing (of the non-clothing variety); Super 8 film (purchased the camera, but have yet to purchase film); and now, cooking. And no one—not Emeril, not Rachel Ray, not even Public Broadcasting cooking show champ Rick Bayless—ever once mentioned the price of, oh, I don’t know, saffron. Or pine nuts. Lobster? Maybe some day. When I’m rich.

Six months into my cooking habit, I’m one cash poor gal. What’s worse, I’m short on materials. An itemized list of the contents of my kitchen drawers and cabinets reads like an IKEA catalog (with some Salvation Army finds tossed in, too). It’s time for a change.

Inspired by an article in this month’s Dwell that goes all America’s Test Kitchen with a selection of chef’s knives, I set off to find the one approved knife that fits my budget: OXO’s $19.99 eight inch chef’s knife.

First up was Olives Too!, the hardware sister store to Olives Gourmet Grocer, chosen for its proximity to my neighborhood and always-friendly staff. The store itself is rather small, but well-stocked considering it’s no bigger than your corner Hallmark shop. Here, you’ll find a selection of Mario Batali products, from the green and orange prep bowls ($13) to more green and orange towels and aprons, and the green cast iron panini grill and press. Look up, and you’ll see an Illy Espresso machine, and to the right, some Stonewall Kitchen specialty goods.

I nearly convinced myself to pick up a Reston Lloyd colander (available in blue or red; $21.99), considered the set of three mini colanders for $10 (for draining capers and the like, evidently), but instead opted for a six piece grater set (a bargain at $11). Flipping open my Dwell for Karol at the cash register, I pointed to the OXO knife and asked if they carried them. She headed for the back and returned with OXO’s Mini Santoku, perfect for mincing and chopping and, at $14, well within my budget. Sold!

Olives Too! also serves as a great gift source for that Harry-and-David-inclined mother or ma in-law, with an array of Tag cheese utensils, a wall of cookbooks (Martha, Barefoot Contessa, Stonewall Kitchen) and shelves of colorful Vietri cookware. Need a wedding gift in a pinch? The store stocks Riedel glasses (wine to champagne to beer) or, if you care to splurge, there’s the Viking toaster, stand mixers and blenders. Then again, you might just want to get one of those for yourself.

Just a few miles away from Olives Too! is Kitchen Outfitters in Naples. If you’re a fan of Le Creuset (or just like to look at it), this is your Tiffany’s: walk inside and you’ll come nose-to-oven with a rack teeming with Le Creuset cast iron round and oval ovens of every size and color, including the just-in-time-for-fall pumpkin and bell pepper ovens. There’s also the mini cocotte (at $48, just about the cheapest Le Creuset item you can find), and an elegant brown butter tray.

Pry yourself from the Le Creuset rack and adjacent you’ll find another rack of Lodge cast iron, which, while not as feminine as Le Creuset, is just as pretty. From skillets and fryers to bakeware and griddles, the Lodge line embodies everything cowboy—I couldn’t resist the spoon holder/ashtray for $4.95.

Like Olives Too!, Kitchen Outfitters carries some specialty salts, spices and sauces, but their main advantage is the sheer size of the store (nearly double), which makes for a larger inventory. Here, you can find any number of Bundt cake pans, from the traditional to cottage-, chrysanthemum-, and (perfect for football fans) stadium-shaped pans. Then there’s the rack of Steven Raichlen’s Beer Can Chicken Roasters (!) and a wall of kitchenware accessories: veggie scrub gloves ($3.95); Microplane zesters ($15); onion goggles ($18.95); Timey the Egg Timer (too cute); and, my overall favorite for practicality, a dual-ended silicone brush for $11.

I didn’t find my OXO chef’s knife at Kitchen Outfitters, either, but that’s okay: the store offers knife sharpening every Sunday ($4.20-$6 minimum for standard and serrated knives) and, the clerk assured me, they won’t even turn away an ugly $4 IKEA knife. In the meantime? The hunt—and spending—continues.

OLIVES TOO! 3423 E BROADWAY | LONG BEACH 90803 | 562.433.1800 KITCHEN OUTFITTERS 5666 E SECOND ST | LONG BEACH 90803 | 562.434.2728

Tags: cooking, emeril, kitchen, kitchen outfitters, olives, oxo, rachel ray