So ...... we went into a Williams-Sonoma this afternoon.

[Stinky The Clown]

Rarely do we venture to the mall. Nothing there for us, really. But this afternoon we had to go there to get an accessory for one of the iPods that one can only get from Apple, who have a store there.

Anyway, after the foray into ApppleLand we go a-strollin'. Well wuddayaknow, we have a brand spanking new Williams-Sonoma store. I had been in a few over the years. Lots of eye candy but goodGAWD is that shit spendy.

I have a number of Mauviel copper pots I use regularly. I own them only because I can pick them up at Home Goods or Marshalls. Apart from one very large stock pot, not one of them cost to the north of $75 or so, and most were way less. The stock pot I got on eBay for a fairly heavy price. I'm not certain what I paid but am pretty sure it was over a hundred .... maybe even over two hundred. I just don't recall. Anyway, it was also a Mauviel, but also stamped - tada - Williams-Sonoma and had this fancy little knob on the lid that only goes on W-S pots. They had that very same stock pot with the very same imprint and the very same handle .......... ya ready? $429.

There was not a single copper pot under $150.

And don't get me started on the knives. Or the other geegaws.

An All Clad fish turner ...... $24.95



Our cheap-assed stainless steel fish turner that looks a lot like this one ........ $2.99 from Target. We have two of them.



Who are these people who shop there? (He said, hoping to hell it isn't one of the C&B regulars!)

:blush:

[supernova]

1. I treat them like any other gourmet store

I don't buy appliances there, obviously. But I will sometimes buy a CD or a cake mix or some special sugar or something small like that. And I've been to a couple of their cooking classes, which were very fun. The instructors are local chefs of note, and cost roughly a little less than what I'd spend in a restaurant.

It's a special treat but I certainly don't do my everyday shopping there.

[Warpy]

2. I don't get it, either. There are usually dozens of sales people

and cash registers that ding frequently, signaling another sucker has taken the bait.

I look at their stuff to see what I need to look for online. No way am I ever going to pay those prices, not even now when I can afford them!

[NashVegas]

3. Mauviel Is Outrageous Right Now

Check out Amazon's price. I think the Bose crowd is picking it up.

Their tin line - the stuff that's actually kinda sorta like cooking with copper - is far less.

http://www.buycoppercookware.com/cat_tin.cfm

[Stinky The Clown]

4. They had both stainless lined and tinned.

The tinned was a bit less, but not *that* much less.

All my copper is tinned except for a Spring brand frying pan and a Marco Pierre White oval fry pan. This one, in fact:



Even the link you posted is way, way more than I have or would ever pay.

[NashVegas]

5. It's More Than I've Paid

But I have Baumalu, not Mauviel. I have considered ordering from there.

I don't go into Williams Sonoma unless they have something I need and know I can't get anywhere else.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Actually ......

I have Mauviel, Baumalu, Ruffoni, the two oddballs mentioned above, and some no-name "Fabrique en Francais" that looks identical to the Mauviel.

[davidwparker]

15. I would have thought you'd be a Bourgeat guy.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. Nah ..... I'm a "What's Cheap and Available" guy

All my copper except one piece came from either Home Goods or Marshalls. The one odd piece is a stock pot I got from eBay. It is, actually, marked with both Williams-Sonoma and Mauviel imprints.



It is about 8 or 9 quarts, maybe and 7" in diameter and 10" high. Very heavy.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. There's a W-S outlet next to...

the OfficeMax that I find myself in a lot, and I occasionally wander down that way.

Vast hordes of breathless assistants follow me around heaping their praises on the incredibly overpriced shit they're selling, even at outlet prices. Then, at some point, the breathless assistants realize that I do know a little about much of what they sell, and they can no longer hide that it is overpriced shit. Usually, it is the wistful mention of the dearly departed Lechter's Housewares that gives them the big hint.

Then they go away.

[hvn_nbr_2]

8. Lechter's

Has the whole chain closed? I used to like going to one near me, but they closed that one. At that time, there were still a few others around but the closest was about 30 miles, so I never went to that one.

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Looks like they're dead 'n buried...

from 650 stores to nothing in less than 10 years.

Even their website, www.lechtersonline.com is something else.

[Cassandra]

11. Lechter's had displaced a small hardware chain...

in my neighborhood and when they closed, we didn't have anyplace in the immediate neighborhood for years. But I still have Broadway Panhandler http://www.broadwaypanhandler.com/broadway/ and Zabar's http://www.zabars.com/ where I have been shopping since the late 70s. They both have good prices and good service.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

9. And, (imo) their cookbooks suck.

:hide:

It's a total rip-off of The Beautiful cookbooks and the recipes usually consist of hard to find items/over priced stuff. After I've finally tracked everything down & make the dish it usually rates a Blah on the taste scale. Unlike The Beautiful recipes.

[kestrel91316]

12. My rich yuppie sister gets a lot of my Christmas presents there.

I bought myself a tea ball there in December. I do like to go in, wander around, and drool......

[eleny]

13. I once got some canned Seville oranges there

You just add some sugar and maybe a bit of water and it makes a bunch of orange marmalade. it was pretty good. Otherwise, it's way too pricey in there.

[davidwparker]

14. I've got $600 in gift certificates to use there. i just redeemed some AMEX

points for them. It won't go far enough there. I'm looking through their latest catalog and there's not much I want -- or really need.