My Obsession With Gourmet Kitchen Stores~

Most people who know me would no double believe my shopping passions are limited to shoes, handbags, and apparel. But I can browse through an apparel store like lightning. Within minutes I know if there is any reason to stay.

But put me in Costco, an appliance store or a purveyor of gourmet kitchen accouterments and I can remain interested, mesmerized, fascinated and filled with wonder for hours.  Ultimately, a sweater is just a sweater – even a dreamy cashmere pullover that caresses my skin like a warm tropical breeze. And wonderful shoes, no matter how delicious, are just stunning, butter like bits of leather than envelope my feet in pain free bliss. But a gourmet kitchen store is filled with paraphernalia that enhances the everyday experience of cooking and eating and provides the opportunity to find gadgets, gewgaws, necessities; must-haves that I never knew existed.

This afternoon I ventured to our local gourmet kitchen destination with a purpose – I wanted to purchase two cartridges for our soda stream compatible refrigerator that will dispense sparkling water. I’d done my research and Nibblin’s had the goods. I figured that while I was planning to make the trip, I would also look for the handy dandy Garlic Twist that my friend Gina demonstrated last weekend as the ultimate in garlic preparation. But visits to Nibblin’s can be dangerously expensive. Nibblin’s offers so many temptations to improve convenience in the kitchen.

While I’ve been lusting for years for several pieces of Le Creuset cook wear, I still resist. Is it really so much better than corning? Probably. At the very least it is much more aesthetically appealing. But I was not prepared to indulge in Le Creuset today. So instead, I allowed myself to imagine that I truly needed a cherry/olive pitter. Who doesn’t need a particular tool designed to remove the seeds from olives and cherries? I didn’t know I needed it until I saw it, but it solved my evermore dilemma of having to look for pitted olives on the Mediterranean bar at Wegman’s. My options have now been broadened exponentially! And just to test it out, I bought a pound of cherries at the supermarket this evening. Now I will no longer have to worry about where I will spit my cherry pits!

I also found a super duper pizza stone cleaning brush, the garlic twist I coveted, and a partridge in a pear tree. Really, I replaced the lemon reamer we have misplaced.

I spent an hour perusing every aisle, shelf, bench and rack. The time passed so quickly that it felt as if I’d barely blinked. But that is the beauty of such stores.