The owners at Cooks Boulevard sure know how to utilize retail space. Im not sure how, but they manage to pack all the stuff youll want to buy for your kitchen into a store a fraction of the size of the large chains.
A bit hidden away between Cover to Cover Bookstore and a Walgreens, this little independently owned store in Noe Valley will pull you in with clever, well done window displays that change out often. Once inside, youre treated to perfect pitch service. The people on staff always says hello and make themselves available for advice, but are happy to let browsers be browsers.
On the well-organized shelves, youll find everything from last minute necessities like whisks, mashers, parchment and thermometers, to gifts like fancy bundt pans, Le Creuset, Henckel knives and cookbooks. As far as I can tell, youre not paying a premium for shopping in the hood. Their prices are fine. They even have a wall full of cookie cutters for a buck each, just in time for baking season.
Their baking section is particularly strong, including pastry bags, colored sugars and decorative paper muffin cups in varying sizes. Theres a small selection of appliances like blenders, espresso machines and processors and the cookbook section consists of two shelves of well-chosen titles by Bittman, Garten, the people at King Arthur, Joy and some local authors. They definitely cut out the chaff here.
Their tabletop section is small, but again, well chosen. They stock Bauer, Riedel and Emile Henry. They also carry local olive oils and baking chocolates and lots and lots of good quality utensils. I definitely recommend checking out this professionally run store. It looks like theyre gearing up for the holidays and should have everything you need and great gifts besides.
Well-deserved attention and praise for a wonderful neighborhood shop. I used to live about a block away from Cooks Boulevard and went there for all my kitchen tools. When I was having a hard time coming up with a gift idea for a friend's birthday, the CB staff made some great suggestions. And the next time I came in the store, more than a month later, they asked me how my friend liked the gift. Now that's the kind of service that makes a neighborhood shop so much more appealing than a chain, especially when the products and prices are otherwise equal.
The sine qua non of kitchen widgets. The best gadgets in my kitchen came from this little neighborhood gem. Ask them about the german egg slicer and cheese slicer. You'll never slice another mushroom by hand again. Dude where're your cheese graters.