I am usually not a person to give a negative review, but this was one of those jaw-dropping experiences. Yes, people like this do exist. I will never go back there again and suggest to everyone that I know to avoid this store. There are plenty of great kitchen things on Craig's List and eBay.
Let the interchange below speak for itself. Mind you, I was pretty calm the whole time, even when both shopkeeper and her staff guy were attacking both me and my mother.
Almost verbatim:
me: Do you have stainless steel cookie pans?
her: No. Don't carry'em.
me: Um, why not?
her: I just told you, I don't carry 'em. No professional chef would touch one.
me: Why not? They've always worked for me. Is there a particular reason?
her (angrier and angrier, for some reason): WELL, if you want to burn your cookies on the bottom...
me: what other options are there?
her (snapping at me now): Anodized aluminum. Black steel.
me: uh, okay.
I asked her to point some other options out to me, since I've always used steel and was curious about other possibilities, but she just snapped at me that I'd asked her the same question three times and that the answer would always be the same, that she didn't carry steel cookie pans, never would and that *professional chefs* were their main customers and none of them would *ever* use steel cookie pans. I slowly backed away and went to the other side of the store to join my mother.
After thinking about it, I approached her again, and perhaps I shouldn't have, but I felt that I had to speak my mind. I said that I didn't think that I had invited such an attack just by asking for information. She snapped at me again, for ""expecting the answer to be yes just 'cause you ask it three times!"" and so did her staff guy. My mother tried to stick up for me, too, trying to clarify that I'd simply been asking a question and had nothing against her choices or her stock. In response, her staff guy said a few really nasty and accusatory things that my mother said made her feel physically threatened.
For the record, I've always used steel cookie pans to roast nuts and bake certain types of cookies that need to caramelize on the bottom. I've never had a problem with them. I also, at this point, try not to use aluminum cookware because there's the chance it can leach. The owners seemed completely unaware and disinterested in safety issues with cooking surfaces. On the other hand, I'm always game to try new things. If these shopkeepers had acted differently I might have tried a black steel pan.
Pros: Nice stuff, lots of it.
Cons: Creepy, hostile owner/staff
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