Best of the Bargains: Kirkland (Costco), Wolfgang Puck, Martha Stewart
Larry
just bought (I will be ordering my "crock sticks" this week) so I
figured I would run my next purchase by everyone beforehand. Please
share the knowledge.
Again, I am not a gourmet cook or chef. In golfing terms I would call
myself a hack. I love to cook, and like I said, every once and I
while I can pull off something really good, at least to my friends. I
am very budget conscious and I don't need "the best". I need good at
a great price. So I am sure All-Clad kicks tail, but I can't afford
it, so telling me how much better it is doesn't really change my mind
because the kitchen does not get what the wallet cannot accomodate.
So the more I look and read, the more I come to these three sets. I
was hoping some knowledeable people could help me make the decision
between them (or offer some other comparably priced alternative).
Here are the three brands and what I have read about them.
Costco's Kirkland Signature Tri-Ply SS 11 piece Set
2qt sauce, 3qt sauce, 8qt stock, 8.5" skillet, 10" skillet, 5.5"
saute, steamer (for 3qt sp), 4 lids. $189.99
Wolfgang Puck Bistro 21 piece SS Set
1.5 & 3qt sauce pan, steamer, 8" & 10" omelets, 8 qt stock, 12" saute,
9.5" & 11" covered buffets, 6 various utensils $145 +18.95 S&H
Martha Stewart Everyday 5-star Try-ply 7 piece SS Set
2 & 3 qt sauce pans, 10" skillet, 8qt stock pot $160
(OR 4 Star copper bottom 9-piece set for $110)
I have read that people like WP's see through lids, but I am worried
about durability and how that affects the cooking. But also that his
handles get hot.
I have read that Costco's handles stay very cool but they are a little
short.
I have read that Martha Stewarts cookware is very high quality for a
great price, but they do end up being pretty expensive if you buy the
5-star. A little less cookware for a little more money.
So I just hope people who have experience or know something about all
this stuff will be able to help me out. Thank you very much in
advance.
Sheellah
clad line at $149.00 for 10 pieces. Aluminum core goes all the way up the
sides! You can also get free shipping on it, and 5% back if you go through
ebates.com. Large pieces too, like an 8 quart stock pot, and 12" saute pan, and
4 quart saucepan. Looks a lot like the new Calphalon tri-ply stainless.
* 8-in. Omelette Pan
* 10-in. Omelette Pan, Nonstick
* 2-qt. Covered Saucepan
* 4-qt. Covered Saucepan
* 12-in. Covered Saute w/ Helper Handle
* 8-qt. Covered Stockpot
The fry pans use Quantanium. It's a non stick finish even tougher than the
Excaliber All-Clad uses. Made by the same company Whitford, and their most
advanced and toughest yet!
A great deal! Limited lifetime warranty too!
http://qcpp.aol.com/cooking.com__C/www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?S
KU=168664
animzmirot
add my voice to the chorus. I've actually found some unbelievable buys at
Marshalls and TJ Maxx in their housewares department. I just bought a 12"
Cuisinart fry pan at Marshalls for under $20. It's *wonderful*, cooks just
as well as my All Clad Master Chef meat pans, and what a deal! So my advice
is, scour the discount stores, buy a few pans of different sizes, but ones
that you know you'll use a lot. For me, I need more fry pans and saute pans
than anything else, but other people makes sauces and need more sauciers.
Get a mishmash if you don't mind your pans not matching, but get the best
quality you can find. You'll be glad you didn't get a set.
Marjorie
Vox Humana
"Larry" <goo...@larrygrady.com> wrote in message
news:c2a951c1.01102...@posting.google.com...
> I got a very informative reply when I posted about the new knives I
> just bought (I will be ordering my "crock sticks" this week) so I
> figured I would run my next purchase by everyone beforehand. Please
> share the knowledge.
I have the 21 piece WP Bistroware set and two Kirkland nonstick fry pans. I
am please with both. The only thing that I have any negative comment on
with the WP is that the handles get hot. That isn't a big issue, you just
have to remember to use a potholder. (I'm not certain that they would get
all the hot on an electric range) The lids are very durable. I was
skeptical at first, but it has proven baseless. I have dropped them without
any problems. Cooks Illustrated did an evaluation of various lids and found
that the glass lids were very durable.
The Kirkland cookware is a little more pleasing to the eye because it
doesn't have a puck welded to the bottom. The thicker sides probably mean
that you would be less likely to burn a delicate sauce. You can always
return the WP cookware for a full refund within 30 days from HSN if you
don't like it. You can also purchase a piece from open stock to try. They
usually have a "try me" piece for around $20. I would recommend getting at
least one non-stick fry pan. Some WP sets now come with a couple of
non-stick pieces. I like to have a non-stick pan for eggs.
JC & Shauna
All Clad line if I wanted it. The way I looked at it, if I bought the
Kirkland set, I'd have a ton of money left over to buy some other
stuff!
With suggestions from this group, among others - I purchased the
Kirlkland set instead and haven't once doubted that purchase. It's
not only nice looking-it is heavy, thick walled-cooks evenly with no
hotspots, performs wonderfully. I also like the length of the
handles, it's perfect (All Clad is too long and akward for my tastes).
Shauna
Larry
>
> Wolfgang Puck Bistro 21 piece SS Set
> 1.5 & 3qt sauce pan, steamer, 8" & 10" omelets, 8 qt stock, 12" saute,
> 9.5" & 11" covered buffets, 6 various utensils $145 +18.95 S&H
>
Also, what is a buffet???
Vox Humana
Here is a picture: (the URL may wrap to a second line)
http://www.hsn.com/content/sf/dept/cat/prod/default.asp?sz=5&sf=QC&dept=QC03
4&o=QC034&fil=0&days=30&pfid=430527&sku=430527
Harris
https://www.outletsonline.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/shop/cook/index.html?E+co
ok They're currently having an additional 20% off. With the additional
20%, the prices are less than half of perfect All-Clad, but the
imperfections are miniscule and the full warranty applies. I've been very
happy with the pieces I've bought from them.
George Nielson
>Wolfgang Puck Bistro 21 piece SS Set
>1.5 & 3qt sauce pan, steamer, 8" & 10" omelets, 8 qt stock, 12" saute,
>9.5" & 11" covered buffets, 6 various utensils $145 +18.95 S&H
His frying pans stick freakishly bad. I had his smaller set and ended
up ditching the pans but keeping the other items. You don't need
those utensils, nor a 8" omelet plate unless you're really into
crepes.
>Martha Stewart Everyday 5-star Try-ply 7 piece SS Set
>2 & 3 qt sauce pans, 10" skillet, 8qt stock pot $160
>(OR 4 Star copper bottom 9-piece set for $110)
Not bad.
I would also recommend checking out Cook's Essentials from
http://www.qvc.com - after a ton of research I couldn't find a single
bad review on that set. Many folks claimed they had better cookware,
but reached for the Cook's Essentials in favor of it.
BE SURE to visit http://www.epinions.com and read up on cookware.
My final choice for my latest set came down to Cook's Essentials, a
mix and match of Puck's, or 9-piece Anolon. I decided on Anolon
because free shipping and freebies, and they had a good history. I
did pay a bit extra than I needed to (30 bucks), mainly because I
wanted stainless handles to pop pork in the oven after browning it.
Anodized aluminum feels GREAT.
Amazon has a sale on 9-pc Anolon with free shipping and comes with
free grill plate. A good deal, imho. But if you're not planning on
sticking pans into a 400 degree oven then I'd do Cook's Essential's
stainless.
Here's my real advice though: Instead of buying a huge set, sit down
and figure out EXACTLY what you enjoy cooking and requirements your
cookware will need to meet. Once that's in place, start shopping
smaller sets (you won't use half those 40 piece set's cookware).
Maybe buy 3 4-piece sets instead of one massive one.
Vox Humana
"George Nielson" <geo...@cook.com> wrote in message
news:6C7A3BB221C04AF2.E73B7FCE...@lp.airnews.net...
> On 29 Oct 2001 15:11:44 -0800, goo...@larrygrady.com (Larry) wrote:
>
> >Wolfgang Puck Bistro 21 piece SS Set
> >1.5 & 3qt sauce pan, steamer, 8" & 10" omelets, 8 qt stock, 12" saute,
> >9.5" & 11" covered buffets, 6 various utensils $145 +18.95 S&H
>
> His frying pans stick freakishly bad. I had his smaller set and ended
> up ditching the pans but keeping the other items. You don't need
> those utensils, nor a 8" omelet plate unless you're really into
> crepes.
I have no problems with things sticking in my WP cookware and the 8" omelet
pan is one of my favorites.
Larry
> this stuff will be able to help me out. Thank you very much in
> advance.
Well I went to check out all three sets last night (and a nice VW
Vanagon I am thinking of buying!). WPuck at Sam's Club and at my
friends house who has a two year old set.... Martha Stewart Everyday
at KMart... and Kirkland at Costco. Here is what I found.
Wolfgang Puck was my least favorite. Not NEARLY as heavy as MSE or
Kirk, the glass lids make me nervous, and I didn't like the handles.
Kind of metal tubes, the didn't feel really heavy in my hands. I am
not knocking WP, they seem like quality items, you get the most stuff
for the least money, and thy look nice. However, after picking up and
checking out all three in one night, they definitely felt the
cheapest, lightest, and lesser of the three. Here is a funny thing
though, my friend has a two year old set he bought at Sam's Club.
They are thicker and more substantial. I don't know why, perhaps the
quality has changed over the years. I was very surprised. And he
just had some problems with his non-stick omlet pan chipping off, he
called them and no questions asked they sent him a replacement out.
Good Customer Service.
I was torn between the next two. I will give you some observations on
each, but they were both very heavy, great flat/thick handles, nice
fitting lids. They both just felt stronger, thicker, and more
substantial than the WP stuff. I really liked the fell of both of
them in my hands. The MSE looked a little nicer, but the Kirkland
felt just as nice for cooking.
There were a few differences.
1. MSE had a shinier or more mirrored surface. While Kirkland had a
duller surface than MSE or WP. To be honest I don't care how they
look, but I read somewhere that teh shinier the surface, the less
likely they are to stick. Is that true? MSE was mirrorlike and
Kirkland almost had a brushed steel, duller look.
2. They are both Tri-ply, but the bottoms of the pans are different.
The MSE (and WP) had kind of a heavy disk stuck to the bottom of the
pan. You could see that there were two different pieces of metal
stuck together somehow. Like a pan on top of a thick disk. Kirkland
had just as thick of a bottom, but it was all part of the pan. It
didn't have that split between pan and disk on bottom, it seemed that
everything was built right into the original piece of steel with just
a very thick base. I don't know what this means. Does anyone have
any observations or comments about that?
3. MSE is the only set that is Tri-ply not just on the base but also
up the sides of the pan. This is a pretty nice selling point.
4. You get a little more for your money with the Kirkland set, but
there seems to be more open stock with the MSE stuff.
5. MSE stock pot is tall and narrow, while Kirkland's is shorter and
bigger around. Both are 8 pt.
My wife's birthday is Saturday and I have to do something. I am stuck
between Kirk and MSE, I have eliminated WP. I think I like the MSE
stuff a little better. Nicer finish, I kind of like the two piece
base, and the tri-ply up the sides is very nice. But the Kirkland has
a little more for the cash, the MSE stuff is a little pricey. And it
is stuff I need, I am not just looking at per piece.
MSE has stock pot, two saucepans, 8" & 10" skillet, & splatter screen.
Kirkland has stock, two saucepans, two skillets, a large saute pan, a
saucier, & steamer insert.
I LOVE my big saute pan and need a new one, I have been toying with
sauces, and I can't live without a steamer. Three things that Kirkland
has but MSE doesn't. If I get everything I need with MSE it puts me a
good $50 above the Kirkland stuff. Don't know if it is that much
better.
One other thing. MSE also has a Stainless Steel Copper bottom
collection. Very nice, not tri-ply, but has a copper bottom disk. It
was a good deal less expensive. How is copper bottom? Worth
considering?
Well, there are my thoughts and considerations about these three
widely debated cookware sets. Keep in mind that I haven't cooked on
any of them and am not an expert. This is a laymans view.
I would love to hear any thoughts, or advice anyone has to offer after
the info I have given. Thanks a bunch.
lg
Sheellah
Kitchenaid, selling for very little on Ebay. I just bought the same set, and
it's $490 at retail. VERY heavy and substantial, with a lifetime warranty, and
one year free replacement policy. It's gorgeous with a shiny marble finished
anodized exterior that won't stain. The pieces are large with the 5 quart saute
selling for over $200 alone.
<A
HREF="http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1294418358">eBay
item 1294418358 (Ends Nov-09-01 13:40:30…</A>
One set went for about $125 , and I paid about $157 for mine. Bidding is under
$80 now I think. Free shipping too! Their stainless 5-ply set is even nicer
than All-Clad's. Heavier, with better handles, and more nicely finished! Have
that too! Can't get any better than this is you can use the non stick!
paul johnson
knives, or pots and pans is meaningless. The starting point for
bargaining is half of list price on these items.
Sheellah wrote:
>
> If you're willing to consider non stick, there is a 9 piece set of top the line
> Kitchenaid, selling for very little on Ebay. I just bought the same set, and
> it's $490 at retail. (snip)
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Sheellah
direct. Don't think you will get very far....lol! The "discounted" price on
that set is $480, + tax! By the way, "list price" is about $850!
JC & Shauna
snip>
>3. MSE is the only set that is Tri-ply not just on the base but also
>up the sides of the pan. This is a pretty nice selling point.
This is incorrect. I have the Kirkland SS set and it clearly states
in the brochure that was inside the box:
"Tri-ply cookware is created by permanently bonding a layer of pure
aluminum between two layers of 18/10 stainless steel. The aluminum
core extends throughout the bottom and UP THE SIDES of the pans
allowing even and efficient transfer of heat, eliminating hot spots &
maintaining a consistent temperature throughout the cooking
process..." Maybe you were looking at one of the open stock pieces
that isn't Tri-Ply?
>4. You get a little more for your money with the Kirkland set, but
>there seems to be more open stock with the MSE stuff.
Kirkland is the first cookware set I've purchased where EVERY piece in
the set gets used. .
>
>5. MSE stock pot is tall and narrow, while Kirkland's is shorter and
>bigger around. Both are 8 pt.
I like the shorter stockpot for doing hearty stews, or using as a
dutch oven & it's easier to see into.
>
>I LOVE my big saute pan and need a new one, I have been toying with
>sauces, and I can't live without a steamer. Three things that Kirkland
>has but MSE doesn't. If I get everything I need with MSE it puts me a
>good $50 above the Kirkland stuff. Don't know if it is that much
>better.
For the large saute' pan alone, the Kirkland set won hands down. I
use this pan the most. So now that you know that the Kirklands' SS
set is clad on the bottom AND the sides, whatya waitin' for?
Shauna
GaryO
> On 8 Nov 2001 09:46:23 -0800, goo...@larrygrady.com (Larry) wrote:
>
> snip>
>
>
> >3. MSE is the only set that is Tri-ply not just on the base but also
> >up the sides of the pan. This is a pretty nice selling point.
>
> This is incorrect. I have the Kirkland SS set and it clearly states
> in the brochure that was inside the box:
>
> "Tri-ply cookware is created by permanently bonding a layer of pure
> aluminum between two layers of 18/10 stainless steel. The aluminum
> core extends throughout the bottom and UP THE SIDES of the pans
> allowing even and efficient transfer of heat, eliminating hot spots &
> maintaining a consistent temperature throughout the cooking
> process..." Maybe you were looking at one of the open stock pieces
> that isn't Tri-Ply?
>
I agree. There are a variety of full core aluminum tri-ply cookware
lines available. Even Wolfgang Puck once marketed such a line (with
the chminey tube supposed to stay cool but get hot quick handles).
But currently, their tri-ply is something of a marketing gimmick (like
Reverware's). The disc at the bottom is of tri-ply construction. The
sides are somewhat thin stainless steel of no distiguished
construction.
> >4. You get a little more for your money with the Kirkland set, but
> >there seems to be more open stock with the MSE stuff.
>
I'm waiting for the Kirkland line to get more open stock, like an oval
braiser to go with the round braiser. The v-shaped handles, while a
mite meager in heft, are nicely designed to stay cool. The Martha
Stewart tri ply cookware is full core and nicely designed, although
the handles are not well designed in the sense of stay cool.
> Kirkland is the first cookware set I've purchased where EVERY piece in
> the set gets used. .
> >
> >5. MSE stock pot is tall and narrow, while Kirkland's is shorter and
> >bigger around. Both are 8 pt.
>
> I like the shorter stockpot for doing hearty stews, or using as a
> dutch oven & it's easier to see into.
>
> >
> >I LOVE my big saute pan and need a new one, I have been toying with
> >sauces, and I can't live without a steamer. Three things that Kirkland
> >has but MSE doesn't. If I get everything I need with MSE it puts me a
> >good $50 above the Kirkland stuff. Don't know if it is that much
> >better.
>
> For the large saute' pan alone, the Kirkland set won hands down. I
> use this pan the most. So now that you know that the Kirklands' SS
> set is clad on the bottom AND the sides, whatya waitin' for?
>
> Shauna
GaryO
GaryO
>
> snip>
>
>
> >3. MSE is the only set that is Tri-ply not just on the base but also
> >up the sides of the pan. This is a pretty nice selling point.
>
> This is incorrect. I have the Kirkland SS set and it clearly states
> in the brochure that was inside the box:
>
> "Tri-ply cookware is created by permanently bonding a layer of pure
> aluminum between two layers of 18/10 stainless steel. The aluminum
> core extends throughout the bottom and UP THE SIDES of the pans
> allowing even and efficient transfer of heat, eliminating hot spots &
> maintaining a consistent temperature throughout the cooking
> process..." Maybe you were looking at one of the open stock pieces
> that isn't Tri-Ply?
>
There are several brands of tri-ply cookware that feature a full
aluminum core that extends throughout the bottom and up the sides of
the pans. The most well known is All-Clad's Stainless line. The
others are often called "knock-offs", although this is generally used
to describe lower cost products. Calphalon's stainless line was
originally noticeably higher priced than the All-Clad line. Many
posters here and in RFC have recently reported that the Calphalon
stainless line seemed to be a significant bargain price-wise to the
All-Clad line. Kirkland, Martha Stewart, and others offer tri-ply
cookware with full aluminum core.
While discussing tri-ply, do note that it is becoming popular among
manufacturers to proclaim their aluminum core disc to be tri-ply and
to thusly market the cookware as tri-ply cookware.
> >4. You get a little more for your money with the Kirkland set, but
> >there seems to be more open stock with the MSE stuff.
>
I've been hoping for a tri-ply oval braiser from Kirkland...
> Kirkland is the first cookware set I've purchased where EVERY piece in
> the set gets used. .
> >
> >5. MSE stock pot is tall and narrow, while Kirkland's is shorter and
> >bigger around. Both are 8 pt.
>
> I like the shorter stockpot for doing hearty stews, or using as a
> dutch oven & it's easier to see into.
>
> >
> >I LOVE my big saute pan and need a new one, I have been toying with
> >sauces, and I can't live without a steamer. Three things that Kirkland
> >has but MSE doesn't. If I get everything I need with MSE it puts me a
> >good $50 above the Kirkland stuff. Don't know if it is that much
> >better.
>
> For the large saute' pan alone, the Kirkland set won hands down. I
> use this pan the most. So now that you know that the Kirklands' SS
> set is clad on the bottom AND the sides, whatya waitin' for?
>
> Shauna
Kirkland's handles are well designed, unlike many "stay cool" handles.
Calphalon uses a similar v-shape on their Commercial Hard Anodized
line and on their Stainless line, although the Calphalon handles are a
bit heftier.
GaryO
