Shoes, Jewelry, Leather Bags, (I’m a Coach girl) Perfume (Coco by Chanel 🖤) That goes for the guys as well…no crappy cologne, wearing nothing! Is better than crappy!! I would rather have 1 quality of any of the above than 100 mediocre items.
I agree with quality cooler as well, but Yeti has not won me over yet. Other food related stuff; Knives, my Kitchen-aid that is at least 25 years old (but I’m willing it to die because I want that cool new clack dimpled one 🖤🖤🖤) I adore my Chantel enamel pieces, tea pot & stock pots… I am currently obsessing over Weber’s ridiculously overpriced special anniversary kettle grills. So many actual food items, someone mentioned butter… omg, French Butter!
Sweet Melissa….no words…I was going to say you were my hero, but then you dropped that bombshell 💣 now I’m just hoping you’ve been diligently scouring the internet for that special “self care” gift.
While I agree 100% about buying a quality cooler, it doesn’t have to be a YETI. That brand is awesome, and lead the charge for this type of premium cooler but there are some amazing competitors out there that might be a better bang for your buck - I personally love my Canyon cooler, a slightly cheaper, lighter cooler that holds ice just as long. There are some pretty in-depth brand analysis on youtube if you have the patience. It’s too common to see a consumer overpaying just for the brand name.
On that note, I’m really loving my Misen non-stick, and Made In stainless products — both quality tested, cheaper alternatives to All Clad
Instead of pulling the trigger on a Shun chef’s knife at William Sonoma, visit your local specialty kitchen store (Carbon Knife Co. for me in Denver) You’ll be delighted at the amount of gorgeous, high-quality knives and varying price points.
Speaking of vibrators, The Rose is hands down the best investment I’ve ever made. Ever. And it ain’t for me.
Aug 11, 2022·edited Aug 11, 2022Liked by Andrew Zimmern
"Buy the best... and only cry once", was a phrase I heard often growing-up. It was in reference to premium quality, not so much price... As explained to me as a youngster, top quality means it should last for a really long time, sure it cost much more, thus "it's worth it"...
Say one buys an inexpensive non-stick for $20, it last 1 year until it needs to be replaced... I purchase a premium quality non-stick for $110, yet it lasts 8 years (taking immaculate care). Thus if I replace the cheap pan every year for 8 years, equals $160 bucks... SOooo the pan that costs almost 5 times more expensive, ends up being the "Best Value" as well...
Buy the "Best" if you can afford it... otherwise buy what's the best "Value" for the bucks... avoid "Cheap" for you'll be crying more than once...
Agree 100% about YETI products. We drove from WI to CO a couple of years ago and the ice that we bought on the way out of town had barely melted in 2 days. Also worth the money are:
1. Kitchenaid mixer. We bought ours 30 years ago and it's still going strong. We wish it would die so we could get a new one in one of the new cool colors that they have.
2. Le Creuset enameld cast iron pots and casseroles. You'll pass these on to your kids.
3. The new(ish) Philips LatteGo espresso/coffee machines. The $900 price point may seem high, but they make better coffee drinks than Starbucks, and have saved us $ thousands by NOT buying coffee drinks elsewhere.
4. The best knives that you can afford. If you really think about it, you only really need a good paring knife, deboning knife, an 8" chef's knife, and a (cheap) bread knife. That's it.
5. Mandolin slicer. Even the cheap ones save a lot of time.
Simple|Modern insulated stainless tumblers are worth every penny, especially the larger ones, they keep cold drinks COLD for 24+ hours, and hot bevvies HOT for up to 12.
They're also impossible to destroy, which for a klutz like me is a *huge* selling point 😂
Hi Andrew! Could you do a video on the best cookware to use such as pots and pans. You mention copper cookware in this post which I cannot afford at the moment. What would you suggest? I’ve heard that the nonstick variety is unhealthy.
A few good knives and a Whirly Popper with some good small kernel white popcorn. I usually pay no attention to hype. When a product works well for you...then it is a keeper. Expensive or not. I inherited an ancient Blakeslee commercial mixer from my Oma. It never fails.
YETI, Sitka (hunting clothing) - the most expensive get-what-you-pay-fors on my list. I'm also a big fan of the most bougie thing we've ever bought: the Vitamix Food Cycler (Andrew, feel free to drop in an affiliate link if ya got one). It's huge, it's expensive, but it dries and crushes foodstuff (stems, icky leaves, apple cores, coffee grounds) that's destined for compost.
I KNOW composting is easy. But the reality is we'd been doing a terrible job of getting the stuff into the composter outside because we didn't feel like walking through dewey grass in our slippers, or didn't feel like turning the crank on the drum composter, so the stuff would sit in a tin on the counter way too long. No more. Sometimes you just gotta admit you suck at something and pay for a device that helps get the job done.
A vibrator is definitely worth the money...wait is this supposed to be food/kitchen related?
Melissa wins.
You know the funny part? I've never owned one (hand to God!) But in these times of divorce, I better get shopping.
Shoes, Jewelry, Leather Bags, (I’m a Coach girl) Perfume (Coco by Chanel 🖤) That goes for the guys as well…no crappy cologne, wearing nothing! Is better than crappy!! I would rather have 1 quality of any of the above than 100 mediocre items.
I agree with quality cooler as well, but Yeti has not won me over yet. Other food related stuff; Knives, my Kitchen-aid that is at least 25 years old (but I’m willing it to die because I want that cool new clack dimpled one 🖤🖤🖤) I adore my Chantel enamel pieces, tea pot & stock pots… I am currently obsessing over Weber’s ridiculously overpriced special anniversary kettle grills. So many actual food items, someone mentioned butter… omg, French Butter!
Sweet Melissa….no words…I was going to say you were my hero, but then you dropped that bombshell 💣 now I’m just hoping you’ve been diligently scouring the internet for that special “self care” gift.
LMAO ;)
While I agree 100% about buying a quality cooler, it doesn’t have to be a YETI. That brand is awesome, and lead the charge for this type of premium cooler but there are some amazing competitors out there that might be a better bang for your buck - I personally love my Canyon cooler, a slightly cheaper, lighter cooler that holds ice just as long. There are some pretty in-depth brand analysis on youtube if you have the patience. It’s too common to see a consumer overpaying just for the brand name.
On that note, I’m really loving my Misen non-stick, and Made In stainless products — both quality tested, cheaper alternatives to All Clad
Instead of pulling the trigger on a Shun chef’s knife at William Sonoma, visit your local specialty kitchen store (Carbon Knife Co. for me in Denver) You’ll be delighted at the amount of gorgeous, high-quality knives and varying price points.
Speaking of vibrators, The Rose is hands down the best investment I’ve ever made. Ever. And it ain’t for me.
European butter!!!
"Buy the best... and only cry once", was a phrase I heard often growing-up. It was in reference to premium quality, not so much price... As explained to me as a youngster, top quality means it should last for a really long time, sure it cost much more, thus "it's worth it"...
Say one buys an inexpensive non-stick for $20, it last 1 year until it needs to be replaced... I purchase a premium quality non-stick for $110, yet it lasts 8 years (taking immaculate care). Thus if I replace the cheap pan every year for 8 years, equals $160 bucks... SOooo the pan that costs almost 5 times more expensive, ends up being the "Best Value" as well...
Buy the "Best" if you can afford it... otherwise buy what's the best "Value" for the bucks... avoid "Cheap" for you'll be crying more than once...
Agree 100% about YETI products. We drove from WI to CO a couple of years ago and the ice that we bought on the way out of town had barely melted in 2 days. Also worth the money are:
1. Kitchenaid mixer. We bought ours 30 years ago and it's still going strong. We wish it would die so we could get a new one in one of the new cool colors that they have.
2. Le Creuset enameld cast iron pots and casseroles. You'll pass these on to your kids.
3. The new(ish) Philips LatteGo espresso/coffee machines. The $900 price point may seem high, but they make better coffee drinks than Starbucks, and have saved us $ thousands by NOT buying coffee drinks elsewhere.
4. The best knives that you can afford. If you really think about it, you only really need a good paring knife, deboning knife, an 8" chef's knife, and a (cheap) bread knife. That's it.
5. Mandolin slicer. Even the cheap ones save a lot of time.
Simple|Modern insulated stainless tumblers are worth every penny, especially the larger ones, they keep cold drinks COLD for 24+ hours, and hot bevvies HOT for up to 12.
They're also impossible to destroy, which for a klutz like me is a *huge* selling point 😂
Hi Andrew! Could you do a video on the best cookware to use such as pots and pans. You mention copper cookware in this post which I cannot afford at the moment. What would you suggest? I’ve heard that the nonstick variety is unhealthy.
Thanks!
Liz
A future post! Great idea.
We purchased our first YETI when we went on our bucket-list trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone in 2018. That sucker is awesome!
The next purchase will be the wheeled YETI. I wish that we had one of these for our trip, since these bad boys are very heavy.
FYI- Don’t waste your money on dollar-store cleaning products. They are watered down and useless.
A few good knives and a Whirly Popper with some good small kernel white popcorn. I usually pay no attention to hype. When a product works well for you...then it is a keeper. Expensive or not. I inherited an ancient Blakeslee commercial mixer from my Oma. It never fails.
YETI, Sitka (hunting clothing) - the most expensive get-what-you-pay-fors on my list. I'm also a big fan of the most bougie thing we've ever bought: the Vitamix Food Cycler (Andrew, feel free to drop in an affiliate link if ya got one). It's huge, it's expensive, but it dries and crushes foodstuff (stems, icky leaves, apple cores, coffee grounds) that's destined for compost.
I KNOW composting is easy. But the reality is we'd been doing a terrible job of getting the stuff into the composter outside because we didn't feel like walking through dewey grass in our slippers, or didn't feel like turning the crank on the drum composter, so the stuff would sit in a tin on the counter way too long. No more. Sometimes you just gotta admit you suck at something and pay for a device that helps get the job done.
We don’t have a cooler but a sail boat with an old fashion ice box. The Yeti ice gets it cooled down very well when we first come on board.