The smell that hits you upon entering Kitchen Kapers, located just south of Walnut on 17th Street, is distinct if at first a tad confusing. Follow your nose through the two-story maze of cookware, appliances, cookbooks and ingredients and you’ll inevitably find yourself at an island of coffee. Open burlap bags filled with Three Brothers 100% Arabica Coffee Beans (including the fragrant culprit — White Chocolate flavored) encircle a counter sporting two industrial coffee grinders and a series of coffee-producing appliances, all for testing.
It’s exactly this range of products that Kitchen Kapers takes pride in providing to the Philadelphia amateur chef. From expandable bamboo kitchen-drawer organizers to fruit hammocks (they let your fruit ripen evenly!), anthropomorphic spatulas to extensive collections of Mario Batali and Le Creuset cookware, the local chain really does have it all. To boot, prices are comparable, if not cheaper, than competitors Williams Sonoma or Crate & Barrel.
Though its smells and curious products make even a quick walk through the shop’s over-stocked aisles enjoyable, Kitchen Kapers doesn’t just cater to the serious chef — there are plenty of items even the most avid Campus Food patron would find useful. A display at the store’s front boasts authentic Guinness beer glasses, a guide to drinking games and Beer Bands bottle markers (the fratty version of wine glass charms). And when we confessed to Curtis, an extremely attentive employee, that we didn’t have much time to cook during the semester, he advised: “Look into getting a crock pot! Leave it in the morning, and the only thing you have to do at night is dish up.”
Kitchen Kapers is much more than an average kitchen supply store; take it from Curtis: “We have the personalized service,” (a claim he more than proved), “and the selection that you would never find at ‘Sonoma.’ Where else would you find a peeler in Center City? Think about it! Or a placemat?” Gee, that’s exactly what we had been wondering.
Kitchen Kapers
213 S. 17th Street (215) 546–8059
Category: Kitchen supplies on crack Price Range: $$ Bottom Line: An impressive, albeit overwhelming, selection of culinary tools and treats.
