Restaurant Supply Stores......... for the home cook?

~My beautiful $17 pizza peel looks like a still life hanging in my Cucina~

Me upon first entering the store.

I first heard of the fact that I could actually shop at a restaurant supply store on Anthony Bourdain's show where he said that they were the only place to get good quality products--strong enough for restaurant use-- at the best prices possible and how all serious home cooks should shop there. We have one where I live--Food Equipment Company-- but it was really hard to find; it's one of those place that you can see from the interstate but never actually get to. So I kept asking- aka nagging- my husband to bring me and so he finally did over Christmas break. At first I felt like a home cook interloper walking among all of those white coated chefs with my head hung low and trying really hard to look inconspicuous. But as I walked along those long wide aisles filled with such wonderful amazement's as 4 feet tall whisks and stock pots big enough to take a bath in I started to become like a giddy child skipping through a candy store. At every turn was a new and exciting object to admire, need a cup cake tin to make 36 cupcakes at one time...you've got it! Need a pastry bag larger than a chef's hat and a chef's hat while you're at it....

Me only after a few minutes...minus the braids

you've got it! In the end my husband got me 2 pizza pans, a pizza peel, and a saute pan all for $35! Anthony Bourdain says they are the only place to get knives and or pots/pans and  I agree as the quality is exceptional but since the store is a non-fancy warehouse and the products are very basic, no bells or whistles, the prices are phenomenal. Now that I know how to get there I plan on making several more trips in the very near future!
Note: I went back two weeks later and got 12 sturdy plastic tumblers (the kind they have in Pizzerias) for $8 , a very large pastry bag with 2 tips: for under $6, and one very sharp paring knife (I have the cut to prove it) for $2!