Kitchen Inspiration: Tips To Set Up Your Gourmet Pantry

The kitchens at Circa are legendary. From high-end stainless steel appliances to elegant fixtures and finishes, you’ll find endless sophistication and refinement at your fingertips. Whether you’re a novice cook or experienced epicurean, now is the perfect time to level up your culinary game with a gourmet pantry. We found some tasty ingredients, tools of the trade, and unique products to spark your imagination. Shop local. DTLA is host to some amazing resources where you’ll find everything from restaurant grade cookware to stylish tableware, textiles, kitchen accessories, and food essentials. Check websites for store hours, private appointments, pick up and delivery details.

HexClad Cookware gourmet pantry near Circa apartments in Downtown Los Angeles

How to Stock Your Pantry

Refinery 29 has some great tips on how to stock your pantry with basic food essentials, from spices to legumes, oils, vinegars, sauces, and more. You’ll find ideas on how to purchase the items, and how to incorporate them into your meal routine. Although the article is geared to non-cooks, even experienced home culinary enthusiasts will find this compendium of kitchen staples useful and inspiring.

Bamboo Cutting Board Bon Appetit gourmet pantry near Circa apartments in Downtown Los Angeles

Top Kitchen Tools & Accessories

Bon Appetit magazine has rounded up some of their favorite kitchen accessories, from baking pans and steamers to sourdough supplies. We especially like the Five Two Bamboo Cutting Board (pictured). And who can resist the colorful Italian-made Calzuro Clogs, perfect for keeping your feet nice and comfy as you chop, mix and stir. More info on the clogs HERE

The Good Liver gourmet pantry near Circa apartments in Downtown Los Angeles

The Good Liver 705 Mateo St. Los Angeles, CA 90021

The Good Liver is a modern day version of a general store that sets out to inform, inspire and ultimately suggest a better way of living through a conscientious collection of enduring, quality goods from around the world. The store offers a carefully selected range of objects from international brands and makers, showcasing the history, philosophy and craftsmanship behind each of their items. You’ll find everything from glassware and ceramics to carbon steel knives and useful household tools. Open by appointment only.

Hawkins New York gourmet pantry near Circa apartments in Downtown Los Angeles

Hawkins New York ROW DTLA 767 S Alameda St. B2 Suite 152 Los Angeles, CA 90021

Hawkins New York was born out of a palpable void in the lifestyle market for quality, accessible, home goods. Citing a lack of range in small-scale home goods production, Hawkins was founded with the goal to incorporate the concept of artisanal collective production, while maintaining a modern sensibility in design. Their vision aims to not only enhances the physical environments in which their customers live and work, but creates a greater understanding and appreciation for responsible, aesthetically minded design. Shopping by private appointment only.

Poketo gourmet pantry near Circa apartments in Downtown Los Angeles

Poketo ROW DTLA 777 S. Alameda St. B1 Suite 174 Los Angeles, CA 90021

Since its foundation in 2003 by husband-and-wife team Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung, Poketo has grown from a small startup into a creative hub and online destination for design-driven goods infused with aesthetic intentionality. They carry an amazing assortment of tabletop items and textiles, along with candles, woven baskets, and other household accessories. Shop in-store or online.

HexClad Cookware gourmet pantry near Circa apartments in Downtown Los Angeles

HexClad Cookware 458 S Alameda St. Los Angeles, CA 90013

Recommended by Michelin Star Chefs and featured on CNN, Forbes, and Town & Country, HexClad offers restaurant quality pots, pans, lids, sets, and woks with a lifetime warranty. Using a laser etching process, they have created a patented HexClad hexagonal design on the cookware. This unique design creates a series of peaks and valleys. The peaks are your stainless steel, which will give you that great golden brown sear and also protect the pan against peeling and flaking. The valleys provide your pan with easy cleanup and the ability to cook with little or no butter, grease or oil.

Surfas Culinary District gourmet pantry near Circa apartments in Downtown Los Angeles

Surfas Culinary District 3225 W Washington Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90018

Surfas is a storied kitchenwares shop dispensing pro-level cooking tools and gadgets, along with gourmet imported and domestic food products. Stock your pantry with  everything you need, from seasonings and spices to condiments, oils & vinegars, and baking essentials. Family owned and operated since 1937, Surfas has served architects, chefs, food and beverage professionals, restaurateurs, and even hot dog stands, by fulfilling their food service needs for over 80 years. The Los Angeles warehouse sales/showroom is stocked with thousands of items for serious food enthusiasts and culinary professional alike.

Utsuwa-No-Yakata gourmet pantry near Circa apartments in Downtown Los Angeles

Utsuwa-No-Yakata Little Tokyo Galleria 333 Alameda St. #114 Los Angeles, CA 90013

Utsuwa-no-yakata (House of Pottery) was founded in Los Angeles by Shinji Nimura after coming to America in 1981, with the mission to introduce beautiful Japanese tableware to the world. The wide selection of products is imported directly from Japan, with styles ranging from traditional to contemporary, and decorative to practical. About half of their products are handmade in small kilns in Japan, so each piece is a unique creation. The tableware is not only for Japanese cuisine, but can be matched with any type of food regardless of gastronomic background.

Photo credits:

Photo #1: HexClad Cookware

Photo #2: HexClad Cookware

Photo #3: Five Two Bamboo Cutting Board/Bon Appetit

Photo #4: The Good Liver

Photo #5: Hawkins New York

Photo #6: Poketo 

Photo #7: HexClad Cookware 

Photo #8: Surfas Culinary District

Photo #9: Utsuwa-No-Yakata

Culture Vulture! LA’s Essential Music, Theatre & More

Circa residents are living at the epicenter of one of most exciting cities in the world! The fall season is firing up wth world-class live performances, rare exhibitions, and immersive experiences! So fire up your inner culture vulture and discover LA’s essential music, theatre and more!

Dudamel

LA Phil Walt Disney Concert Hall 111 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Gustavo Ignites the New Season! Don’t miss Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic as they fire up the 2019/20 season with Gershwin, Copland, Beethoven, Bruckner, Adams, Stravinsky, and more. The LA Phil takes audiences on sweeping musical journeys through electrifying performances, cutting-edge music education, and innovative community engagement programs. Each year, the LA Phil presents over 250 concerts at its two globally renowned venues: Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.

LA Dance Project

L.A. Dances L.A. Dance Project 2245 E Washington Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90021

L.A. Dances is a six week festival that showcases nine new commissions performed by L.A. Dance Project between September 26th and November 24th. L.A. Dance Project is comprised of twelve full-time dancers based in Los Angeles and is led by Artistic Director, Benjamin Millepied along with Associate Artistic Director, Sebastien Marcovici. The company’s repertory features multidisciplinary collaborations with visual artists, musicians, designers, filmmakers and composers.

Light in the Plaza

Light in the Plaza LA Opera Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

It doesn’t get any better than this: Renée Fleming, Dove Cameron and Brian Stokes Mitchell in a ravishing musical! The scene is set: Florence, summer 1953. American Margaret Johnson (Renée Fleming) and her daughter Clara (Dove Cameron) take in the wonder and awe of Florence. A fateful gust of wind whisks Clara’s hat into the hand of a local dreamer…and it’s love at first sight. But Clara isn’t quite what she appears, and soon they must all confront a secret kept in the shadows for far too long. Light in the Plazs is Adam Guettel’s enchanting Broadway musical, which won six Tony Awards, including Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations.

Mark Taper Forum

A Play is a Poem Mark Taper Forum 135 N. Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90012

From the mind of celebrated playwright and filmmaker Ethan Coen comes an evening of short plays that will take you on an eccentric journey across America. The hillbilly hollows of Appalachia, a New York tenement apartment, a magnolia scented gazebo in Natchez, Mississippi, the executive suites of Hollywood, each stop reveals a unique glimpse at Americana as only Ethan Coen can deliver. Featuring live music composed and performed by Nellie McKay.

Angel City Jazz Festival

Angel City Jazz Festival Various locations

The Angel City Jazz Festival – LA’s most adventurous jazz festival –  was founded in 2008 by music promoter Rocco Somazzi. Since then the festival has grown into an essential multi day celebration of cutting edge jazz at some of the most exciting and prestigious venues in  LA,  such as LACMA, REDCAT, Zipper Hall, the Bluewhale, the World Stage, the Lodge Room and Mr Musichead Gallery. The Angel City Jazz Festival consistently features the most innovative and original national and international jazz musicians working today, balancing established jazz artists with emerging talent, and focusing on west coast creative jazz, past, present and future.

29Rooms

29Rooms 1231 N Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90012

The makers behind Refinery29 have collaborated with visionaries and brands in the fields of art, activism, style, and technology to bring you 29 experiences under one roof that tap into the conversations of today and our hopes for tomorrow. 29Rooms was launched in 2015 on Refinery29’s 10-Year Anniversary as a way to bring their brand to life in the real world. Today, 29Rooms has become a vibrant community where culture, creativity and imagination are unlocked and celebrated year after year. Through multi-sensory installations, performances, and workshops, you will be presented with a new way to connect with creativity, culture, and community.

Latin History for Morons

Latin History for Morons Centre Theatre Group Ahmanson Theatre 135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Uproarious, uncensored, and undeniably entertaining, Latin History for Morons is the show we need right now – a night of eye-opening historical narrative courtesy of Tony® and Emmy® Award winner John Leguizamo. The self-professed ghetto scholar schools America on Cinco de Mayo—no, it’s not the Latino Fourth of July—and every other aspect of Latin history they’ve misunderstood and forgotten to create a heartfelt and funny tribute. From a mad recap of the Aztec empire to stories of the unknown Latin patriots who won American independence, Leguizamo breaks down the 3,000 years between the Mayans and Pitbull into 110 irreverent and incisive minutes.

Judy Chicago

Judy Chicago: Los Angeles Jeffrey Deitch Gallery 925 N Orange Drive Los Angeles, CA 90038

Judy Chicago created a remarkable body of work in Los Angeles and Fresno from 1965 – 72 that has been largely unseen for fifty years. Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles is presenting a full survey of these early works until November 2, 2019. The exhibition will feature paintings, drawings, sculpture, installations, and documentation of Chicago’s environmental and fireworks projects. Los Angeles was inhospitable to women artists during this period, but the city’s spirit of self-invention and the lack of art market pressure gave Judy Chicago the freedom to create an innovative and original approach to making art. Intent on learning more about industrial techniques that were not taught at art school, Chicago enrolled in auto body painting school, the only woman out of two hundred fifty men in her class.