If you love to cook and entertain, forgeddabout Williams Sonoma and zero in on Surfas Restaurant Supply. This Culver City warehouse-type store has everything that the chic retailer does and more—plus prices are much better (for all you out of towners, Surfas also has an on-line business). At Surfas, you’ll find enough items to stock an entire kitchen, and enough gourmet food to satisfy you deepest Food Network fantasies. You can even pick up beer and wine there.

Let me give you an example. A few weeks ago, I threw a party. It was for my husband, who wanted to host a soiree for some co-workers. Instead of having it catered, I had a momentary brain freeze and offered to do it myself. I nearly passed out when fifty-eight of the seventy people invited rsvp’ed “yes.” 

Surfas (and my friend and extremely talented cook Erika) saved my butt. From the trees in my yard we easily made lemon curd and key lime filling. But instead of putting it in a standard pie crust, we got Surfas little pastry cups and filled them. Then, with the pastry bags, we topped them with a cute little swirl of whipped cream and some savings from the fruit. They looked lovely on the buffet table and quite frankly I couldn’t believe we made them so easily! 

We also got the tri-colored lobster filled ravioli, which we basted with pesto and stuck toothpicks in and the chocolate balsamic vinegar, which we used to marinate the beef. What a wild flavor it gives meat—somewhat smoky, but tart at the same time! I’ve since used it in salad dressings. Again, easy steps that made the food unusual and delicious.

The tiny red velvet cupcakes I’d made wouldn’t have been the same had I not bought the three-tiered cupcake display—ditto for our bar—without Surfas spicy wasabi peas and three incredibly flavorful gourmet cheeses.

Originally, I was going to make chicken skewers with peanut sauce. But while browsing at Surfas, an Indian tiki marinade caught my eye. It made an ordinary dish—extraordinary!