KITCHEN GADGET FILTER: Where can I buy an Alton Brown Salt Cellar in the Toronto, Canada area

August 14, 2008 10:47 PM

I love the salt dish used by chef Alton Brown on "Good Eats". Google tells me that this is a Salt Cellar. I saw one on eBay but would like to see one in person as I am worried about the quality. Alton Brown sells them on his website but will not ship to Canada. Has anyone out there see one IRL?
posted by saradarlin to Food & Drink (18 answers total)

Here's the'Unbranded' version over at amazon. It's obviously the exact same salt cellar without his name on it.
posted by aristan at 2:04 AM on August 15, 2008

Best answer: I own the Alton Brown one and love it! I got mine last year and resorted to having it shipped to a package-receiving service just south of the border and going down to pick it up.

BUT... I've since seen them at the local Whole Foods here in Vancouver. Your profile says you're in Ontario. Are you anywhere near Oakville or Toronto? Maybe those locations carry them as well.

Otherwise, Amazon.com also sells them and I believe they will ship kitchen stuff to Canada (though it won't be cheap!).
posted by sanitycheck at 2:11 AM on August 15, 2008

I got mine at an ethnic Italian grocery store (here in the states). Its exactly the right item, but the pictures on the box showed it being used for Parmesan cheese.
posted by sandra_s at 2:17 AM on August 15, 2008

My wife has one, it lives on the counter next to the stove. Build quality is solid. I haven't seen others, but I can recommend this one.
posted by Wild_Eep at 4:22 AM on August 15, 2008

I have one that I bought when Brown first started selling them, probably 7ish years ago. I can't say whether the manufacturer now is the same as then, but aside from the finish being a little worn in places, it's as good as the day I got it.
posted by Lyn Never at 5:01 AM on August 15, 2008

How often do you get to Buffalo to exploit your muscular loonies? Depending on your schedule, surely there's at least one mefite here in Buffalo/Niagara that would be happy to have it shipped to their home to save you the duty/customs-broker costs.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:35 AM on August 15, 2008

840 "salt cellar"s on ebay.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:09 AM on August 15, 2008

This does not answer your question. I love Alton Brown, but who has two hands to open a salt cellar when cooking? I keep my kosher salt in one of these pyrex bowls on the back of my stove. No, it doesn't have a cover, but at the rate I go through salt, I'm not worried about dust or anything, and it doesn't cost $20.
posted by FreezBoy at 6:24 AM on August 15, 2008

My sister got me one for Christmas a few years back, and I'm pretty sure she got it off of Amazon (US). Here's one similar to mine -- mine has a little spoon which turns out to be very handy, especially if your hand is questionably clean and you don't want to reach in there. Mine seems to have a little notch in the lid so it can close over the spoon, however.

I agree with FreezBoy, however, if you want to start having a salt cellar, just a small dish will do for now.
posted by sararah at 7:08 AM on August 15, 2008

I keep my salt in a little Pyrex bowl by the stove too, but it's always in danger of my husband dumping it out when he's cleaning up after dinner.
posted by liet at 9:47 AM on August 15, 2008

I have a salt cellar that's similar to the Alton Brown one but not identical. The lid is balanced so that it flips back and stays there if you poke it in the right way, so you can still use it one-handed like the pyrex bowl, but it's covered and, I assume, less likely to spill because of its wide base.

If I were to buy another, I'd probably go to a kitchen store so I could find one that has that quality.
posted by lore at 10:10 AM on August 15, 2008

Friends of mine have a salt cellar that is merely a heavy porcelain bowl, no lid.

Pure & nearly pure salt is highly toxic to almost all living things, and therefore remains sterile despite the slight contamination from kitchen use. If it wasn't, real bacon bits would go rancid pretty quickly, instead of lasting months & months on my shelf.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:21 AM on August 15, 2008

Here's the'Unbranded' version over at amazon.

If you're willing to risk using one without the safety protocols and rigorous salt testing, that one links to the cheese server, which seems to be identical but $3 less. Very odd.
posted by phearlez at 11:25 AM on August 15, 2008

Alton himself says (ad nauseam) the cheapest way to find kitchen gadgets like these is to visit your local restaurant supply store.
posted by disorder at 12:58 PM on August 15, 2008

Here's the same thing, from the same manufacturer, at organize.com. "This product eligible for international shipping"
posted by CunningLinguist at 6:07 PM on August 16, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks guys! I will check out whole foods in Toronto. SanityCheck, I lived in Vancouver until a few months ago and had trouble finding one there too - however I never made it up to West Van to WF.
posted by saradarlin at 6:51 PM on August 18, 2008

Response by poster: Oh, and I do have a "standard" salt dish now that I use for cooking. I bought it about two years ago when I couldn't find Alton's in Vancouver. However 24+ months later I still lust for the one I see on TV, I decided that I had to have the "real" thing.
posted by saradarlin at 6:55 PM on August 18, 2008

If you search for 'salt box' there are some really nice wooden ones as well. My girlfriend has the large bamboo one found on amazon, and it is great.
posted by rux at 7:09 PM on August 18, 2008