One question I’m asked even more often than “How do restaurants get their pan sauces to taste so good?” is “Where do you buy your kitchenware?” The pan sauces are easy — reduced stock, often veal — but the shopping involves numerous venues from Gilroy to cyberspace, though I’m happily able to carry out quite a bit of bargain kitchen paraphernalia shopping close to my El Cerrito home.

I rely heavily on close-out stores that deal in first-quality overstocks and overruns. Cram-packed with brand name pots, pans, bakeware, servingware, gadgets, utensils and, depending upon the chain, small electrics, their kitchenware sections can seem hopelessly disorganized and average at first glance — but you have to see past that to get to the hidden gems.

Their inventories are a moving target, but regular customers are well-aware of each store’s baseline and brands carried and are able to quickly separate chaff from wheat. Looking in hard-to-reach places, like low and high shelves and under little mountains of undifferentiated goods, and getting there early in the day often prove fruitful.

Spending more time browsing than buying, and considering kitchen real estate needs of prospective purchases, are advised. I don’t always, which is why my husband reads his morning paper in the company of an electric skillet that lives on the coffee nook table.

The close-out store I visit most often is Marshalls, which carries quite a few highly-desirable brands, like KitchenAid, Calphalon and, less often, Le Creuset.

If you’re in the market for stainless steel cookware, you’ll find Cuisinart, Wolfgang Puck and numerous other makes, though fully-clad pans are not as common as those with encapsulated bottom disks.

Lovers of non-stick cookware will be in heaven. I’m not happy, though, that non-stick has overtaken the market in recent years, preferring stainless steel and well-seasoned cast iron, which release foods just fine when used properly.

Rachael Ray is represented, but I find some of her cookware overdesigned, with obtrusive handles and too much orange. Be sure to approach trendy designs with caution, keeping in mind that purchasing a Dutch oven should result in a long, happy relationship for both cook and vessel.

If you need utensils, select those with slender handles and a simple hook — unless you have unlimited drawer or utensil crock space. I avoid this problem by purchasing function-over-form commercial-grade cooking utensils at Smart & Final in Richmond or some other restaurant-supply company.

Search through the knives for the likes of Wüsthof and J. A. Henckels’ high-end line, Zwilling, as well as Kuhn Rikon’s Colori, the brightly colored, non-stick knives so popular these days.

Nordic Ware cast aluminum, heavy Calphalon baking pans, Salter digital ingredient scales, Bodum tea and coffee presses, GreenPan woks, Zyliss gadgets, Progressive vegetable dicers — I have seen these items at Marshalls numerous times.

Modern spongeware shows up now and again, and a KitchenAid stand mixer was in residence last week. But I’d check out warehouse stores like Costco before making a large purchase like this.

Don’t pooh-pooh unfamiliar brands. Many of the bargains I find are attributable to lack of brand recognition on the part of other customers. For example, you may come across springform pans produced by the German company that invented them, Kaiser, and not realize it.

If you like Marshalls, you should check out the small but well-stocked Tuesday Morning in Berkeley, a close-out store that carries similar and higher-end brands, like Emile Henry and Wedgwood. They usually have a good selection of electrics, too, like coffee and yogurt makers.

Ross Dress for Less is another retail close-out shop on my regular rotation, though its merchandise does not go quite as high-end as Marshalls. You’ll find bargains aplenty here if you take the time to really look — and are able to deal with the sometimes excruciatingly slow check-out lines.

I’ll visit superstore Bed Bath & Beyond for convenience — but only with a stack of their 20% off coupons. The staff is nice and they take expired coupons, too.

We all have our niche kitchenware needs, and one of mine runs to very small plastic food-storage containers. Ichiban Kan, a three-store Bay Area chain specializing in Japanese products, keeps me flush.

The subtitle of this friendly business is “different things,” and that’s certainly true. Products here are small, colorful, and fun. There are egg presses – devices to reshape boiled eggs, Spam musubi molds, sushi mats and teeny-tiny condiment bottles. This store is not to be missed.