On shallow skillets and crepe pans

I cook.  I fry potatoes, grill beef and make crepes and omelets.
So I'm in dire need of good skillets and crepe pans.
As I mentioned before,  I use ceramic-glass smooth cooktop. 

Now right to the point. There are two approaches I see for pan selection.
1).  You buy an expensive pan with lifetime warranty, hope that your grandchildren will inherit it with gratitude, in two years figure that unlike kitchenware from your childhood these things don't last, but since it was ridiculously expensive, you hold on to it, curse and keep using it once in a while. Meanwhile you use approach numero dos.
2). You buy a cheap pan and unless it burns your food right from the start (in which case  you either 2a) return it or 2b) curse and send it to the dump), you 1c) use it happily for at least half a year, if you are lucky - for two, then dispose of it and buy something else using approach 1) or 2).
Both are annoying 'cause this way you spend too much time cooking with the pans that are not good for the job (and wasting too much time and money on shopping) .
There is a middle ground:
3) You buy better pans at random stores for lesser price and use them for at least 2 years.  This way you save the money and use it to travel the world. Not funny? Sorry. This way you at least don't spend that much money exploring.
If you are happy with your pan for 2 years and you are lucky, next time you can buy the same pan at random store and save money or at speciality store and save time.


Once in  a while I buy a speciality pan at a speciality store. I bought a decent Calphalon wok with gift certificates from Crate & Barrel 10 years ago (interestingly enough, the sound price of $100 stayed the same through the years)  and still use it. I buy crepe pans at Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table. My last find is de Buyer® Blue Steel Crêpe Pans from Sur La Table. They sell this skillet with pancake mix & spatula as a gift set at Williams-Sonoma but I make my own batter and I have the best  selection of spatulas on East Coast (I bet so do you), so no good reason for purchasing this set unless you are looking for a boxed gift.
I bought the biggest  - 9 1/2'' but won't mind a bigger one.

Blue Steel shallow Crêpe Pans, $$20-25, made in France

I recently bought a very good quality anodized aluminium pan at random store, says "made in China",  "Comfort cooking" and "Dishwasher safe" on the back.

Disclaimer: I own the aforementioned  steel and aluminium pans for half a year. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. I'll keep you posted. 

Pans buying guide