When Sur La Table opened its first New York store in SoHo last week, efficient cooking became easier for celebrity chefs, rabid foodies, and neighborhood mac-and-cheese lovers alike.

The Seattle-based purveyor’s culinary esoterica such as truffle peelers, wasabi grinders, and laser thermometers had previously been available to New Yorkers only via the Internet (www.surlatable.com). Sur La Table’s new, 5,000-square-foot space at the crossroads of Spring and Crosby streets takes over from custom furniture-maker George Smith, on a corner that includes Starbucks, the MoMA Design Store, and Balthazar.

Founded in 1972, Sur La Table (French for “on the table”) is known not just for its merchandise, but also for its friendly and knowledgeable staff. The SoHo branch doesn’t disappoint: There are no blank stares or indifferent shrugs here. When I visited, soon after the opening, a salesman pointed me away from Le Creuset’s cast-iron pots toward the less flashy, more stalwart version by Staub. A special egg shaped pot, he explained, is used to cook mussels – with a tiny drain to siphon off excess stock. And when I inquired into the purpose of an adorable, bite-sized cocotte, he told me, “You can use it to make apple cobblers or souffles. I use mine to hold salt, on the oven.” Impressive.

The company offers a more focused and “bohemian” selection than its competitors, says chief executive Kathy Tierney. Sur La Table may need every edge it can get in the glutted SoHo food market, with Broadway Panhandler and Dean & DeLuca just blocks away.(Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table’s biggest competitor, abandoned its SoHo store, on Broadway, in 1998.)

Yet those looking for the latest, sleekest gadgets won’t be disappointed. Among its offerings are high-tech espresso makers (Nespresso, $349), rare raclettes (Swissmar, $99.95), and blenders that measure speed in rpm (L’Equip, $129). The company embraces celebrity chefs like Mario Batali – his wrought-iron panini grill ($79.95) with a persimmon-colored press is a more handsome way to drain the fat than a George Foreman grill. And even the most jaded foodies will thrill to their knife collections: A brand of Japanese Furi blades, made of powdered rather than layered steel, are exclusive to the store ($109.95-$219.95 each piece). Starting next week, Sur La Table will carry a series of knives used by Rachael Ray on her Food Network show, with silicone handles to prevent the hand from slipping toward the blade when the knife is wet. And an exclusive set of knives and scissors by Kai Shun arrives in November.

The best things at Sur La Table are the hidden treasures that remind you of a childhood treat, like the perfect ice cream scoop (Zeroll, $15.95) or egg coddler ($15.95). Then there’s the Salad Sac ($9.95), the low-tech French version of our Salad Spinner, which keeps greens fresh and dry in a bag that resembles a mint-green loofah pad. A friend who accompanied me to the store explained how his French aunt used to bang hers against the sink to shock the water from spinach.

So he bought one. Like Proust, Sur La Table understands that food, at its best, is a sublime nostalgia.

Sur La Table, 75 Spring St., 212-966-3375.