Part 1: We Begin
Part 2: On the Road
Part 3: We Arrive
Part 4: The Strange Encounter
Part 5: The Best Deal (or Two) in L.A.Part 6: Land of Dreams
Part 7: Meeting New Old Friends
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The produce! Oh the produce in the L. A. grocery stores.
Even the average, nonorganic, run-of-the-mill green leaf lettuce is as fresh and crisp as if you had just picked it yourself.
Never let them tell you that travel time doesn't matter, evidently. Every store we tried had the most wonderful produce although it was rather odd to see the "locally grown" and realize it meant "from California."
Also, it was funny to see that they have the same stores but just call them something else. Let's see if I get this right ... Krogers is Ralph's (yes, really), Safeway is Vonn's, and then there's a store called Gelson's which is fairly high end but like a Simon David-ish store would be here.
Also they have Trader Joe's but after being in one in Chicago I am disenchanted. They are nothing special. Cheap but nothing special.
Oh, don't say Trader Joe's is nothing special. They aren't your every day grocer but they have great products. I love their chocolate croissants in the frozen section. They bake up in your home as good as any bakery. Their frozen boreal blueberries are the best frozen blueberries I have ever bought. There is so much more. What you need is someone to show you the treasures in the store. We drive an hour to get to a Trader Joe's and stock up on our favorites.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I didn't mean to come across as a commercial for Trader Joe's. I used to live in SoCal and I've been loving your posts on your experiences there. How I miss that place!
When I have traveled out to southern Arizona for my job, I noticed the crispness of the lettuce too. That's where a lot of it is grown. You are right, it must be the travel time and/or the refrigeration.
ReplyDeleteI agree about Trader Joes. I don't care for them, but my wife does.