Results tagged “traderjoes”

This Trader Joe's-inpsired cookbook has been out since 2008, but when spotted on a bookstore shelf last night, we got a bit giddy inside. It's L.A.'s favorite grocery store (based on the amount of comments Trader Joe's posts receive), so maybe this will be our favorite cookbook. So far, we're loving it.

This unofficial commercial will surely bring a smile, a few good-hearted laughs and maybe that warm fuzzy feeling to any Trader Joe's shopper. Good times, good times.

What's with all the helicopter commotion in West Hollywood? "A car matching the description of Jasmine Fiore's [white Mercedes] has been found in the Trader Joe's parking lot," said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. The lead agency on the case, the Buena Park Police Department, told TMZ the car is indeed hers. Fiore's body was found stuffed into a suitcase left in a Buena Park dumpster on August 15th. The suspected killer, reality TV contestant Ryan Jenkins, committed suicide in a Canadian motel last weekend, but police believe Fiore's missing vehicle may hold clues about a possible second suspect.

There is a new Trader Joe's on the Sunset Strip at Crescent Heights in the old Virgin Megatore Complex. It's been open almost a month--since March 13th to be exact.

The salmonella peanut butter recall is still in effect and one of Los Angeles' favorite grocery stores had to pull back a few products, too. Trader Joe's late last week announced that they were taking caution and de-shelving their Peanut Butter Chewy Coated & Drizzled Granola Bars, Nutty Chocolate Chewy Coated & Drizzled Granola Bars and Sutter’s Formula Cookies "because the products contain peanut butter that was manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), which is the focus of an ongoing Salmonella investigation," they said in a press release.

An article in today's Telegraph.co.uk touts the recent adoption of Twitter by British-based Tesco's Fresh & Easy grocery stores. Although the article focuses on the rarity of a Brit business using what's more popular with American businesses, F&E's web-watchers Fresh & Easy Buzz point out that the Tweets are coming from California, not England:

Fresh & Easy's presence on Twitter.com isn't being maintained by a Tesco Fresh & Easy company employee based out of its Southern California headquarters or by a Tesco PLC employee in the UK. Rather, the Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Twitter site is maintained on a regular basis by SallieB, who is a social marketing expert with Tesco Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market's public relation's firm, ABCO International.

Though perhaps not gripping correspondence, Twitter does help to establish loyalty by giving customers an active way of communicating with the company's management. [...]

Continue reading "Does Your Favorite Grocery Store Use Twitter? Should They?"

What recession? Of all places, the little village that could is getting a little more useful and livable. Trader Joe's at Weyburn and Glendon already had its grand opening last month, but wait, the kids were preoccupied with finals/undie run/winter break meaning no matter how much you love the joe, it's just wasn't not good timing. Solutions? Ahem. Have another grand opening, reports the Daily Bruin. Next door It’s a Grind Coffee House should open mid January and New Jersey based sandwich shop Jersey Mike’s is expected to open tomorrow.

Yesterday Health Magazine (via iVillage/MSNBC) released their list of the nation's top ten healthiest grocery chains. The list was compiled based on the findings of six experts selected by the publication in comparing the top 35 grocery retailers, and revealed that your neighborhood big name big box can actually be good for you. Criteria for ranking included "the freshness of produce and taste of prepared foods to the healthiness of packaged goods and availability of supplemental nutritional information."

A few weeks ago, a 17-year-old agricultural laborer named Maria died of heatstroke after working for 8 hours non-stop in 100 degree heat in a Stockton-area vineyard. According to the United Farm Workers, worker charges filed with Cal OSHA claim that "the land owner where Maria suffered heat stroke continues to utilize labor contractors that don't abide by the law," such as not offering the workers shade or have water within easy access. In fact, just last week "another charge was filed for lack of water and shade at one of the company's locations."

One of Los Angeles' hidden gems in an industrial part of downtown is the San Antonio Winery, who has been around for some 91 years.

After a two-month investigation of animal abuse at a chicken farms in Central California that led to of of the biggest egg producers in the state being singled out for mistreatment, Trader Joes has discontinued carrying eggs from that vendor. "The Monrovia-based chain said it wants all its vendors to abide by industry practices for animal care," according to KNBC.

"you date a girl and find out later/she smells just like a percolator"*

Tainted sprouts might be on the shelves of your local grocery store. Although not considered a mealtime staple by many, a nice handful of sprouts can liven up a sandwich or a salad--that is unless they give you salmonella.

It looks like they can fly, sometimes. What do you do on National Pig Day anyway? I could be snarky and suggest some bbq, but I love pigs, Porky and Arnold the Pig included.

Anyone living downtown in an old converted warehouse is familiar with the specific brand of glee the comes with learning that the big empty retail space on the groundfloor of your building or across the street from your front door has finally been filled. In a downtown that is still growing and adding services for the ever-expanding resident population, any new service is met with excitement. As in: Will it be a Trader Joe's?

Trader Joes, based here in Southern California in Monrovia, made a big announcement today regarding imported food from China:

Garlic, frozen organic spinach and other "single ingredient" food items from mainland China will be phased out by April 1, although products that include ingredients from both China and other sources will remain.

Continue reading "Trader Joe's Says 'No' to Some Chinese Foods "

One of my few gripes with Los Angeles is that it's not a 24-hour town.

It's a family tradition: every year on New Year's Day, we toast slices of panettone and drink mimosas. The warm, buttery, alcohol-infused bread is the perfect compliment to a nice, dry champagne and nothing says ring in the new year like a little more liquor (provided you've survived the night before.)

I will admit, I get a little excited when I notice that Starbucks launches their holiday-time drinks menu. Candy canes and Christmastime go hand in hand for me, and at this time of year I'm a total sucker for anything that's got some peppermint in it, from Trader Joe's' Candy Cane flavored "Jo-Jo" cookies to--you guessed it--the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha. There's something wholly satisfying and just a tad indulgent about a mocha jazzed up with some wintery peppermint flavor, topped with a generous heaping of their tasty whipped cream and decorated with a cheery and festive shaking of red sprinkles.

Overnight rainstorms brought at least a dozen motor accidents on slick roads and freeways, and the light rain that is gracing the Los Angeles area right now is "expected to intensify later in the day, prompting forecasters to issue a flash flood watch for fire-denuded areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties" according to KNBC.com. These areas are particularly vulnerable to disastrous mud slides as well. The watch goes into effect at noon today and will last through the night.

• Need for food donations is increasing, while food available for those in need is on a downturn. The good folks over at SOVA in the Valley are scrambling to provide for hungry families this holiday season; rising energy and food costs are partly to blame.
• So why do I still see people checking the coin slots for loose change? AT&T is selling off their pay phones to "independent" operators; will the machines be kept in working order or will they devolve into so many graffiti magnets?
• Downtown L.A. is welcoming its first new movie theater in twenty years this week, the ImaginAsian Center -- but will its location, right next to punk club The Smell, prove problematic?
• Maybe it fell over because it had too many jello shots last night: an overturned crane blocked off the southbound lanes of the 5 freeway near Mission Hills this morning -- traffic is being diverted but the freeway has yet to be reopened.
• Gridskipper rounds up some of the worst parking lots in Los Angeles: thumbs up on recognizing the horrors of The Grove and the Hollywood Bowl but nothing deserves to be on this list more than that god damned Trader Joe's Santa Monica lot. Worst. Ever.
• I'm sorry, but men can be such useless, vile idiots sometimes: "Two males were arrested in connection with last month's stabbing death of a 19-year-old man in a case police said started when one person disrespected another." [Emphasis mine.]
• Tickets for Garth Brooks's series of concerts benefiting victims of the recent California fires sold out in less than an hour -- 85,000 tickets at $50-75 a pop, with all proceeds going to charity? Not bad, Garth, not bad!
• IWantMedia's media person of the year? Striking Writers!!!
• How's our man Rex over at Fimoculous.com doing with his 2007 predictions? "6) Jim chooses Pam on The Office. Yes! Score: 10 7) Studio 60 catches on. No! Score: 0"

This week five fresh&easy grocery stores er, "neighborhood markets," opened in metro Los Angeles. We visited the Glassell Park store located in a gutted Albertson's on Eagle Rock Blvd (map) for our first impression of UK-based Tesco's (the world's third-largest grocer) attempt to hook finicky West Coast consumers.

Last December, I embarked on a mission to find a solution to a problem in my immediate neighborhood. Trying to cross Moorpark St. on foot (or left turns in a car) during rush hour is a nightmare. There is just too much constant flow and you really have to have a brave moment to cross at the unmarked crosswalk because as we all know, there is about .001% of drivers in the city who...

Just one more reason to start buying your carrots at your farmer's market: NBC11.com and the Los Angeles Times are reporting that The Los Angeles Salad Company is recalling two brands of pre-packaged baby carrots because they might be contaminated with a bacteria called shigella. The symptoms sound like a pants-load of fun: vomiting, diarrhea, bloody poops, etc. Although no cases of sickness have been reported yet in California, the carrots are being sold at SoCal Trader Joe's and Ralph's markets.

Earlier this summer, LAist wrote about the dangerous intersection between Trader Joe's and Gelson's in Silver Lake. After numerous accidents involving pedestrians including the tragic death of Silver Lake resident Bill Winguard, progress to make the area safer is apparently underway with the installation of a new traffic signal. We spotted the stoplights in place at the Hyperion Blvd. and Monon St. crosswalk, but they had not been activated yet. The project was slated...

It was supposed to be a big deal. The signs have been up for months. Big, fancy Target on Colorado Blvd to open on July 29th. We got word that the "soft launch" of this super-new, super-big, super-special Target would take place this week. What's so special about this three-story Target? An excellent question.

As Guest Day Editor, Siel, a.k.a Green LA Girl, will be joining LAist with a few posts throughout today. Read her interview here and check out her site. Drinking and driving isn't cool -- Which is why I made the logical decision to ditch the car a few months ago. Now, not only can I drink all I want most nights, I also have a few hundred extra bucks for my drink budget each month....

"Vive l'independance!" Sure, we just hoisted back a few brews, grilled up some meat eats, and set off our own rockets' red glare on the 4th of July, but for the French--or merely fans of--today is the day of celebration: Bastille Day, which commemorates France's national uprising and storming of the Bastille prison. (We love history, but we'd rather talk parties, so if you've an inquiring mind, hop on over here and we'll continue with...