UnHip LA

So I’ve now been to Fresh & Easy in Alhambra three times and can say this - I don’t like the shopping experience there.  The aisles are smaller than most grocery stores, so it’s hard not to run into someone.  I felt cramped and cornered there.  Also the ready-made food section looked very uninspired.  I could not bring myself to buy anything from there.  I do, however, like the tea section; it seemed to have more unique teas than most stores and A LOT cheaper at $2.15/box.  Whole Foods did not have chocolate tea, but Fresh & Easy did. (I just saw that Trader Joe’s sells tea cheaper than Fresh and Easy.)  I did get some Fresh & Easy chocolate granola bars that were hearty and tasty. I did not look forward to checking myself out though.  As I was bagging my groceries, another family started scanning their purchases, so their stuff collided with mine.  Grrrr!  After shopping at F & E, I have decided I like the little luxury of having a clerk and bag person.  F & E makes Ralphs seem like a spa.  I did see a lot of families shopping at F & E, so I’m guessing there are good deals on meat and produce.  I’m really more of a ready-made, frozen, and snack shopper, so perhaps my views of F & E are not the norm.  Also, I think the rainy weather has made me more cross than usual.  Grrrr!

Sadly I must report that some cookies I bought from Whole Foods on Arroyo Parkway were two to three months expired.  I hadn’t realized this until I took them home and bit into one of the stale, dry lumps  A friend told me that he has found expired goods at Trader Joe’s as well.  I called Whole Foods and informed them of the bad cookies.  Then I went to the Whole Foods on Foothill to buy fresher cookies AND this WF had expired boxes on the shelf as well!  For shame, Whole Foods, for shame.  And that goes to you too Trader Joe’s.  Are stores trying to trick us poor recession shoppers into buying old food?  I really don’t think it’s that hard for workers to check for expiration dates and clear out the old  It just never occurred to me that cookies would have expiration dates, but the cookies I bought were organic, so I guess they’re not the type of cookies to bring into a bomb shelter. 

The clerk who took my expired cookies was indifferent to the whole transaction, as if this happened regularly  I just wasted my time and gas to return expired food (in the rain!); the least WF could do is apologize.  The lesson to be learned here - check expiration dates on food products, especially in a recession.  I think this would be a good topic for a news article.  I unfortunately do not have the time to investigate.  This has been a public service announcement brought to you by UnHip LA. 

 

….in Pasadena!  Today I was driving uphill Lake Avenue, just north of Huntington Boulevard, and I was amazed by all the water flowing down the street.  It was like a waterfall or small rapids.  The driveways of the houses also had water gushing down from them, adding to the street torrent. I felt like me and my car were doing a little white water rafting.  I hope none of the houses experience mudslides. 

 

I’ve been meaning to blog about Burrito Kingdom in Alhambra, CA, the place where I go for my carnitas taco fix.  I’ve been to this place many, many times, and I am in love with their carnitas taco, which is juicy and spicy (with salsa) and always tasty.  I have not tried many other things on this menu mainly because I have been so pleased with the carnitas taco.  Why stray from a good thing?  This is the best carnitas taco I’ve had in L.A.!  At $1.50 each, the price is recession right with each taco having much more meat than most taco truck fare.  The freshly chopped onion is great too.

 

Burrito Kingdom
526 N. Atlantic Blvd., Alhambra, CA  91801
626-284-4809 

Tops in Alhambra also has good tacos but just not as flavorful as Burrito Kingdom’s.