Recent Comments

From Serious Eats

Fresh & Easy? Not So Simple

I love the similarities to IKEA, frankly - I'm a big fan of clean design and simple, straightforward labelling. I also really, REALLY appreciate the fact that unlike Trader Joe's - and this is the only thing I hate about TJ's - every F&E store I've been in is laid out exactly the same. If you know where the cheese is in one store, you know where to find it in any other.

What you need to know about expiration dates is that everything on the edge of its date is marked down 50% - so if you get a loaf of bread whose pull-date is tomorrow, bring it to the attention of an employee. The product should still be usable. I bought a good-sized boneless leg of lamb for $7 under those circumstances, and it was wonderful.

Eagle Rock and Arcadia are my nearest locations for now, so I was delighted to see they're going to put one into the former Wild Oats location on South Lake. That puts it directly into my usual shopping loop with TJ's and Ralphs, and right next door to Peet's. Makes me happy.

From A Hamburger Today

Pie 'N Burger a Purely Californian Experience

I love these burgers, I really do - I've seen comments elsewhere saying they're not really any different from In-N-Out's, but the significant difference is that the patties are made by hand, and I think the meat's better as well. And while there are burgers in other categories that I may like at least as well, these are to me the epitome of the Classic Lunch-counter Burger.

As an alternative to those wonderful fries, I would urge anyone to try the potato salad, too. It's probably the best you can find at a place like this. The tuna sandwich is also a wonder of its own, a rich, dripping monster of a thing. My only disappointment here was the one patty melt I tried, but I'm sure that was a fluke - it was overcooked, had a piece of mostly UNmelted cheese the size of a large postage stamp, and was lukewarm when I got it.

From Talk

Mayo vs. Miracle Whip

Different strokes...and if you dared to serve me Miracle Whip I'd probably have one! We often had MW in our house when I was a kid, just because it was significantly cheaper - and when things got really tight, Mom had a recipe for a "boiled dressing" that was essentially homemade MW. So glad those days are gone for good...

Homemade or Hellman's/Best Foods, that's me. I really like Duke's, too, but it's not available here in SoCal.

From Serious Eats

Where to Find the Best Ice Cream in Los Angeles

Any discussion of ice cream in LA County that does not include Fosselman's is obviously incomplete, if not incompetent.

See more comments by willowen »

Recent Posts

willowen hasn't written a post yet.

Recent Favorites

willowen hasn't favorited a post yet.

Recent Polls

willowen hasn't answered any polls yet.

Recent Quizzes

willowen hasn't taken any quizzes yet.

Recent Comments

From Serious Eats

Fresh & Easy? Not So Simple

I love the similarities to IKEA, frankly - I'm a big fan of clean design and simple, straightforward labelling. I also really, REALLY appreciate the fact that unlike Trader Joe's - and this is the only thing I hate about TJ's - every F&E store I've been in is laid out exactly the same. If you know where the cheese is in one store, you know where to find it in any other.

What you need to know about expiration dates is that everything on the edge of its date is marked down 50% - so if you get a loaf of bread whose pull-date is tomorrow, bring it to the attention of an employee. The product should still be usable. I bought a good-sized boneless leg of lamb for $7 under those circumstances, and it was wonderful.

Eagle Rock and Arcadia are my nearest locations for now, so I was delighted to see they're going to put one into the former Wild Oats location on South Lake. That puts it directly into my usual shopping loop with TJ's and Ralphs, and right next door to Peet's. Makes me happy.

From A Hamburger Today

Pie 'N Burger a Purely Californian Experience

I love these burgers, I really do - I've seen comments elsewhere saying they're not really any different from In-N-Out's, but the significant difference is that the patties are made by hand, and I think the meat's better as well. And while there are burgers in other categories that I may like at least as well, these are to me the epitome of the Classic Lunch-counter Burger.

As an alternative to those wonderful fries, I would urge anyone to try the potato salad, too. It's probably the best you can find at a place like this. The tuna sandwich is also a wonder of its own, a rich, dripping monster of a thing. My only disappointment here was the one patty melt I tried, but I'm sure that was a fluke - it was overcooked, had a piece of mostly UNmelted cheese the size of a large postage stamp, and was lukewarm when I got it.

From Talk

Mayo vs. Miracle Whip

Different strokes...and if you dared to serve me Miracle Whip I'd probably have one! We often had MW in our house when I was a kid, just because it was significantly cheaper - and when things got really tight, Mom had a recipe for a "boiled dressing" that was essentially homemade MW. So glad those days are gone for good...

Homemade or Hellman's/Best Foods, that's me. I really like Duke's, too, but it's not available here in SoCal.

From Serious Eats

Where to Find the Best Ice Cream in Los Angeles

Any discussion of ice cream in LA County that does not include Fosselman's is obviously incomplete, if not incompetent.

From Serious Eats

Adventures in Shoo-Fly Pie

Pouring the foaming molasses mixture into the crumbs was the method used by the folks who introduced me to this delightful pie, and this is the first recipe I've read that tells you to do that. The peanut butter, however, I can do without. My taste in molasses runs (slowly, of course) to the heavy and barely sweet, but even when using the lighter stuff I think the molasses flavor should dominate.

From Serious Eats

Original White Lily Flour Plant Closes: The Geography of Taste

When they stopped distributing White Lily west of wherever, I resorted to stuffing 10 lbs or so in my carry-on whenever we visited Nashville, and bribing visiting Tennesseans to bring some with them. And now even that won't work!

Smucker's was always a trusted name around our house, but that just got blown to hell. My only reason to visit their website now is to see what other brands they own, so I can stop buying all of them. And I will.

See more comments by willowen »

Recent Posts

willowen hasn't written a post yet.

Recent Favorites

willowen hasn't favorited a post yet.

Polls

willowen hasn't answered any polls yet.

Quizzes

About willowen

Website:

Location:

About:

Favorite foods:

Last bite on earth: