Why I Like Trader Joe’s

There are many things that make me happy. Puppies, nice old people, blueberry scones, people getting caught cheating, etc. However, Trader Joe’s is at the top of the list. Yes, they are not perfect. Sometimes their fruit gets moldy the day after I buy it, it’s not sourced locally, and their bread is hard as rocks BUT here are the reasons why I love them still:

1. Two Buck Chuck. Okay, if you live in Kansas City like I do it’s really four buck chuck but it’s still awesome.

2. The employees are super friendly and ask weird questions. The other day I was in and the cashier asked me if I had ever seen a whale give birth. Seriously. She was awesome.

3. Free samples. Yeah, I’m cheap and unemployed. So what?

4. CHOCOLATED COVERED, COATED, SPRINKLED EVERYTHING. You want edamame covered in chocolate? You got it. You want espresso beans coated in dark chocolate? You got it. My favorite is the chocolate covered ginger bites.

5. Coffee selection is superb.

6. Seemingly cheap. Everything is packaged is smaller quantities so I might not be getting the best value but my grocery bill is significantly lower compared to other grocery stores.

7. Healthy stuff. Okay, this is a stretch considering my usual basket of goods contains the above mentioned chocolate items, pb pretzels, tortilla chips, ice cream… but their tortilla chips have flaxseeds in them so that’s healthy right???

8. I like that I can go there at 8pm and it’s still well stocked. And they tend to give me free stuff right before they close so it’s a win win situation.

9. It’s small. While this leads to sometimes overly crowded isles with lost kids, strollers, and not so nice old people, I like that I can find everything easily and quickly.

10. Did I say chocolate covered everything?

 

 

Breakfast Pioneers

Please read this article from Good.is about saluting Mr. Lender and Mr. Glazer for bring bagels and drip coffee into every home.

“It may seem strange to celebrate the consumer culture behind these products in this age of local food and micro-economies. Mass-produced frozen bagels might not be winner with locavores (or people from New York), but every local bagel bakery owes some thanks to Lender for the cultural impact of his vision; besides, there’s room in the market for convenience and gourmet products.”

source: good.is

“While the home coffee pot and the bagel are ubiquitous today, it took vision for Lender and Glazer to spot the need for these products in peoples’ lives. It’s worth a modest celebration of the market economy when you see how the confluence of idea, resources, and consumers helped bring a small convenience into the mornings of millions. Raise your bagels and sip some coffee for Murray Lender and Sam Glazer.”

WTF TWD?

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a deadhead. No not The Grateful Dead, but The Walking Dead.

Holy crap, did you see last night’s finale? The helicopter? The prison? The crazy hooded lady with the armless zombies? They are all infected? Is Shane really dead? I can’t wait until next season, but until then I am interested in this:

Run For Your Lives 5K Obstacle Course Zombie Race

Run a 5K while fake zombies chase you? SIGN ME UP. I’m not really into extreme racing like Mud Ruckus, or other obstacle course races, but if zombies are involved, I’m in.

Breakfast at Urban Table

After a long early trip to the DMV, my mom and I grabbed breakfast at a new favorite of mine, Urban Table. This restaurant is a part of Bread & Butter Concepts, which also own BRGR and Gram & Dunn.
I ordered the steel cut oatmeal and my mom had their “LA Sammie.” Oh dear. They gave me what might possibly be the biggest serving of oats known to man, but hey, I won’t complain. I also tried a bite of my mom’s sandwich – holy truffle oil! Eggs, fontina cheese and truffled butter goodness. That’s all I have to say.
If you haven’t tried this place out yet I would definitely go for breakfast. Their dinner is good too, but it can get a little pricey. Their breakfast/brunch is where it’s at!

Now if I could only get rid of this truffle breath….

Staycation

I am currently enjoying the warm weather at home in Kansas City. This week temps are going to reach the 80s and the sun is shining. Who needs a tropical get-away when I can make this a staycation! (For the record, I choose a tropical getaway over KC any day, but the budget isn’t that big this year 😉 Maybe next year!) 

To be honest though, I am most excited for an early opportunity for ice cream! I try to save my ice cream splurges for the summer, but this warmer weather will let me pretend it’s ice cream time. Or frozen yogurt. I’m not picky. 

On the topic of ice cream, have you tried Jeni’s? SO GOOD. I lived in Columbus, OH for a year and visited the flagship store often. The salted caramel is divine, i’m salivating at the thought of it. I heard Whole Foods has started carrying it  – while it is expensive, I promise it is worth it! 

Cheers!

Coffee Scientists

I recently read this article about a new St. Louis coffee shop called Sump. I love this new trend of elevated coffee and different brewing techniques. It looks like coffee will never get old, and I am perfectly content with that. Can’t wait to try this place out! Plus, I love the owner’s beard!

source: St. Louis Dispatch

Lana or no Lana?

born to die

This song and video has been stuck in my head all week and I can’t decide what I think of Lana del Rey! I mean, I obviously like this song but her SNL flop and bad live reviews are making my hipster-wannabe side uneasy. What do you think?

 

Sushi date

Tonight we tried a new sushi place that I fell in love with. It looked packed when we drove by looking for a parking spot, and we almost just turned around to go back to our usual place. I’m so glad we didn’t! We were offered to sit in the their new “floor room” as our waitress called it. We took our shoes off and crawled into this small room

So fun!

Winter Fancy Food Show

This past weekend I was lucky to tag along with my summer employer, Hippie Chow Natural Foods, to visit San Francisco for the international Fancy Food Show. This show invites small and large gourmet food companies to come together to network and expand their businesses. For me, this meant I was able to try hundreds (literally hundreds) of samples and talk to some intense foodies. I met the owners of some of my favorite food companies, such as Jeni from Jeni’s Ice Cream and the Justin Nut Butter Crew. I tried cheeses from France, hummus chips (so good!), truffle popcorn, bacon jelly, lots of pour over coffee and sea salt chocolate. I was able to explore some of San Fran as well on my down time. We ventured over to the Ferry Building and ate at Gott’s Roadside Diner, Boudin Bakery at the Fisherman’s Wharf, croissants at Tartine Bakery and Blue Bottle Coffee.

I could get used to trips centered around food 😉

Foodies Unite!

I am in a foodie paradise and I don’t want it to end! A full recap to follow, I am headed back to the Midwest in the morning. Highlight of the day was espresso and breakfast at Blue Bottle Coffee this morning.