Costco Wholesale Corporation

Valley Strip Club With Pot Shop Next Door Targeted by L.A. City Hall

If we told you there was a strip mall in L.A. where guys could spend the day actually, really, truly enjoying the retail environment without moping around, pretending to shop, and checking their smartphones while sitting on the nearest bench, you'd probably say no such thing. But it exists, sort of ... More >>

[Updated] Pomegranate Seeds Recalled in Hepatitis Outbreak

Updated July 1, 11:34 a.m.: The Food and Drug Administration says it will detain shipments of pomegranate seeds from a Turkish company when offered for import because of a multistate outbreak of hepatitis A illnesses linked to a frozen-food blend containing pomegranate seed mix, the Associated Pres ... More >>

[Updated] Frozen Berries Recalled, Lawsuit Filed as Hepatitis Outbreak Grows

Updated, June 12, 11:22 a.m.: The outbreak of hepatitis A linked to a frozen berry mix sold at Costco has grown to 99 people with illnesses in eight states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak has also spawned more lawsuits, including cases filed against food pr ... More >>

Frozen Berry Blend Sold at Costco Tainted With Hepatitis

The package says "organic" and "antioxidant," so you think you're doing something positive for your health. Unfortunately, missing from the label is "with hepatitis and God knows what else added." The Food and Drug Administration is investigating an outbreak of hepatitis A linked to a frozen organ ... More >>

Weird World of Wine: A News Round-Up

Slate: The William Koch lawsuit over counterfeit wine sparks a look at how a $10,000 bottle of wine is a show of "prestige, rarity and age" and not necessarily of quality. NPR: New Jersey winemakers are seeking to formalize a geographical label of sorts -- Outer Coastal Plain -- to circumvent stere ... More >>

Q & A With Costco's Syd Birenbaum: Best Bargain Wines, $18,000 Sales His Cure For Your Never-Ending Headache

If your wine-buying strategy at Big Box discount stores typically involves grabbing a case and getting out poste-haste, you might want to reconsider sticking around for a chat with Syd Birenbaum, the unexpected wine specialist at the Costco in Marina del Rey (known as the Culver City branch). Biren ... More >>

Free Food This Week: Fatburger, Buffalo Wings Juice

We seem to be making our way out of the recession, as recent Labor Department stats indicate, but even the more financially secure wouldn't dismiss the appeal of free food. There are two giveaways in town this week -- and they're not going to be Costco-sized fun bites. First up, the Fatburger/Buffa ... More >>

Los Angeles City Council District 3 Primary Results: Bob Blumenfield Wins Over Joyce Pearson

Despite his massive spending, Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield barely gained the votes needed to beat neighborhood council activist Joyce Pearson in Los Angeles City Council District 3 race in the West San Fernando Valley. Blumenfield, one of the more audacious job-hoppers from Sacramento, who has nea ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 10/22 - 10/26

In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "We're kind of worried that the folks at the big box store know something we don't, as the new seasonal catalogue has some sobering emergency food options." 6 Things on Sale at Costco.com: Your Holiday Dinner Party, My Apocal ... More >>

6 Things on Sale at Costco.com: Your Holiday Dinner Party, My Apocalypse

Whether you're making plans for the holidays -- or for the end of the world -- Costco.com has you covered. We're kind of worried that the folks at the big box store know something we don't, as the new seasonal catalogue has some sobering emergency food options. Are they trying to warn us that the f ... More >>

Gas Prices Could Reach All-Time High in L.A. as Some Stations Expected to Shut Down

Southern California is an island of gas-price hell this week. One station in Calabasas is charging nearly $6 ($5.89 to be exact) a gallon for high-octane fuel, the Costco in Simi Valley has run out of regular-grade gas (with other stations expected to follow suit), and one expert tells us that all-t ... More >>

Salmonella Outbreak Tied to Smoked Salmon

Salmonella has nothing to do with salmon. Until now. Smoked salmon tainted with the bacteria has sickened hundreds of people in the Netherlands and the United States, sparking a major recall, the Associated Press reports. (Fascinating fact: The genus Salmonella was named after Daniel Elmer Salmon, a ... More >>

Porkocalypse: Will There Be A Pork Shortage Or Not?

Can it really have only been a couple of days ago? Yes, news of the porkocalypse began to spread just earlier this week after a British trade organization, the National Pig Assn., put out a press release stating that "A world shortage of pork and bacon next year is now unavoidable." The reason?

Joan Rivers Costco Book Signing Stunt Executed Perfectly (No One Was Shot): VIDEO

Crazy old lady walks into a Costco ... The joke starts that way and ends with Joan Rivers being escorted out by very patient Burbank police. You know that if the tale began with Young Latino walks into a Costco, sets up a table and attempts to autograph his own stack of books, it would have ended ... More >>

Most Meat Is Full of Antibiotics, Survey Finds

Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York has released the results from a survey of more than 60 fast food, retail, production and grocery companies asking them about their policies on the use of antibiotics in meat and poultry, Forbes reports. The purpose of the survey was to evaluate their level of transp ... More >>

USDA Relents on Pink Slime; Schools Can Opt Out

The people spoke, and they said, "No more pink slime!" And this time, the feds actually listened, kind of. Last Monday, we told you how the U.S. Department of Agriculture was planning on shipping out 7 million pounds of "pink slime" to be added to the lunches of unknowing urchins at public school ... More >>

Blackout Lawsuit Seeks Class Action Status in Federal Court For Millions Affected by SoCal's Electricity Outage

the arcticSan Diego, in the dark.​Two plaintiffs are suing Arizona Public Service Company, it's corporate parent, and San Diego Gas & Electric over the Great Blackout of 2011. The suit seeks class-action status, which means that anyone else in the same situation could, if approved by the court ... More >>

Top 5 Food Festival Etiquette Rules

Guzzle & NoshCrowds at the 2010 LA Food Festival.​Summer is the season of food festivals. Whether it's beer, pancakes or food trucks, this is the time of year we line up (or sit down) at weekend events for samples of exotic and exciting foods. Unfortunately, some of us don't quite know how to ... More >>

L.A.'s Idea of Korean Food vs. What Koreans Really Eat

​ Our continuing series of Venn Food Diagrams has explored American regional and a smattering of international cuisines in no particular order or with any sense of geographic or cultural continuity. We're taking another random trip from the land of tater tot hot dish to the land of kimchi hot ... More >>

Wal-Mart Buys Up Monster Lot in Burbank; Facebook Protesters Say 'Hell No'

Facebook​There comes a time in every sleepy suburban town's life when it must go head-to-head with the Wal-Mart empire. There is the initial outcry -- the sidewalk picketers, the angry speeches at City Council meetings -- and, too often, the inevitable defeat. (Followed by a sheepish midnight ... More >>

Rich Fireman Named in Shoplifting

In El Segundo, where firefighters make $210,000 a year, anger spills over

Olive Oil Taste-Off, The Italian Edition: Is That Affiorato Worth The $60 Price Tag?

J. GarbeeHigh Rent District Olive Oil​The market is flooded with extra virgin olive oil, but like chocolate, the variations in quality and price are mind numbing. Nor is price a guarantee of the best flavor. A taste-off was inevitable when a bottle of single varietal O&CO Affiorato (available ... More >>

Ask Mr. Gold: The Super Bowl Edition, or Where To Get BBQ For The Game

Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, with dim sum menu​Dear Mr. Gold: Can you recommend anywhere to get takeout food for Super Bowl Sunday? Perhaps barbecue? Thanks! --S. Goin, Los Angeles Dear Ms. Goin: Barbecue is a fine idea, in fact probably the best. My in-laws favor vast trays of jalapeño poppers fr ... More >>

Moochers United: Top 5 Places to Get Free Samples

Froyo samples at Menchie's​ No such thing as a free lunch? That's just what we tell the suckers to keep 'em off our turf. You stick with us, kid, and you'll soon be eating 1,000 calories a day out of tiny white cups. The free sample phenomenon is a beautiful thing, and we have spent countle ... More >>

Q & A With Lou Amdur (Part 2): Lambruscos, Blanc de Blanc Champagne and The Effervescent Cure-All Known As Alka-Seltzer

Anne FishbeinLou Amdur, of LOU: A Wine Bar​In part one of our conversation with Lou Amdur, owner of Lou: A Wine Bar, we asked him for suggestions about what to drink on New Year's Eve, and he sang the praises of yeasty proseccos and fizzy red lambruscos (especially the ones made by third gener ... More >>

Lunch Hour Show At Blue Plate Oysterette: The Health Inspector And The Hot Dog

J. GarbeeDan, the health inspector​If you've ever worked the front or back of the house in the restaurant business, you're likely very familiar with "the look." It's the moment when the hostess' eyes widen, followed by a quick head nod towards anyone on staff -- anyone -- to please god hurry u ... More >>

Lasagna To Go?

Try the "cupcakes" from Heirloom L.A.

Ask Mr. Gold: Lasagna to Go? Try the "Cupcakes" from Heirloom L.A.

Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, with dim sum menu​Dear Mr. Gold: This weekend, we're having some fellow parents over for a playdate with our 2-year-olds, and then dinner. With all that 2-year-old energy going on, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to buy a lasagna, so I don't have to slave away in th ... More >>

What About Babka: 5 Spots for Chocolate Babka

​ At its best, babka is crack-like in its ability to burrow into the psyche, forcing its gooey sweetness into the crave-generating centers of the brain and not letting go until you have ingested far more than your digestive system can handle. An Eastern European cousin of coffee cake, the rich ... More >>

Lady Gaga's Raw Meat Dress: Your VMA Meat ID Test

MTV/Christie BishopLady Gaga's VMA Meat Dress​If you tuned in to Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards and thought that Lady Gaga looked like a piece of meat, you'd be right. The singer, praised as much for her extreme fashion sense as she is for her consistent presence on Billboard's Top 10 l ... More >>

Best Bargain Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Costco Kirkland Organic

J. GarbeeKitchen Window Essential​If you've been following our reports on the imported Italian olive oils that a recent U.C. Davis report claims are falsely advertised as extra virgin (in a nutshell, pretty much all staple supermarket brands, though there is still much debate), you're likely a ... More >>

5 Most Disgusting Items In The Trader Joe's Freezer Aisle

Trader Joe's is really inexpensive. To be honest, it is at times somewhat frighteningly so. But we continue to shop there, mainly because of those low prices, their large wine selection, snappy packaging and generally friendly staff. It is a brand we've come to trust, without ever really stopping to ... More >>

Top 10 Food Habits You Picked up During College & Probably Miss

Flickr/JenguinThe college lifestyle​You may have left college eating habits behind, but still find that passing the canned food section at Ralphs leaves you feeling nostalgic for your freshman year in college. So from Hot Pockets to dirt cheap beer, we've put together a list of our favorite co ... More >>

Cellar At Your Own Risk: Wine Is NOT Earthquake Proof Our 5.0 Weeknight Value Picks

Flickr User scottottoOf Course The $4 Rosé Didn't Break​ As soon as we realized that no, we were not on a cruise ship sans Dramamine, Squid Ink did what we suspect most folks do during an earthquake: we lunged for the few prized bottles of Russian River Pinot still remaining from a particular ... More >>

Free Fried Chicken Big Discounts at Beverly Boulevard Shopping Event

When was the last time you had the chance to enjoy free food and drink while you did your holiday shopping? And no, Costco doesn't count. Tomorrow, December 17th, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., more than twenty Beverly Boulevard stores--from La Brea Avenue to Curson--will stay open late to offer specia ... More >>

A Q&A With Martha Stewart: Her New Book, What She Thinks of Gourmet, And Cooking to Ludacris

photo credit: Valerie Schaff​Martha Stewart is coming to town this Monday to sign copies of her new book, Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home: 52 Quick Meals to Cook for Family & Friends. For all of you keeping track, this is Martha's 67th cookbook. We spoke with her yesterday by phone in her New ... More >>

Top 10 Free Samples: Where to Eat in L.A. Without Worrying About Things Like, Say...Money

User Lucyrk in LA, from the LA Weekly Flickr pool.Wanna try a tomato?​You don't have to go full freegan to eat without a wallet. Times are hard, but that's no reason to deprive your stomach of tasty treats. Here are our Top 10 spots for free edible samples in Los Angeles: 10. Trader Joe's For ... More >>

The Thomas Crown Affair, Lancaster-Style

Forget Philip Marlowe's line about a tarantula on a slice of angel food. The Antelope Valley Press is more like a crack pipe wrapped in a tea cozy. The newspaper's stories about life in the suddenly hardscrabble High Desert tend to be a mix of the homey ("Cheerleaders Show Spirit at Contest") and th ... More >>

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