Friday Quickies #6: Whole Foods, Two Chances to Meet J Gold, Blind Tastings

Whole Foods Western U.S. flagship in Pasadena: Keeping it short and sweet since every blogger, foodie community and media alive covered it already; astrounding variety and impressive quality - just set aside two hours to explore, go check it out and gawk at all the features of this 77,000 sq. ft. two-story behemoth of a market, from the freshly roasted nuts counter to the shopping cart escalator to the wine & tapas bar and all the ready-made foods available, including a very aromatic meat smokehouse. That being said, I personally wouldn't come here on a regular basis (as I did the Wild Oats, R.I.P.) -- it's just too easy for me say sayonara to my shopping list & wallet here and spend too much time and money. I can hardly believe that an hour and a half disappeared when I barely skimmed the aisles and sections on its grand opening day (which wasn't as crowded as I anticipated, thankfully). However, I would still swing by here from time to time if I'm shopping for a special occasion or looking for a unique ingredient (or maybe just to take a swig of wine & a sampling of cheeses.) For some fantastic photos of this place's offerings, go to Clare K's blog.

Two opportunities to meet Jonathan Gold: How he looks is no secret on the internet, but if you want to meet the Pultizer-winning LA Weekly food critic in person you'll have two chances at it: on November 17 he'll be at the Great Los Angeles Walk providing handouts of his favorite Pico Blvd. eateries, and on November 15 he's the guest of honor at the Society of Professional Journalists' Fall Mixer at the Redwood Bar & Grill (FYI, the mixers are not restrictive to journalists only and typically there's a significant crowd of other types such as *cough cough* PR folks and others "interested in journalism". However, regardless of your profession, do make the courtesy of letting them know you're going.) Both events are free to attend, except for whatever you'll be buying to drink and eat.

Going blind for wines?: Slate's wine critic Mike Steinberger wrote a nice piece about the supposed gold standard of "blind tasting" to evaluate wines and made a few good points about why that's not always the best method of appraisal. Give it a read and share your thoughts! (Speaking of wines . . . I had my first cork-tainted bottle last night~ a 2004 Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon that I had saved for awhile (and no, the label didn't prepare me for a damp cardboard nose, ecchh!) and forgot where I bought it from, so no dice for attempting to return it, boo. I believe the bottle was around $8-10 so it wasn't too tragic a loss.)

Finally . . . I'm heading to the East L.A. Tamale Festival tomorrow (around 11 a.m. - noon), hope you masa lovers can make it this weekend too ;)

Ok, finally for REAL this time: I've been following The Next Iron Chef, can't wait to watch the finale this Sunday! The series started out pretty weak, but got better as contestants got eliminated, giving more air-time of the remaining contenders as they prepare and present their dishes.