ALONG COMES MARY

The newest hot spot to hit in Los Angeles is, no doubt, the arrival of the inaugural 365 by Whole Foods Market. Opening its door this past week, you might be familiar with the brand, 365, as it is the Whole Foods version of popular items (and, most likely a product you rarely would say, “Oh, what a great price”) that grace their shelves.

The very first 365 Market has arrived in the LA hipster land of Silver Lake, on Glendale Boulevard, whistling distance from Occidental College and the famous Sunset Junction. While its predecessor has changed the way many Americans shop, Whole Foods has certainly made it clear that they are not for everyone’s wallet. The quality of groceries may be superior than certain favorites you purchase at your corner super market, but, let’s get real, folks: Most of us are on a budget, and paying nearly $30 for an organic, vegetarian fed, humanely raised chicken, and a side salad and Kombucha tea, is just not happening.

Enter 365. 365 by Whole Foods Market is supposed to be their version of, say, Trader Joe’s. Its got all the amenities and values of a Whole Foods, but, at a more affordable rate. I have been VERY intrigued since I first learned these “discount” stores were on their way, so, Mike and I ventured over the 134 this weekend to see how it fares!

Taking up shop in an old Ralph’s Market, 365 is very un-assuming from the street. I was a little surprised at the color schemes as it did not scream “Organic! No GMO’s! Good Prices!!” from their signs or appearance. Perhaps that is the idea? I was very intimidated by the once do-able parking lot. Yet, it was actually quicker to park than the times I went to Ralph’s at the same location. They also employ a parking attendant who was helpful at keeping the flow of traffic moving and even assisting us on nabbing our front spot.

Upon entering, it is at last clear you are in a Whole Foods lovechild. Some tables, wooden benches, selection of cart sizes and fruits and veggies aplenty are at the ready to greet you. I was a fan in about 2 minutes as I scored a watermelon for $3, peaches at .50 cents each and a huge basket of Driscoll’s blueberries for $3.

Moving onto the meats and seafood, Mike and I loved their rather ‘futuristic’ packaging methods to a lot of the meats; the container is not covered in cling wrap, with the meat moving inside. They instead cling wrap and seal JUST the meats, making it a lot cleaner and keeping your filet in place. Pretty nifty. And, I got 2 small salmon filets for $3.56, and Mike scored a chimichurri  chicken for $5.18.

One of the reasons I do find myself shopping at Whole Foods is for their deli and sushi bar. Luckily, 365 offers their hot self-serve bar (with really good deals: Small to-go dish is $5.50, medium $7.50 and a large $9.50), tons of sushi to choose from and instead of a service deli, they offer a good variety of your faves from the deli packed and ready to go like sesame tofu ($4.50) and their quinoa salads ($3.50 for a container).

The dairy and refrigerated section was mobbed. We did a quick in ‘n out there. Grabbing our almond milk by 365 as well as OJ. They were their usual run of the mill prices at $2.99. I was interested to see what the WINE options were like. Not huge, nothing special. One of my faves, Mark West Pinot Noir, was the going rate of $8.99. They also had their own wine, Three Wishes  (Think “2 Buck Chuck”) at the everyday price of $2.99, and then, Bellini sparkling wines in a can for 10.99 for a pack of 4. That caught my eye!

Their frozen selection is pretty vast, and many of the offerings in the case appeared to also be at a better than Whole Foods rate. I nabbed some gluten-free veggie breakfast patties at $3.29 for 6 of ’em, and while some of the name brands, liken Amy’s, were a bit steep, one of my gluten-free burritos was only $1.99.

Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to look much at the ice cream. But, they’ve got it. I was more interested at the adorable coffee, wine, and beer bar adjacent. If the check out lines worry you (which actually was way less scary than it appeared), you can chill out in between your shopping with a glass of wine for $7, or maybe an espresso shot for $2.

So, I was able to get salmon, fruits, juice, peanut butter, breakfast goodies, deli favorites, kombucha and some energy drinks for $26.43. This IS a good place, folks. I am almost interested to go to my Whole Foods and be a weirdo by adding up the costs of the same groceries in there. I know it would have been much more. So, I will return to 365!

(365 by Whole Foods Market is located at 2520 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039.)