Albertsons LLC

FBI Arrests Identity Thief For Taking $610,000 From Fountain Valley Bank

In December 2010, a Sunset Beach woman got a terrible surprise when she went to a Huntington Beach branch of U.S. Bank to pay off her mortgage and discovered that three weeks earlier a stranger had emptied her account of more than $610,000.According to court records, an FBI investigation determined ... More >>

Tortilla Tuesdays: La Tortilla Factory

I am a gabacho. While I have many non-gabacho food-shopping habits (markets in Tijuana, an intimate familiarity with my local Northgate, a love for nopales, etc.), when time is of the essence, I resort to the dreaded White Folks Supermarket--you know, Vons, Albertsons, Ralphs, et al.The problem is t ... More >>

Meatless Monday Recipe: Tacos Sudados

In a country where Mexican menus are dominated by tacos, enchiladas, and tamales, it's surprising that tacos sudados haven't become more popular, since they're essentially a cross between all three. Tacos sudados go by many names in Mexico: tacos de canasta and tacos al vapor are two of the more com ... More >>

Tortilla Tuesdays: La Banderita

Let's take a moment for a reality check here. Orange County has, as we've demonstrated in this column, some truly outstanding tortillas. There are tortillas in every corner of the county that are made the traditional way and which taste right. The problem is that when it is 5:18 p.m. and your dinner ... More >>

Lo Mejor del Zarandeado: Nayarit-Style Fish Bliss At Anaheim's Mariscos Los Primos

State College Boulevard in Anaheim has hosted something like a dozen Mexican seafood restaurants in the five years since I moved here. They all claim to be Sinaloa- or Nayarit-style restaurants, because those are the Pacific coast states with the strongest seafood traditions, but with the exception ... More >>

Artisan Food & Arts Festival

OC Great Park

'Pink Slime' Manufacturer Suspends Most of Its Production

​The anti-slimers have won. Or, at least, they're winning. Amid the public outcry over "pink slime," its maker, Beef Products Inc., has suspended operations at three out of four of its plants as it decides what to do next. A company spokesperson told the Associated Press that the business has take ... More >>

Vons, Albertsons, and Walmart To Stop Selling "Pink Slime" Beef

​What Louis Braindeis once said about sunlight being the best disinfectant can probably apply here. After being "pink"-listed by The Daily as sellers of "pink slime" beef, several supermarket chains have announced that they will stop offering beef that contains the filler previously known as  ... More >>

People Are Dumb. What's New?

[3hree Things] Riley Breckenridge's column drops in on the print edition every month from now on!

Merlot To Go? Stacked Wines Launches in OC

​Wine bottles in a controlled environment? Functional and classy. Wine bottles anywhere else? Clunky, heavy and kind of a hazard. Three former UC Irvine MBA students--Matt Zimmer, Jodi Wynn and Doug Allan--have come up with a pretty neat solution: stackable plastic wine glasses, perfect for luggin ... More >>

Introducing . . . 3hree Things

Riley Breckenridge's column drops in on the print edition every month from now on!

Los Chocolate Chip Cukis: The Best Toll House Variation Ever

Dave Lieberman​Quick, what was the first cookie you ever made? If it wasn't a sugar cookie, I bet it was a Toll House chocolate-chip cookie. The famous recipe is printed on the back of the bags of chocolate chips and contains no weird ingredients or odd techniques.

Tortilla Tuesdays: Diana's Tortillas

​Diana's is a chain of restaurants, bakeries and tortillerías in what are loosely termed the "Gateway" cities--in other words, the suburbs south and east of Los Angeles. I've never been to the restaurants, but my wife picked up a package of their tortillas at our local Albertson's.

[UPDATED: Tentative Agreement Reached] UFCW Cancels Grocery Contract, Removes Final Barrier To Strike

UPDATE, SEPT. 19, 11:50 A.M.: After an lengthy session that extended well past the end of the union's declared cutoff time, negotiators have announced that they have reached a preliminary agreement with the grocery stores; it looks like the strike is off for now, pending a vote by the union members. ... More >>

[UPDATED with Denial:] NO New Trial for Steve Rocco, Ex-Orange School Trustee, in Ketchup Heist

​UPDATE, AUG. 8, 8:38 A.M.: Game, set and match, The Partnership? Steve Rocco lost his bid for retrial of his ketchup theft conviction Friday when Judge Jacki Brown refused the ex-Orange Unified School Board trustee's request for court-appointed counsel and, thus, a continuation of the nonsense.

Grocery Workers Picket Albertsons HQ in Fullerton

​If you swing by the Albertsons corporate headquarters in Fullerton about seven minutes from now, you might spot your local checker.He or she will not be there to collect his or her paycheck, however. Members of the grocers' union are picketing outside 1421 Manhattan Ave. to coincide with demonstr ... More >>

Give the Finger to the Butter Cartel: Churn Your Own In Just 5 Minutes!

Flickr user cafemama​This past weekend, I was at my local Albertsons, an unremodeled throwback to the charmless 1980s that's located in a not-particularly-fancy part of town and sells a not-particularly-fancy array of products. Gelsons in some fancy South County suburb this is most certainly not.I ... More >>

Starfish Opens Today in Laguna Beach

Starfish​Nancy Wilhelm's Starfish opens today at the Albertsons plaza in Laguna Beach. As I said in an earlier post, if the name sounds familiar, she's the woman behind Tabu Grill and David Wilhelm's former wife.

Send a Pinkberry "Swirly Gram" This Valentine's (And Enter to Win a Gift Card!)

​Too practical for roses (still wrapped in cellophane from Albertson's)? This year, Pinkberry is offering the chance to send out Swirly Grams--frozen yogurt (or a gift card) all wrapped up in a bow, delivered with some heart-shaped balloons. It's all actually pretty cute, and could work for anybod ... More >>

Using Coupons Smartly for Super Bowl Sunday

Anne Marie Panoringan​ >I used to consider just shopping at Costco and Target saving money. I was wrong. So very wrong. Thanks to The Krazy Coupon Lady for showing me the light.Anyway, if you're trying not to dash to the grocery store at the last minute, here's a deal for you. Pull the Sund ... More >>

¡Ask a Comida Critic! How Can I Get Hatch Chiles in OC?

​Got this one from an amiga on Facebook:Where can I get Hatch chiles in Orange County? Not the canned stuff, but fresh from this year's harvest?The best option is to make the 12-hour trek to Hatch this weekend, when the Hatch Chile Festival will bring thousands to the tiny town and the scent of fr ... More >>

Corona Del Mar Gastropub To Open New Burger Joint In Newport

The Crow Bar and Kitchen ​The Crow Bar and Kitchen, recognized as O.C.'s first gastropub, is now going to be the first O.C. gastropub to spin-off its most in-demand dish to be the anchor of a new eatery.

Five Things Not To Buy In A Supermarket

Flickr user roadsidepictures​If you don't care enough to be bothered with a multiple-stop shopping trip, of course go right ahead and buy whatever you want at your local Albertsons or Ralphs. Try buying the following five things from specialists just once, though, and you'll be astonished by the i ... More >>

This Week in Food

The I Hate Fruitcake Hate Page​ "Stick a Fork in It" has been busy this week prepping you for the holidays!David unveils the caloric content of your typical office refrigerator during the holiday season and the results might prompt a head start on those New Year's resolutions. In addition to that, ... More >>

Get Your Roasted Hatch Chiles While They're (Somewhat) Hot!

Hopefully, gentle readers, ustedes need no introduction to the glory of the Hatch chile; if you do, read this. Salivating yet? Save it, and drive to La Habra this weekend--specifically, Albertson's, where they will be selling 30-pound sacks for $28.99 and roasting them for gratis from eight in the m ... More >>

Crime Time: Move Over, Trendzilla!

The must-have fashion accessory of the season for robbers in Irvine and San Juan Capistrano.It's the Weekly's weekly round-up of Orange County police calls . . . TUESDAY, JUNE 16Forest Firebug is a Pot Farm Exposer to Boot: Seven fires were ignited within a short distance of each other in Trabuco Ca ... More >>

Crabby Over "Orange County Food Poisoning"

John BisnarJohn Bisnar, a Newport Beach personal injury attorney (or "trial lawyer" to his conservative talk radio pals), has coined a new disease: "Orange County food poisoning." It's all right there in black-and-white--or whatever the virtual equivalent of black and white is--on the Bisnar/Chase a ... More >>

Welcome to the Poorhouse: Put-a-Head-on-It Edition

One thing I do miss about my life before the soul-crushing debt, round the clock collector calls and general feeling of numb is my nightly Newcastle. Ironically, it was around the time my financial house was falling down that I noticed the price of six packs, across the board, going up. Actually, th ... More >>

The Great Ketchup Caper Trial, Day Four

I arrived at Department C-51, the courtroom of Judge Jacki Brown--is it me, or doesn't that sound like the title of a great movie sequel?--just after 9 AM to find the courtroom nearly empty. Besides the bailiff, clerk, court reporter, and Rocco himself, who was still wearing the mysterious bandage o ... More >>

[Hey, You!] Forget It, Dude. It's Whiteytown

Wholesome Choice to Open New Store in Anaheim Hills

We have great tipsters*. Jerry de Vera is no exception. He sent me these pictures of his sighting, and it's a big one: A new location of Wholesome Choice, that Persian-market-cum-Whole-Foods-cum-International-Food-Court. He writes: "I noticed construction at this former Albertson's on my way to ... More >>

High rent prices make me wanna Ralph

Santa Ana residents living near the Weekly's HQ are going to have to find a new place for late night liquor runs - the Ralph's at 1523 W. 17th, near the Denny's and Target, is closing. It's a strange sight, seeing a major corporate grocery store branch having a clearance sale, with shelves half emp ... More >>

[Trendzilla] Skanky Club Clothing vs. Classy-But-Still-Hot, Plus the Re-Emergence of the Star Trend

Thursday's Headlines

The Shakespearean plot thickens: A 22-year-old Muslim man who was rejected by the devoutly Hindu family of his UC Irvine-attending ex-girlfriend has been charged with the murder of her father and sister, as well as the attempted murder of her mother. (LAT, OCR) Death knell for film commission: Ora ... More >>

In the Good

Visionaries are the ones weve been waiting for

Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand

Flora Springs Wine Dinner

Who Let the Power Out?

So Balboa Peninsula is always dark in terms of morals and decency. But now it's just plain DARK. Yes, I stood outside Cassidy's tonight and watched the lights flicker, waver, return to strength ... then bow out completely. After a few moments, SOME streetlights came on. And some of the neon signs in ... More >>

Hey, You, Comrade!

Albertsons Wants Me Dead

Orange school trustee Steve Rocco charges supermarket with murder attempt

Reality Check On Aisle 4

This Little Piggy Whores for Markets

Times ignores striking grocery workers, then blasts them in op-ed, business pages

The Most Horrible Man in the World

We take a ride through OCs 909!

Feel the Love

Cookie Toss

Five bakeries where county cookie monsters can munch out

Da Kine Grinds

Marukai Market classes up the hood

VU All Over Again

Rage Among the Weight Machines

Yoove Gott a Frend in Gee-zus

Sodomized

Laguna officials now admit a developers oceanfront project will cost taxpayers up to $6 million

The Big Chill