Where to shop in So. Cal.?

[greensgood]

What are your favorite places to shop in socal? best grocery store or chain? favorite thrift store? any place you know has great deals and sales?

i love the salvation army, the prices are much better than goodwill and they have 50% off clothes every week (usually wed or fri), i have found some great one of kind vintage dresses for under $10, and a lot of useful kitchen items that would have cost me 3x as much at target etc.

99 Ranch Market is so clean, the nearest one to me is chino (a bit far) but i try to make it out there once a month for my asian cooking supplies and vegetables.

i also shop often at market called Rio Ranch, there are 3 in my city, and they seem to be owned/managed by a middle eastern family, which is great because they have a full stock of m.e. ingredients at great prices. are there rio ranch markets other places?

[Amy SF]

I wouldn't say all the places I shop have great deals, at least all the time, but here ya go:

For cat supplies: Centinela Feed and Pet Supply. They have a flyer in the Sunday Los Angeles Times every week, plus I get their monthly newsletter. Both have lots of coupons included, including what used to be a 15% off everything in the store coupon, but now it's 20% off!

for groceries: Whole Foods and Trader Joe's I was just telling my sister the other day that, except for certain items that I can't get elsewhere, or as cheaply elsewhere, I now have very little interest in the big mainstream supermarkets (Ralphs, Vons, Albertsons) these days. They're very non veg*an friendly. Ralphs DOES have a natural food section, which is great if I'm already there, but I don't really have to go there specifically for that kind of thing; I can stop at the big Whole Foods on Wilshire on my way home from work, as they're much better stocked than Ralphs.

for prescriptions, clothing and other stuff: Target, stuff like cat litter deodorizer and carpet stain remover are much cheaper there than anywhere else. (you can tell what my needs are!) :lol:

I used to like TJ Maxx for clothing, but the closest store to Santa Monica was in Culver City, and that closed some time ago. :-/

I don't really like to shop much, heh.

[codemonkey]

Henry's is the best health food store ever. They've usually got the best prices on produce and they've got loads of veggie staples like tofu and tempeh and seitan and the bulk section is awesome (the Henry's near where I used to live had nutritional yeast and gluten flour in bulk.)

[maresicle]

For food, TJ's, Whole Foods, VP Discount (on Beverly Blvd) and the various Farmer's Markets...and my newest obsession is Fresh and Easy!!! Love that place :)

[gingerlove]

i love trader joes. cant find my yeast flakes anywhere else.
well henrys is also pretty great.
i shop at stater bros, just cuz it is a wall hop away from me. but they dont carry tofu, which is kind of a downer :(

for clothing, i go to ross or target...i stay away from walmarts. they are always so dirty...

[greensgood]

i shop at stater bros, just cuz it is a wall hop away from me. but they dont carry tofu, which is kind of a downer :(



some staters have tofu, just depends on the demand for it in your area.

[danakscully64]

I prefer Albertsons, although Stater Bros is good too. I think it has to do with the color of the stores *shrugs*

I live in Riverside and my favorite HFS is the La Sierra store on Pierce. They have an awesome cafe too. I love Henry's, but it's kinda a far drive (up to 45 minutes each way in traffic). Trader Joe's is good too.

[Saishoku]

I like to shop at All Vegan in the Normal Heights area of San Diego. I can't say that they are a bargain, but all their goods are Vegan and it's a small locally owned shop. I like to go get my shoes there when it's time for a new pair of kicks!

[jmb0326]

I'm in San Diego and I mainly shop for groceries at Whole Foods, Fresh & Easy, Henry's and Trader Joes.

[brokenbacktango]

(I know this is a little old but...)

I live in Upland and I split my shopping between Trader Joe's and Fresh and Easy, both right next to my house, as well as Sprouts and Ecoterra in Claremont because they are a little more specialized. I'm fortunate that TJ's, F&E and Goodwill are all within a block of my house :)

[danakscully64]

Hi, Welcome to the Veggieboards! You're not far from me at all :)

[greensgood]

(I know this is a little old but...)

I live in Upland and I split my shopping between Trader Joe's and Fresh and Easy, both right next to my house, as well as Sprouts and Ecoterra in Claremont because they are a little more specialized. I'm fortunate that TJ's, F&E and Goodwill are all within a block of my house :)

LUCKY! Upland is great, especially how the downtown area has expanded a bit more. Do you like yoga? Green Tara is the best yoga studio ive ever been to, great prices and super welcoming environment, check it our if you haven't already.

[mommyof1]

I live in Hemet, so I mostly shop at Henry's. I am guilty of geting some staple things and toiletries at WalMart because it's cheap... we have a pretty darn clean one here.
I love Sprouts in Temecula, when I have extra money (it's expensive) which is, these days, not ever. I used to do all my shopping there, but then again, we had lots of money...
God, this 'recession' SUCKS.

[danakscully64]

We're getting a Sprouts right by my house :pibo: Is it similar to Henry's?

[mommyof1]

We're getting a Sprouts right by my house :pibo: Is it similar to Henry's?

It's Henry's, but more upscale with fancier and harder to find (at least for me) stuff. Like my Henry's doesn't have ANY vegan cheese... but Sprouts has Vegan Gormet and some kinda rice milk one too. They also have the Silk yougurts and a million different flavors of Silk creamer. Just a larger selection of vegan goodness. They also have a 'deli' part where you can get certain things that are vegan, like a salad bar and some kind of southwestern tofu salad and vegan 'dolmas.' (those grape leaf wrap things) Also a way bigger selection of natural body care. All they need is vegan makeup. :D

[danakscully64]

It's Henry's, but more upscale with fancier and harder to find (at least for me) stuff. Like my Henry's doesn't have ANY vegan cheese... but Sprouts has Vegan Gormet and some kinda rice milk one too. They also have the Silk yougurts and a million different flavors of Silk creamer. Just a larger selection of vegan goodness. They also have a 'deli' part where you can get certain things that are vegan, like a salad bar and some kind of southwestern tofu salad and vegan 'dolmas.' (those grape leaf wrap things) Also a way bigger selection of natural body care. All they need is vegan makeup. :D

That actually sounds like the Henry's in Corona. I thought the two were connected, but I couldn't find that info on Wikipedia or anywhere else, seems like it used to be there. I'm SO happy that I won't have to drive 25 minutes each way to go to Henry's anymore :pibo: Now if they had only built it a few years ago, not a few months before I moved out of state :brood:

[baby_vicuña]

Trader Joe's and Lassen's are my lifesavers. The latter is over-priced but has some amazing stuff.

[JSmooth619]

Henry's, Trader Joes.

For the best produce in San Diego (selection, price) : North Park Produce, its an ethnic market. I know they have a locations in City Heights, El Cajon, Chula Vista.

[Ms.Windy]

I shop at two places...Whole Foods in Long Beach or Mothers Market in Huntington Beach.

[danakscully64]

I'm in love with Sprouts!!!!!

[cienerose]

Here in Santa Barbara we don't really have any vegetarian clothing etc. stores. As for food; I like Gelson's, Lazy Acres and Lassen's. We will be getting a Whole Foods soon too :). There's a Trader Joe's but I usually find them a little dissapointing. The least pricey place is Santa Cruz Market they're not very veggie friendly but they have really good prices If you're just shopping for basics.