a taste of wales. at costco?

No, sillies, this isn't a tale of eating a whale!

It's true. Most Angeleno's don't know where Wales is, and they sure as hell don't know that one of their national foods is the cockle. Wales is one of the four countries (yes, it's its own country), that comprises the United Kingdom - that land across the pond we often assume falls under the blanket "England" that most certainly does not. A country rich in history and tradition, bordered primarily by the Irish Sea with lush hills and valleys, craggy cliffs, and patches of desolate coal-like terrain, it's no surprise many of the local foods come from the sea.

So, what on earth is a cockle? It's a lot like a small clam. Brits eat them as snack food, served outside of their pale orange and green hued shells in paper cones with a bit of vinegar. You can even get jars of them pickled at local groceries. The Welsh do the same, but it's more common to see them served as you would other bi-valves for dinner, and more often, on a breakfast plate with another local staple called laverbread (pronounced lavahbread), which is a made from a type of seaweed - Porphyra - native to the cold and rocky north Atlantic shores west of Swansea.

Imagine my surprise when I saw none other than a big ol' five pound net bag of live, fresh cockles staring back at me from a bed of a ice in the live seafood stall at my local CostCo - in Marina del Rey! Naturally, the first thing I did was pick up the phone to call my Welsh boyfriend! I had to repeat myself a few times before he realized I was, in fact, saying cockles. I promptly bought the bag - while a couple of onlookers asked me what they were and what I was going to do with them - and he promptly called his mother for cooking instructions. The bit about boiling them for a couple of minutes sounded like crazy talk, but after getting my way to throw in some herbs, garlic and a hefty bit of white wine, and agreeing to hold the salt (it comes from the shells), we did just that.

They smelled so good, we had a few fresh out of their shells as soon as they'd cooled just enough to handle, and they were absolutely delicious. The pink-orange flesh was so sweet, tender and fragrant it was like no clam I'd had before. To be blunt about it, I'm not much a fan of clams, but I could have easily sat down and polished off the lot.

We saved the remainder to chill and snack on with a bit of vinegar and crackers, and those were quite tasty too. Now I'm looking forward to having some with laverbread when we're in the UK for the holidays!

No guarantee they'll regularly carry them, but if you don't want to hop on the next flight to London, head to your local CostCo and give some a try.

CostCo Store #49
13463 Washington Blvd
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 754-2020

the british invasion arrives in la: fresh & easy

Considering I live with a homesick Brit, we've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the UK grocery giant, Tesco's, since we first heard they were setting up shop with a brand in the states more than a year ago. Today the first wave of the British invasion arrived with the grand opening of their first six CA stores. The prospect of having a local British grocer was almost too much to bear, so as soon as we could, we hopped in the car and headed east to check out the Eagle Rock store.

What you may fondly remember as the 70's Lucky's on Eagle Rock & El Paso (as I do, from early grocery trips there with my uncle in his big white Caddy), is now a bright beacon of northeast LA gentrification.

As one would expect on opening day, the parking lot was a bit of a zoo, but they had the good sense to have some very helpful attendants on hand. A bit smaller than your average chain grocery, the shop felt like the love child of Ralph's and Trader Joe. Though there weren't many of the Brit food items we were hoping to find, the store boasts a wonderful selection of fresh and packaged foods, primarily carrying the Fresh & Easy and From Our Kitchen labels, simply packaged and at great prices.

Produce was presented in neat bins, bagged and boxed in pretty value packs. The same was the case for the pantry and baked items including some tasty cakes and fresh breads. Though they don't market themselves in the way Whole Foods does, I did notice a good number of items were organic and/or all natural. The bargain priced $1.79 large, free range, brown eggs from "hens housed in an area where they are free to run, play and nest on a diet free of antibiotics and hormones" were a nod in that direction. Same was the case with many of their meats, including the (delicious out of the broiler) beef and pepper kebabs with no added hormones or antibiotics. From what I hear, they're also introducing an entire green fleet of freight trucks.

A distinctly British element was evident if you looked for it - features on watercress and arugula (rocket in the UK), goat's milk yogurt, puddings and mini-cakes, Indian takeaway frozen dinners, English cheese, and, the holy grail of Brit shopping in LA - UNCURED BRITISH BACK BACON. That's right. They carry fresh rashers. Albeit on the thin side, at $4.99 a pack, we could hardly contain ourselves and did a little dance in the aisle before stocking up!

Fresh & Easy execs were amongst the crowd, clucking about like the nervous hens laying their eggs, straightening up displays and making sure every bit of the nest was in order. It wasn't hard to pick them out of the crowd, especially given the Union Jack belt one was wearing. Another told us bringing in the British Brand Bacon was a risk they almost didn't take, but said it had been flying off the shelves with all the ex-pats coming in. She suggested we try a couple of her favorites - the Tomato Basil Soup and Blue Corn & Chili Lime Crackers. (I'd buy both again). In keeping with their mantra to "listen to the customer" we were encouraged to go online and leave a list of items we'd like to see in the future.

Unlike TJ's, this is a one stop shop for all of the necessary evils - they carry everything from Tide detergent and Axe deodorant, to Coke and Pepsi. Small sections of seasonal wrapping paper in the back and greeting cards in the front seemed like a bit of an afterthought in comparison to the rest of the store, but they were enough to meet any last minute emergency needs and I imagine they'll fill out as the store settles in.

Move over two buck Chuck. There may not be much of a wine section to speak of here, but they do sell Big Kahuna Shiraz for $1.99.

Checking out was a bit of a surprise. All of the check out lanes are self-serve. You can scan your own items, swipe your card to pay, bag and go. No coupons, no club cards, no nonsense. On the way out they thanked us for shopping and handed us a reusable shopping bag to use on future trips, along with a coupon for $6 off our next visit. Not too shabby.

All in all, this was a five star shopping experience - a well laid out and aesthetically pleasing space (wide aisles, high ceilings and polished concrete floors), quality foods, good selection, tremendous value (we left with five bags of groceries for $75!), and friendly service. And, of course, British bacon! We'll definitely be back.

Keep an eye out for the next wave of stores opening in the coming months, including one on the west side at Hollywood & Sycamore.

Want more? For a Brit's perspective on all this, check out Beer's review.

4211 Eagle Rock Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90065

(323) 255-1113