I know there are a million Korean places in LA. Where can I find some really good raw (unpasteurized) kimchi? Looking for a grocery store or takeout place more than a sit-down restaurant. Organic would be a plus. I like the usual red peppery kind, but open to all the different varieties.

Thanks!

In my experience of living in different parts of the US, the produce section at various WF stores varies wildly in quality. The best stuff is usually local and in season, not surprisingly.

Anything that you can cover with cheese, put in the microwave, and eat with hot sauce.

I don't live in LA anymore but the Cactus taco & burrito shack on Vine in Hollywood always had the most random crowd. Industry people, construction workers, local teenagers, random people like me who wanted carne asada. Everyone checking each other out, shooting the shit, and eavesdropping. A little slice of life. Anyhoo, apparently the quality of the food has gone down so I don't know if it's worth a stop.

The Central Market downtown has an equally ultra-diverse atmosphere with good cheap food, especially with the sawdust and the weird lighting.

365 brand:
- Tonic Water with real sugar, not HFCS
- decent organic canned beans
- organic water crackers, cheaper than Carr's

blue corn tortillas
the cheese section
seasonally cheap bags of organic citrus

I don't live there anymore, but Whole Foods in LA tended to have excellent hot food, especially burritos.

I'm no gin expert, but I have noticed that G&Ts taste better with tonic that has natural sugar, as opposed to high-fructose corn syrup. The only place in my area I could find natural tonic water was at Whole Foods-- their house brand "365".

I am a newbie to the sardine world and I have to admit they can really hit the spot sometimes.

Amazon.com has some pretty good deals on canned sardines, especially if you can get the free shipping.

Matiz Gallego in Olive Oil, 5 tins for $12.
Crown Prince in EVOO, 12 tins for about $30.
On the cheap end, Roland in Olive Oil, 10 tins for $16.

I like to dump a whole tin, with oil, into a bowl with some soft cream cheese and thin sliced onion and mash it all up. Eat with crackers and hot sauce. Cold beer is recommended.

Thanks to rworange for the inspiring survey.

This is a new fish and shrimp takeout place on the cabbie row on Orleans near Cabrini. Apparently they have fish tacos, among other things.

Anyone been there?

Whole Foods sometimes has them. Especially the monster store off of Clybourn.

Thanks for this. I just made Heart Attack Soup tonight, with some sauteed onions and garlic and way more chiles, and it is soooo good. I think the can of tomatoes had too much salt in it, though, like you warned.

Also I added a bit of lemon juice/zest (as per Louise, above) and apple cider vinegar just for the hell of it, and it worked out great.