Whole Foods Huntington Beach and A Giveaway
Today Whole Foods opens their 300th store in Huntington Beach. I had the opportunity to tour it earlier this week and loved the store. They have married their Whole Food brand with Huntington’s Surf City. In celebration of their opening, I am hosting a giveaway. Details at the end.
When I go to Whole Foods I am always tempted by the array of fresh produce they feature. I saw heirloom tomatoes lined up that I wanted to throw in my bag and bring home for a Caprese Salad. Their cheese department offers the largest selection of cheese in the county.
The store blends together the organic grocer that Whole Foods is known for being with local surf side flavors and the foods of the Vietnamese community. One of the features I love about this store is the emphasis on featuring local vendors. They have 50 local brands represented in the store including the Huntington Beach gelato maker Mangiamo, a family-run business.
Another local vendor I met on the tour is Honey Pacifica. I had the opportunity to sample a few of their honeys and was pleasantly surprised at the Habernero Honey. Not for the faint of heart but very unique and spicy. The owner, John Poto, suggested brushing it on grilled chicken right before taking it off the grill.
XAN Confections located in Irvine is a vendor in their sweets section. I sampled a low glycemic Dark Chocolate and Raspberry from their Saintly Sin Collection that was delicious and only has 29 calories. The Ancho Chile Chocolate from their Jewel line has quite the kick. Can you tell I like spicy food from the samples I selected?
Their meat department features the 5-Step Animal Welfare rating program so that the buyer knows exactly how the animals were raised for the meat you are buying. They feature Mary’s Chicken, a family owned business that produces organic air chilled chicken. They feature such a variety of seafood and will cook it for you right there, if that is what you would like.
My friend Craig always shops at Whole Foods for Gluten Free products and now I see why. They have the better part of an aisle reserved for Gluten Free food. With more people becoming gluten intolerant Whole Foods offers a variety of foods to choose from.
One of the other features that is perfect for families is the weekly deals they offer. On Saturday they feature $1 tacos and on Sundays they sell a pizza for $10 that serves 8 people. A family of four could feast on tacos for less than $10.
There are so many other features this new store offers but you will have to visit and explore for yourself. The store opens today at 9 a.m. and will feature samples throughout the store.
The store is located at the Bella Terra Mall located at Edinger and Beach Boulevards in Huntington Beach.
Because this is a food blog I had to include a recipe. I selected from my archives a Grilled Peach and Goat Cheese Quesadilla that the Honey Pacifico Habanero Honey would compliment.
Whole Foods provided a Huntington Beach Reusable Shopping Bag filled with the New Good Food Book by Margaret M. Wittenburg, a $10 Whole Foods Gift Card and a bar of their Shea Butter triple milled soap for the giveaway. You must be a resident of Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii to enter. For the rest of you readers – be on the lookout for another giveaway next week!
Here’s how to enter:
1. “Like” Adventures In The Kitchen on Facebook. Then leave a comment below.
2. For extra entries Follow Adventures In The Kitchen on Twitter or our RSS feed. Leave separate comments for each of these.
3. Contest ends Saturday, October 16 8pm PST. The winner will be chosen from Random.org, will be notified by email and must “Like” Adventures In The Kitchen on Facebook.
