66551 Thu Feb 10 19:56:18 -0800 2005 8 2 Los Angeles Area 0 359962 In honor, i'm guessing, of the spring festival, the 99 ranch in the Valley had all kindsof meat I hadn't seen before. They had wild boar, whole young goose (these were all in the frozen meat section), black (bone) chicken, squabs, quail (6 per package), venison flank, and beef pizzle. See link below for pizzle definition Link: http://www.bartleby.com/61/11/P0341100.html Thu Feb 10 19:56:18 -0800 2005 0 Jerome 1 359994 Interestingly enough, I was in that same Van Nuys store yesterday, and it looked like the produce department had the day off - talk about looking tired, and having already celebrated the lunar new year. But, yes, the meat and even the seafood sections were up to major party levels. Thu Feb 10 21:57:27 -0800 2005 359962 0 carter 2 360012 Ditto at the big 99 Ranch in San Gabriel (Del Mar & Valley) on Tues, where the meat looked pretty good and the produce bad enough that I shied away from buying much of anything (except some nice-looking rambutan). I wondered about that because usually the produce has been much better. Is this a chain-wide problem lately, or just a New Year aberration? Thu Feb 10 23:34:22 -0800 2005 359994 0 PayOrPlay 3 360020 They had replenished Van Nuys by this morning. Great selection. The day after ChunJie, they just let it alone, I guess. Fri Feb 11 00:19:50 -0800 2005 360012 0 Jerome 4 360083 Have not yet tried meat at 99 ranch in the valley but very close by on Van Owen near Balboa is the Q Market.Actually they have a Kosher Butcher and a Halal Butcher under the same roof but in seperate areas So far I found the Halal Chicken excellant and the beef very good too with great prices. You can order a whole fresh lamb for Easter. Further west on Van Owen is Valley Produce with a good meat section and very good veggies. Yesterday I bought 5 lbs of red peppers at $.79 per lb. Lots and lots of interesting foods at these two markets. Fri Feb 11 13:42:40 -0800 2005 360020 0 smiling ed 1 359995 Beef pizzle is cooked in a soup. Thu Feb 10 21:57:36 -0800 2005 359962 0 tissue 1 360004 All those things you mentioned are always there year round Thu Feb 10 22:52:10 -0800 2005 359962 0 Diamond Dog 1 360041 Now I know I wasn't hallucinating when I saw a dish of "'pizzle' in velvet" on a Chinese menu last year. I wish I saved that menu it was quite surreal! Fri Feb 11 02:32:44 -0800 2005 359962 0 Ernie 2 2622065 I was in the Ranch 99 (sorry, that's what we call it in the Bay area) in San Jose' on Hostetter Road, and you could smell the stink of rotten meat as soon as you got in the store. I can't say that it was that bad before or since, but I swore I would never buy meat there. My husband said it could have been due to a malfunction of one of the refrigerated cases, but I can't say that I have ever encountered this at a standard grocery store. It has to make you think about how the store was being managed. Fri Jun 01 16:59:56 -0700 2007 360041 93403 JoyceW