Good Grass Fed Beef on the Eastside. FOUND!

[PurpleTeeth]

Hey heads up Figueroa Produce In Highland Park is now stocking Grass Fed Free Range Beef from Open Space Meats. We had a rib eye last week and it was excellent. Way better than whole foods. They also have free range organic air chilled chix that I have yet to try. Add to that their excellent selection of fresh (some organic) veggis and this little market is a gem He is also carrying coffee roasted in Pasadena that I hear is very good but I have yet to try.

www.figueroaproduce.com

http://www.openspacemeats.com/

[Harry Nile]

Thanks for the heads-up, PurpleTeeth -- Figueroa Produce is an interesting-looking place. They've only been around a little more than a year and already have a sharp (but not very informative) Web site with a blog and a Twit and Facebook presence. They also seem to carry a wide variety of goods and use state-of-the-art point-of-sale software to reduce checkout times (and have become a poster child for the software company). I wonder how many neighborhood groceries opened last year with such advantages?

There must be serious money behind all this, and in the high-risk, cutthroat family grocery business, big investment usually means big ambitions. Good -- if they can deliver the claimed quality and pricing, let them go forth and multiply.

By the way, they're on the right track if that "coffee roasted in Pasadena" is from Jones ( www.thebestcoffee.com ), which has fine coffees in their open warehouse and also sells those great little European pastries from AP-Petite ( http://ap-petite.com/ ). I hope Figueroa picks up both Jones and AP-Petite, and I look forward to seeing where their produce fits on the scale from Food4Less to Chino Farm.

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Jones Coffee Roasters
537 S Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91105

AP-Petite
140 N Lake Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101

[PurpleTeeth]

you know I think it was Jones. I don't think there is a ton of cash behind it. They guy that owns it grew up in the neighborhood. I believe he also co owns the bucket but i might be wrong about that.

[Harry Nile]

Even Warren Buffett grew up in some neighborhood. ;-) Three guys own the place according to the Web site, and I have no information about their financial backing -- I'm speculating based on the way they hit the ground running. Maybe they're just born promoters.

I am glad to hear it's Jones coffee. That's yet another reason to go.

[PurpleTeeth]

I hear ya, but talking to the owner I just didn't get a big money feel. He was worried about making enough to cover expenses and wanted very much to know what else he needed to stock. They really welcome imput, if fact I think that's why they started stocking the free range beef and chicken.

[Harry Nile]

I'll certainly stop by and give them some business. Thanks again for letting everyone know about the place.

[PurpleTeeth]

Please do! I don't want this place to go away!

[Norm Man]

How much per pound was the Grass Fed Rib-Eye (Bone-in?)?

[vinosnob]

http://www.openspacemeats.com/online-...

Not sure if it's priced the same as listed on the website.

I was buying from Open Space for a while, but thought the quality of the beef varied too much. Best grass-fed beef I've found is Alder Spring Ranch; small ranch, great people.

[PurpleTeeth]

It was pretty fairly priced for grass fed but I don't remember the exact amount. While i love the idea of ordering meat online, it is nice to be able to walk into a store and just buy 1 steak for tonight's dinner.

[Hughlipton]

Thanks for the post. I will be trying them.