Bulk grains and beans?

[GJWhite]

Any recommendations on where to buy bulk chickpeas or quinoa etc? Preferably on the west side?

[libra20]

Co-opportunity in Santa Monica has an amazing selection of bulk foods. Lots of items that you won't find many other places, too. http://www.coopportunity.com/

[goodhealthgourmet]

love Co-opportunity. my favorite source for bulk!

[Will Owen]

Well, I didn't know there was a co-op in LA County, but I'm not exactly astonished to find one in Santa Monica!

[goodhealthgourmet]

it's a wonderful little store. pricey, but most of the stuff they sell is of excellent quality. i just had to laugh at the timing - i made that comment yesterday morning, and my member refund check from last year showed up in the mail later in the day.

[Servorg]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/826910

[pine time]

Not sure about LA, but in San Diego, the Sprouts chain has great bulk prices. I love buying that way--just enough to try a new recipe, and if we like the grain/seeds/beans, will buy bunches more next time.

[Will Owen]

Here too, but I think the only Sprouts store west of Monrovia in LA County is in east Pasadena. I've found some okay stuff there, but they're even heavier on the candy-type items and lighter on bean and grain varieties than Whole Foods. They were advertising steel-cut oats in their flyer, but there was none in the store and the employee I asked didn't know what I was talking about.

[pine time]

Wow, our Sprouts is much better stocked, but then, it previously was a Henry's, so they kept that inventory.

[goodhealthgourmet]

there's a Sprouts on Sepulveda in Culver City...
http://sprouts.com/stores/sprouts-cul...

[GJWhite]

Great! Does sprouts sell dried beans as well?

[goodhealthgourmet]

they do. but a word to the wise, they also have a huge bulk selection of candy, trail mix, granola, and snacky-type things, so if you're into that, don't go there on an empty stomach ;)

[Spaceechik]

Sprouts is also in Burbank, on San Fernando Rd, 1 block NW of Burbank Blvd. No t any that I know of in Koreatown, but there's one on Hoover and 30th(?) by USC.

[Will Owen]

There's always Whole Foods. Their reputation is for priciness (i.e. "Whole Paycheck"), but the bulk stuff is of good quality and not expensive at all; I can fill up four old McCann's tins with steel-cut oats from WF for about what one new tin of McCann's would cost me. I had a big bag of quinoa we've finally gone through that was pretty cheap too. Their bean selection is disappointing to me; I'd prefer they ditch a few of the sweet snacky-poos, and who needs more than three kinds of granola?? But they sell what sells. I'm going to bet they do have chickpeas, though I've never bought dry ones.

Closest to what's commonly called "west side" would probably be the one on Fairfax at 3rd, across from the Farmer's Market.

[westsidegal]

also, the venice location on Lincoln near Rose might be considered "westside" and the one at Barrington and National might also be considered "westside" although it seems to me that the best of the WF bulk food departments that i have tried is to be found in the one in El Segundo Plaza at rosecrans and sepulveda.

[Will Owen]

My own definition is the stubbornly geographical one: West is anywhere west of Main Street, East is east of it. So there.

Back on-topic: The giant WF here in Pasadena is the biggest I've seen, though the even newer one out in Nashville might be a tad bigger (and of course hardly relevant to the question at hand). I would like to check out that El Segundo one; I think a south-bay foodie excursion, including that and Penzey's, might be in order.