when we opened up grocerie, our orange haired love-child next door to foodink catering at 1107 s la brea, we had a dream of getting more tasty treats daily to the people with a little bit of style & a lot of love!  here we are twelve months later and looking forward to our first opening day anniversary.  it’s been a great year where we have connected with many of our neighbors in the 90019 hood as well as local businesses like the neighborhood news, parklabrea news, cordially invited, longwood highland association, in-mode furniture,  the casting lounge, otto munder designs,  - and that’s just within our mile!

we are continually developing our menu, fresh grocerie options, retail items & holiday  specials and with the help of jonathan solarzano, our new retail manager and maureen tatro, our lovely girl-monday+tuesday and kathleen roos, grocerie’s new chef under guidance of Emma Coriz, our Executive Chef; we are bringing in fresh ideas, opening for breakfasts & soon weekend brunches on saturday AND sunday.  Jonathan has introduced grocerie (and me!) to kombucha, to which I am now addicted, especially health-ade’s versions with gorgeous labeling. below are some of our favorite photos from the last year!

stop by on saturday may 11 to have an early mother’s day celebration with us – we’ll be pouring mimosas free with your purchase of fresh grocerie, gift items for mom or even a mother’s day brunch-in-a-bag special!

AND THANK YOU TO ALL OUR FABULOUS LOYAL CUSTOMERS, FACEBOOK FANS, YELPERS, TWITTER, TUMBLR, PINTEREST & INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS!

fourth festivities at grocerie by foodink!

we’re just passing the halfway mark for the year & that means fireworks & the fourth are soon!  even though grocerie is now running at full tilt, we’re all planning get-togethers with friends & families on wednesday, which is shaping up to be an amazing day of LA weather so far! don’t forget to keep your pets indoors – perhaps even tuck them up in their favorite dog bed or crate, as the noise of the fireworks can be so alarming to them.

the organic vegetable bed is starting to get leafy and taller than my husband! our tomato plants are really starting to take off and it occurred to me this morning as I picked bushels of sweet 100 cherry tomatoes  that I am successful with figs, tomatoes and arugula!  I have the makings of one of my favorite salad combos, but lack the goat cheese.  I may read up on rearing goats & making cheese over the holiday weekend….

in other garden news, the legendary foodink fig tree is just about bursting – but with not ready to eat green figs at the moment.  our tree is a “brown turkey”  variety, which means it gets about two growths in season.  we’ve opened up the competition on our Facebook page to guess which date the first fig is picked – winner will receive a complimentary fig & pomegranate lemonade in a eco-friendly french re-sealable bottle.  First re-fill will also be on us!  fan us on Facebook to see the details – and put your best guess forward!  later on we’ll blog some of our team’s favorite fig recipes for you to try.

on the fourth itself, as I toast the lit up skies,  i’ll be thinking about how incredible it is that each person who lives in this amazing and complex country can be whatever their dreams allow.  not many places give you that, and as a newly minted citizen, I appreciate everything that this holiday is celebrating!  have a fun & safe fourth -

kate & the foodink + grocerie team

April has drawn to a close and suddenly at foodink we’re all thinking about our to do list before the year gets away from us !  First on our list is our café re-vamp, opening up for Mother’s Day in our new space next door at 1107 South La Brea. We’re going to be introducing some great new menu items to make your lunch or dinner heat-at-home and party planning faster & easier, and will post the daily menu specials on our facebook page.  Mostly, we’ll look forward to seeing our regulars & neighbours again, who have been popping in to say hello & check on progress!  Stay tuned for our opening day specials & a sneak peak at the setup.

We got our vegetable box planted early this year & the Sweet 100 tomatoes are on track to take over already, as is the arugula.  Squash blossoms are starting to appear so they will feature on menus shortly as appetizers, julienned into salads & as a tempura garnish on a good filet mignon.  Two new items in the organic box this year are a Tuscan melon, and a hanging strawberry garden.  The first of the berries was presented to me as a strawberry mimosa one Sunday morning after a long event week – and was quite delicious!  Hoping that when our April weather settles down & warms up a bit that the natural sugars will come through a bit more so we can start to put our petit strawberry tartlets in the dessert case at the café.

This week also brought some gorgeous baby peas to the garden, which I turned into one of my favourite salad dishes ever, asparagus with peas, mint & shaved ricotta salata –recipe link coming!  We think it makes a great brunch item for Mother’s Day, and something easy for the kids to do.  However, if you’re not up for the cooking – let us do it for you!  We’ve got a tasty menu you can pick up on Saturday to be ready for breakfast in bed on Sunday. We wish all the mothers in our foodink friends & family circle the loveliest of days.  Thank you for all that you do!

Mangia! And happy May Gardening….

when we got asked by one of our favourite clients to help plan a surprise birthday party for his friend, little did we know that we would end up being at one of the most swinging parties of the season!

60s era food was the dinner vibe served at our couture canapé buffet (think mini shrimp martini cocktails, individual fondues and iceberg wedges) and a chef-manned indian grill were enjoyed by the guests.

Bringing the pub lunch out on the street, we had fun at the Mill today; especially loved the tabloid tablecloth they created specially for us! Menu was of course fish & chips in newspaper bags, english malt vinegar, roast lamb sandwiches with mint jelly & chocolate trifle cups.

this is the year to sit back and let us do the cooking for you!
why not pick up your turkey-day meal “gourmet to go” style from foodink?

FoodInk partied with the Most Stylish in LA on Sunday at the 2011 Style Awards. Thanks to our stylish event partners, Argyle Staffing & Pico Party Rents!

Our gorgeous cupcakes for a lucky girl’s 5th birthday party!

Just in time for the busiest weekends of the year, we’ve opened up our catering counter for those about to party…and need some help! Gorgeous to look at and delicious to taste – stop by for all your entertaining needs. We’ve got party platters ready to go, elixir & infusions for your bar, edible holiday decor & hostess gifts, all in one convenient location! From Friday December 10 to Friday December 24, when we will be merry with some Champagne for our customers! Happy Holidays all from our kitchen to yours!

You’ve slept well, gotten up & braved the Black Friday Crowds…and are now back home, starving & ready to chow down on the left overs! If you didn’t order from us this year (and thus didn’t get our Turkey Leftover Postcard tucked into your order), here’s some ideas we have brainstormed for you – from breakfast through to the end of the day! All super easy, no real recipes needed – just follow the concepts & enjoy it either way!