After a quick review of Yelp! it seems Marin County is loving the new addition of Mi Pueblo. There were some concerns of the new big store having an impact on the smaller mom and pop stores but overall it seems it’s brought employment to the local neighborhood which is a good thing.

Mi Pueblo has lived up to their mission listed on their Website:

We strive to create an ambiance reminiscent of the fresh-food markets of Mexico and Latin America, while also carrying all the grocery items generally available in mainstream supermarkets, always welcoming everyone with a warm smile.

I was in the neighborhood so decided to stop by Mi Pueblo out of curiosity. I had already eaten and did not need any groceries so I just walked around the place.

My first impression upon walking in was that Mi Pueblo was a happy place to shop! Festive Latin music in the background, a colorful, fun Taqueria located right in the store, Pinatas hanging above the produce. The place made me smile and the music made me want to start dancing.The employees were super friendly and welcoming, every one we walked by said hello and smiled.

Shopping at Mi Pueblo is a cultural experience. It has everything you would find in a traditional grocery store including organic produce PLUS all sorts of Mexican and Latin American food. It’s a great opportunity to try new food and drinks. I bought a Mango Agua Fresca – it was delicious and refreshing.

I took a stroll through the produce. I was happy to see the produce looked very fresh, there were organic options and special produce from Mexico and other Latin American countries; things like Mexican Squash – stuff you might not find in a traditional “American” grocery store.

They were making handmade hot tamales ready to eat for $1.49. I was kind of wishing I was hungry so I could try one.

Mi Pueblo is located in the Canal are of San Rafael
330 Bellam Blvd
San Rafael, CA 415-578-3971

I wanted to thank you for the Frozen Chunky Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough I just discovered at your store. They are amazing! I love these cookies! What a great idea to have individually frozen balls of dough so I can make as few or as many cookies as a like at one time. I love that I can just bake one or two cookies at a time because we all know if I were to bake a dozen or more cookies at one time I would also eat a dozen or more cookies at one time.

These cookies are delicious!

Thank you!

Love,
Sally

PS. Many of the people living in Southern Marin would be really happy if you opened up a store in Marin City or Mill Valley and by the looks of how busy your central Marin stores are I think Trader Joe’s would do quite well in Southern Marin.

Fresh baked cookies in less than 15 minutes!
Preheat oven to 350
Open package

Remove the amount of cookies you want to eat NOW!
Place frozen balls of dough on baking sheet

Bake for about 12 minutes
Eat yummy, warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies!

*Bonus: Your home will smell like fresh baked cookies.

PPS. Trader Joe’s did not pay me to write this. They don’t even know I wrote it but I’m happy to accept payments, gift cards or free frozen cookies as a thank you.

Just because I haven’t been going out doesn’t mean I haven’t been having fun and eating delicious meals.

On Friday morning, I went for a tour at the new Larkspur Hotel in Mill Valley. I’m interviewing hotels looks for the best one to host the Mountain Biking Marin Cross Country Mountain Bike Adventure coming up in May of this year. I was very impressed with this new hotel. It’s located on Highway 1 in Mill Valley right off of Highway 101, next to Frantoio. The Larkspur Hotel has done an amazing job remodeling the hotel (formally the Holiday Inn Express) and I was very impressed with Greg, the General Manager and Cassie, the Sales Manager. The hotel is beautiful, has a view of the bay and Mt. Tam and is located right next to the bike/walk path that will take you in to Sausalito or Mill Valley. I was wowed by the people and the place. I plan to recommend this hotel to Celia for the Mountain Biking Marin adventure.

I almost forgot to mention. Cassie from the Larkspur Hotel gave me a goodie bag when I was leaving. Among other things, it had a solar powered plastic flower that moves when the sun shines on it. Really, I think this is what sealed the deal. It goes nicely with the wind-up toys and purple pens in my office. (All reminders to me that life is about having fun.)

After my meeting at the hotel I met with Marilyn LoRusso, aka @Fun_Master at Cafe del Sol in Tam Junction and spent the afternoon chatting about social media and making life fun (Marilyn has some great tips on how to stay in the fun mode). I enjoyed sipping on a delicious ginger limeade during our meeting.

Then on Friday night we had a small dinner party. Since one of my fabulous neighbors gave me a gift certificate to Whole Foods I splurged on a yummy meal. We started with brie cheese and olive bread for appetizers while I prepared blackened salmon, roasted veggies, broiled asparagus, and salad. We finished the meal off with some Porto from our visit to the Napa Valley Wineries and yummy dessert.

I used the blackened salmon recipe I found on RealSimple.com. It was delicious!

When Sally asked me if I’d like to write a guest blog post about one of my favorite local businesses, Andy’s Local Market, my neighborhood grocery store immediately came to mind because Andy’s is a hidden gem. Andy’s Local Market is located in the Loch Lomond neighborhood in San Rafael, along Pt San Pedro Rd, on the way to Peacock Gap and China Camp.

First, before I tell you all about the store, let me tell you the most important thing:  Andy’s Market hosts a Wine Tasting the 1^st Friday of every month from 5-7 PM. The next one is tomorrow…November 6^th. Will I see you there?  The store has a nice café area where you can sip your wine (only $3 per glass) and even have dinner, as their deli has great food and pizza!

Andy Bachich, owner, is a Marin native who believes in building community and giving back to that community. He goes out of his way to carry local products, organic products, and specialty food items. In fact, whenever I need a hostess gift for a dinner party, I go to Andy’s to pick up a unique gourmet product. So, Andy’s Market isn’t just a store to run to when you’re out of milk…it’s a full service grocery store with a great deli, large produce section (including organic), meat & fish market, great wine selection, and everything in between.  Their prices are competitive, too. In fact, they currently have the best price around on Wild Alaskan Salmon @ $14.99/lb. It’s worth a trip just for that!

Andy’s also has nightly dinner specials, Friday night Eat-In specials, pizza for take-out or to eat in, weekly organic produce specials, and as I mentioned, Wine Tasting on the 1^st Friday of the month. They are also taking orders for Thanksgiving dinners.

Andy’s Local Market is located at 688 Point San Pedro Rd. in San Rafael, just 1 mile past Montecito Shopping Center. Turn when you see the Loch Lomond Marina. Plenty of parking. Please make a special trip to check out Andy’s, even if you don’t live in the neighborhood. Hope to see you at the wine tasting!

Although, I’m wondering how the other stores in the Cost Plus Center feel about the new traffic in their parking lot and the carts left all over the parking lot and on the side walks.

Warning Sally rant about to start:

I thought Marin people were civilized people! What is up with the carts left every which way all over the parking lot, on the sidewalk, in the parking places? Come on people! Can we show a little appreciation and at least put our carts away or put them in the designated cart drop off places?

Today I had to pass up two parking places because there were carts left in them and while I was driving around the parking lot I saw employees from one of the other stores moving carts from in front of their entrances and off of the sidewalks in front of their stores.

This is not a complaint about the Trader Joe’s employees, I’ve seen them working hard rounding up the carts. This is a request to the shopper’s of the Greenbrae Trader Joe’s to show a little common courtesy and put your carts away!

Thank you. I’m done now.

Stay tuned for your regular happy, positive Sally posts.