The Kimchimonger News Blog

Last week we had a new customer call in an order after reading about kimchi in FIRST for Women (one of the women’s magazines at the grocery store checkout). We had a pleasant conversation about the numerous health benefits of our favorite fermented food. She said the article referred people to OrganicDirect.com to buy, but that site only delivers this product the the New York Metro area, so we wanted to let any FIRST readers out there know that Granny Choe’s online kimchi shop ships anywhere in the U.S…. and we’re award-winning and all-natural. Too bad FIRST didn’t know that. Anyhoo, through the magical connecting powers of Facebook we got in touch with the FIRST editor-at-large, Lisa Maxbauer, who said she’d be more than happy to try a sample of Granny Choe’s goods, so we just sent a jar her way. Fingers crossed!

We headed over to the Whole Foods Market on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood last week to see Granny Choe’s kimchi on shelves at our first Southern California store location. Back in the day, Mama Choe’s first work internship was just down the street, at the West Hollywood Quixote Studios building, so it was also a fun trip down memory lane. Since then, they’ve put up a huge Target shopping center and done some other renovations, but the area was cute as ever and Whole Foods did not disappoint.

Whole Foods prides themselves on not only offering a great selection of products, but also on offering a shopping experience, so pretty much any Whole Foods you walk into will always be very tidy and well-stocked. But this Whole Foods store is immaculate–soaring ceilings, delicious aromas, spacious aisles, a dining patio, artwork on display, and a produce department to die for. The customers were just as pretty as the store itself (hip 20- and 30-somethings who work in the entertainment industry, no doubt).Our old roommate just reminded us that he spotted Jake Gyllenhall shopping here a while back. We realized (and think it’s hilarious) that in the picture above that we snapped on our way in, there’s a Prius… and a BMW… and a young woman in workout clothes. Way to represent!

It was verrry exciting to find our own product on the shelves for the first time, especially at such a great location. Here we are, up on the top shelf between the Chick Pea Miso and the Raw Tahini. Can’t wait till it’s available in our local store…

Extremely official and somewhat important good news: Granny Choe’s kimchi is now on shelves at Whole Foods!

The fine print: We are not in Whole Foods  locations nationwide–We’ve only reached out to California locations so far since it’s where we’re based, and it’s the state with the greatest concentration of Whole Foods stores. And we’re only in select stores in California so far. Now that we’ve taken care of raining on our own parade…

Wooohoo! This is pretty exciting stuff for a small company like ours, and we’ve probably said it already, but we are STOKED (Also, we are hugely relieved that the product reached the stores without any major disasters.).

More good stuff: If you buy Granny Choe’s kimchi in stores not only do you get to pass on shipping costs, but you also get a lower price per jar than we can offer online. Prices may vary, but the Whole Foods stores we talked to are currently selling our product for $6.99, and a few of the stores even have it on sale since they’re just introducing it — so if any of these stores are near you, go get you some!

Here’s the current store list… it’s a work in progress, and we’ll be making additions on our store locations page as we receive updates.

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Available immediately at  the following locations…
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Oakland
Whole Foods Market
230 Bay Place
Oakland, CA 94612
510.834.9800
510.834.9900 fax
8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily

Roseville
Whole Foods Market
1001 Galleria Blvd.
Roseville, CA 95678
916.781.5300
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily

Sacramento
Whole Foods Market
4315 Arden Way
Sacramento, CA 95864
916.488.2800
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily

San Francisco
Whole Foods Market • Noe Valley
3950 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
415.282.4700
8am-10pm daily

San Francisco
Whole Foods Market • Potrero Hill
450 Rhode Island St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
415.552.1155
8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily

San Francisco
Whole Foods Market • SoMa
399 4th Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
415.618.0066
8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily

Santa Rosa
Whole Foods Market
1181 Yulupa Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95405
707.575.7915
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily

West Hollywood
Whole Foods Market
7871 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
323.848.4200
7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily

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Coming soon to the following locations…
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Los Angeles
Whole Foods Market • Fairfax
6350 West 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.964.6800
7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily

Santa Monica
Whole Foods Market • Montana Avenue
1425 Montana Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90403
310.576.4707
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily

Santa Monica
Whole Foods Market
2201 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90403
310.315.0662
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily

Santa Monica
Whole Foods Market • Wilshire Blvd
500 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.395.4510
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily

Venice
Whole Foods Market
225 Lincoln Blvd.
Venice, CA 90291
310.566.9480
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily

Yes, we’ve said it before, but we here at Kimchi HQ really enjoy reading notes from satisfied kimchi consumers. It totally makes our day. We’ve collected some of our favorites and have added them to our new Fanmail tab on the official Granny Choe’s Kimchi Co. Facebook page. Now you can see what other rabid kimchifans are saying about our goods. Even though you are already devout converts, right? Right.

Here’s the latest from Lisa S. of Clifton, NJ:

“WOWW!!!! I’ve always loved kimchi, and I have many Korean restaurants near me, but I’ve never tasted kimchi like this! I found your website and ordered the 3-pack. I JUST received them yesterday and already I’m finished with a whole jar, plus a little of a second…”

Awww, thanks, Lisa!

We spent all day Saturday at the Korean BBQ Cookoff and had a blast!  Here’s a list of the things we did:

*Enjoyed the balmy LA weather.

*Raffled off the chance to win a year’s supply of Granny Choe’s kimchi.

*Ate a delicious kimchi-topped sausage from Seoul Sausage Co.

*Enjoyed really great music by Deejay Kitty.

*Wore our Granny Choe’s aprons all day and ran into a couple people who recognized our brand.

*Met actress Sandra Oh and food critic Jonathan Gold.

*Got a gorgeous screen printed tote from the nice girls at Korean Cultural Center booth.

*Passed out Granny Choe’s coupons (if you were there and we missed you, email us for the coupon code).

*Drank a lot of complimentary pomegranate-aloe juice (Granny is immediately drawn to anything that says “aloe”) in the VIP tent.

But with all this awesomeness, you ask, what was the highlight of the day? French chef Ludo Lefebvre telling us just how much he loves kimchi.

Check out photos from the event in our Facebook album.

Sounds like a pretty decent day, right? That’s what we’re sayin’! Come join us at the 2nd annual Korean BBQ Cookoff in downtown LA this Saturday (the event drew a crowd of over 10,000 last year). They lovely organizers (the Korean American Coalition) just got in touch with us and we’ve agreed to do a raffle prize of a year’s supply of Granny Choe’s award-winning, a$$-kicking kimchi (We love using parentheses). See you guys there! All the gory details are below:

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WHAT: Los Angeles’s Second Annual Korean BBQ Cook-off will showcase some of the best dishes by top Korean BBQ restaurants. Presented by the Korean American Coalition – Los Angeles, Councilmember Herb J. Wesson, Jr., and Councilmember Tom LaBonge on Saturday, August 7, 2010.

CONFIRMED JUDGES:
- Jonathan Gold, a well-respected and longtime food critic for L.A. Weekly. He has previously written for the Los Angeles Times and Gourmet magazine, among many others. In 2007, he became the first food critic to win the Pulitzer Prize.
- Ludo Lefebvre, chef of the wildly popular restaurant event, LudoBites, has been named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Chefs by Relais & Chateaux and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation for a Rising Star Chef Award. Chef Ludo has also been seen on such shows as Top Chef Masters, Iron Chef America and The Today Show.
- Sandra Oh, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award-winning star of Grey’s Anatomy, with critical turns inSideways, Under the Tuscan Sun, and Arli$$.
- Consul General Jae Soo Kim of the Republic of Korea.

CONFIRMED SOJU MIX-OFF JUDGES:
- The KTOWN COWBOYS, that’s right – Danny Cho, Lanny Joon, Sunn Wee, Peter “Pedro” Jae and Bobby “Big Phony” Choy all back together to judge the Mix-Off after their star turns in the smash hit Ktown Cowboys.

CONFIRMED RESTAURANTS AND VENDORS (With more rolling in daily):
- BCD Tofu House: Sizzling LA galbi, cut across the bone.
- Byul Gobchang: Crispy marinated intestines. That’s right.
- Cherry on Top: Frozen yogurt. Your way.
- Chuncheon Dakgalbi: Chicken galbi, grilled to perfection.
- Coolhaus: The best ice cream sandwiches in L.A., some say. We agree.
- Ham Ji Park: Mouth-watering pork ribs, the best in town.
- Hansong: Beefy deliciousness.
- Kalbi Burger: Burgers, KoreanAmericanized.
- O Dae San: Pork belly. Oh glorious pork belly…
- Olympic Cheonggukjang: Pork bulgogi, thin-sliced meat in a savory-sweet sauce.
- Park’s BBQ: The One. The Only.
- Scoops: Unique, utterly delicious ice creams.
- Seoul Sausage Company: Kalbi? Inside a sausage? With slaw on top? This new company has something really interesting going on.
- Soowon Galbi: One of the best and most-highly rated Korean BBQ restaurants in Ktown.

WHEN: Saturday, August 7, 2010 from 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
- 2:00 pm – All-You-Can-Eat contest with mystery ingredient *
- 3:30 pm – Soju Mix-Off, sponsored by Jinro and Sauce LA
- 5:00 pm – Cook-Off competition
- 6:15 pm – Awards ceremony

WHERE: The event will take place on the upper parking lot of the 3600 Wilshire building, located at 3600 Wilshire Blvd. Between Kingsley Dr. and Harvard Blvd.

PARKING DETAILS:
Parking is $5 at Paramount Parking, the parking lot for the 3580 Wilshire Building. Entrance is on the west side of Ardmore.

EVENT DETAILS:
- FREE entrance!
- BOOTH OPERATORS AT THIS EVENT WILL ONLY ACCEPT $5 VENDOR VOUCHERS. Please bring cash to exchange for vouchers. Ticket exchange booths will accept CASH ONLY.
- Beer garden!
- Other food booths will include (tentative list): Cool Haus, shaved ice, drinks, grilled corn, and more!
- Barbecue categories will include LA galbi (marinated bone-in beef ribs), galbi (marinated boned-out beef ribs), pork ribs, and bulgogi (marinated sliced sirloin).
- Don’t forget cash, sunscreen and please leave all pets at home!
- Go green! Carpool, bike or exit the purple line Metro stop: Wilshire/Western or Wilshire/Normandie
- FREE bike valet via Flying Pigeon LA will be available at the event from noon – 6pm.

AFTERPARTY AT CAFE BLEU:
Cafe Bleu (6th and Alexandria) will be serving Cook-Off attendees starting at 8 pm. The winning Mixologist’s cocktail will be served till closing.

SPONSORS: Asiana Airlines, City of Los Angeles, Citysearch, CRA/LA, Five Star Martial Arts, Good Karma Beverage Inc., Granny Choe Kimchi Co., Hite Brewing Co., Jamison Services, JayOne, Jinro Soju, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, KoreAm Journal, Korean American Family Services Center, Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, Korean Health, Education, Information, and Research Center, Koreatown Youth and Community Center, Little Tokyo Marketplace, State Farm, Wilshire Park Dental Group.

Visit http://kbbqcookoff.com/ for more information.

Once upon a time (last month) we were tootling along happily… keeping up with blogs, shipping orders and accounting and such. We had settled into the systems we had created and were getting into a general groove. Suddenly the grooviness was blown to bits by two extremely fantastic events:

1. We received a very nice review from Xeni on Boing Boing. We cannot say enough good things about this smart, successful blog and its down-to-earth editors. And the good things they said about Granny Choe’s kimchi landed us a month’s worth of orders in a single day (and really kept us hustling).

2. A week later we received an order from the primary distributor for Whole Foods Market in California. This is a partnership we’ve been working on since the end of last year, so while it was not a total surprise, it was about 3 months earlier than we had anticipated… and when you’ve been climbing a hill for a while just staring at the ground, then you finally look up and realize you’ve reached the top, it’s astounding… and a little anxiety-inducing.

I wouldn’t say we are pessimists, but we are definitely realists, so we like to wait a bit before popping the cork on the champagne in case something falls through… but the mere fact that we’re still in business after a year and a half (during a big, bad recession), and that so much good has come our way is reason enough to celebrate for now. So dearest kimchi fans, friends and family- thank you so very much for your support of Granny Choe’s Kimchi Co.!

Photo courtesy of oskay via CC 2.0

Guess who just got a glowing review from Xeni on BoingBoing.net today? Granny Choe’s Kimchi Co. Wooohooo! And… Yikes! We’ve never had this many orders in a single day before.

PS: Also, in case we haven’t explained this already- Boing Boing is brilliant and wonderful, and is one of the top five most popular blogs IN THE WORLD. Yowza.

PPS: Also also in case you haven’t seen it, here’s a little stop motion video that we made a while back that Mark picked up on Boing Boing.

An oldie, but a goody…

“A boy tastes traditional South Korean kimchi, or fermented cabbage, at a department store’s food section in Seoul April 24, 2003. The local Kyunghyang Daily News reports on Thursday that Beijing residents are buying out supplies of kimchi in the belief that it will prevent the flu-like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). REUTERS/Rhee Dong-Min”

For more about how to introduce your little rascal to the delights of kimchi, see our recent post.

We’re all familiar with Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid. Your mom’s been harping on you about getting enough of it since elementary school. And most of us are familiar with its popularity as an immune booster. But what’s Vitamin C really all about? Today we look at Vitamin C – the nutrient behind the mask.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient, which means it can only be obtained from a dietary source (humans are one of relatively few organisms that don’t produce Vitamin C internally). As far as physiology goes, it is vital to the synthesis of collagen, so your body needs it for the development of scar tissue, blood vessels, cartilage, and the maintenance of your lovely, youthful complexion. Vitamin C is also known for its antioxidant qualities. It acts to get rid of excessive free radicals, preventing oxidative stress and related diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and inflammatory and circulatory diseases.

And as usual, your mother was right–Vitamin C is an excellent booster for the immune system. Vitamin C increases the presence of immunoglobulin in the bloodstream. Picture immunoglobulin as tiny soldiers that patrol the bloodstream and hang out near the surface of your skin to defend you from any would-be invaders. The immunoglobulin that vitamin C promote are specific to the surfaces of the openings of the body – mouth, nose, etc. So as pathogens are drifting through the air and you inhale, you need these suckers to seek and destroy any that might infect you (See our post on the illustrious kimchi air purifier).

Most people think of citrus fruit or Airborne tablets when they want a hearty dose of Vitamin C, but did you know that you can get 10% of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin C from 2 ounces of Granny Choe’s original / cabbage kimchi, or just 1 ounce of the ggakdugi / daikon radish kimchi? You should eat more kimchi. Your mom would totally agree.