You’ve probably seen these popping up everywhere; I think the count is around 33 stores in 66 days. And we have one just around the corner on Eagle Rock Blvd. After all the buzz about these stores getting the best of me, I finally ventured in.

Now for those of you who always wanted to be THAT checkout guy/gal behind the conveyor belt, your wildest dreams can now be fulfilled. This is kind of a do-it-yourself grocery store. You scan your own stuff, and follow the menu on the check-out screen. Easy. Just as the name promised.

Now, for the fresh part. Hey, they promised that, too, right? I love this place. The pre-packaged meals are tasty, and most of the stuff is pretty cheap (no check-out people to pay I guess). This isn’t to say the store is void of any employees, (for those of you already masterminding that great grocery rip-off).

In fact, the people who do work there are friendly, helpful and will jump in and help you bag your swag at the end of your shopping tour. They even gave me some coupons to lure me back ASAP - I think they expire in a week.

The meat, fish, and veggies are all fresh and vibrant, and the place is actually a breath of fresh air from the usual grocery shopping excursions where you are constantly bombarded by advertising. It’s kinda like the Zen of shopping. Relaxed, enjoyable…you become one with the food.

The place is packed with just about everything, but I still need my Whole foods fix now and then. One thing’s for sure, you won’t go hungry in this neighborhood.

For the 5^th year in a row, the Committee for a Clean & Beautiful Glendale (CCBG) was honored by Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB) for outstanding efforts to engage individuals in litter prevention activities.

The following awards were given to Glendale at the KAB Annual Conference:

First Place National Award: was presented to the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program for effectiveness in reducing the amount of cigarette butts.

The Distinguished Service Citation Award: recognized Glendale as a leader in community beautification programs nationwide.

The President’s Circle Award: recognized the exceptional effort made by Glendale to reduce litter, minimize waste, and beautify and improve the community.

If you feel like killing some time at work (i.e, the boss isn't around) check out the KABman shorts here. Pretty entertaining and it's got a great "superhero" score. Good motivation music before that big sales presentation!

I like to cook. And even if I didn’t, there are so many places nearby to get almost anything that is fresh off the farm, you just might start leading a double life as a true disciple of the culinary arts. Or take a new interest in farming. It could go either way.

Farmers’ markets

Let’s start with the local farmers’ markets. First, there is the Sunday market in Atwater Village from 10:00 am- 2:00 pm. You can get there in 8 minutes from The Hudson (2.3 miles away). (link)

Don’t want to wait until Sunday to get those fresh veggies? Try the farmers market in downtown Glendale on Thursdays, 9:30 am- 1:30 pm…kind of weird hours, and on a work day. Anyway, here’s a tale that sums up this place, pretend you’re a fly on the wall and listen in…(link)

Sea stuff

As long as we are on the subject of weird, one of LA’s largest fresh fish markets is right in the middle of one of the local malls- straight down the escalator. Yep, we have a Seafood City in the Westfield Mall about 6 minutes away (1.6 miles). How this place ended up in a mall, I’ll never know, but they also have a great assortment of the most colorful, fresh vegetables. Make your momma proud and eat 'em up!

Moving on now to the quality packaged goods…

Trader Joes. The first one is about 5 minutes away ( 1.5 miles) on Glendale Ave. The second one is my pick because there are always less people and is located in Eagle Rock, is about 10 minutes away ( 3.1 miles).

Whole Foods. Lucky for us, this is one of their flagship stores, about 6 minutes away (1.6 miles). Smokehouse meats, sushi chefs, pizza makers, all practicing their craft all day long. This makes this a great place if you’re too tired or too lazy to cook.

Italian imports

Marios Italian Deli and Market. Our pride and joy for Italian foods, wine and condiments. Often voted best “this” and best “that” in LA. It’s easy to pretend you are shopping for food in a quaint market in Italy, and their sandwiches are amazing, About 5 minutes away! (1.4 miles) website

Not to drift back to the subject of weird, but one of the better places to buy farm fresh eggs is 7 minutes away (2 miles) at Virgil’s Hardware Store. I’m not even going to try to explain that one.

The usual suspects

I won’t go into the Albertsons, Vons and Ralphs, but all 3 are closer than any of the above mentioned. Seems like every corner in Glendale also has a mom and pop produce store, and for those 3 am Häagen - Dazs emergencies, we have the local 7-11 just down the street. That pretty much covers everything you would ever need food-wise. Bon appetite!

OK, Mapquest says 7.2 miles. And these aren't the high Sierras. But the fact that you can be in a fantastic mountainous area just minutes from the energetic vibe of the city of Glendale puts Adams Hill in a great location!

Nothing says mountains like a sturdy pine!

Since part of the fun of moving to a new place is exploring things nearby, I thought I'd share one of my favorite escapes, outside of the immediate neighborhood.

This is the town of Montrose. Bordered on the south by Glendale and the north by the Angeles National Forest, you'll want to find your way over to Honolulu Ave.  There you'll find an eclectic stretch of great cafes and restaurants. One I frequent often is the Black Cow (menu). Pretty much everything cafe style, and everything is great. I think they call it "California Kitchen." We love our little paraphrases, don't we?

Earlier or later in the day is better for lunch, since they get pretty busy from the locals. I see a lot of bicycle aficionados on the weekends, so if that's your gig, this is a cool place to do some weekend trekking.

There's also Zeke's Smokehouse BBQ (menu) which is much appreciated since I cannot find a good BBQ in Glendale outside of the usual kabob shops. Don't get me wrong, I actually love a good kabob and we have our own right on Adams Hill (Adams Kabob House), but sometimes I want to let my hair down, go wild and venture off the skewer.

A pleasant country drive.

The very short drive up and back also gives you some great views of the mountains, downtown LA, and downtown Glendale.

See? We got some of that height thing going! It's pretty amazing that you can be in the heart of Hollywood, downtown LA or this little mountain getaway in about 15-20 minutes. I promised to avoid clichés in an earlier blog, but what the heck.

Location, location, location.

And we're back to Adams Hill!

Adams Square Mini Park is the newest of Glendale's pocket parks and this is definitely a mini park worth mentioning.

“Mini Park”, you say? Seems Glendale likes to take small empty lots here and there, and turn them into something other than… well, a small empty lot (one that would be filled with weeds, trash, etc).

They got it right with this one.

A few steps down from The Hudson, you can hang, chill and enjoy the mini park’s center showpiece- the preserved, historic Streamline Moderne gas station.

Back in the 70s, a gas station and repair shop were still operating out of this 1936 historic Richfield Oil Company gas station. The structure is an example of the Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style which was popular in the 1930s.

Burt, meet Irv.

Also located at this quaint, tree-lined intersection was where Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins turned their Snowbird Ice Cream shop into the first Baskin-Robbins (21 flavors!). I’m not big on history, but how cool is that?

As if this wasn’t enough coolness for one street corner, each year in June the streets are closed for the Annual Adams Square Street Fair. We get around 4,000 - 5,000 people who come out for great food, live bands, rides and a makeshift beer garden.

And all you have to do is roll out of bed to get there.