Crafty in the South Bay: Penzeys + Marukai
January 23, 2007 at 3:43 pm | Posted in california, cooking is crafty too | 10 CommentsMegan invited me out last week for some crafty shopping, and she took me to some of our favorite places in the South Bay — plus some new spots I hadn’t been to before. Our first stop was Penzeys Spices in Torrance, since they close pretty early. It’s the only one in the LA area, though they have locations all over the place.
I love it there! There are hundreds of spices and blends, arranged alphabetically, and you can wander around the store picking and choosing exactly what you want. My favorite thing there is the black sesame seeds… they’re addictive, now I use them in everything when I’m cooking.
Then we headed to the amazing Marukai 98¢ superstore in Torrance — home of all small things cool and Japanese, where everything (except larger stuff like furniture in the showroom on one side) is 98¢ or $1.50.
They used to have one crafty aisle in the middle/back of the store, but now they’ve done some rearranging and it’s splintered off into a few different areas. Sewing notions, buttons, and zippers are all near the center now, paper and packaging stuff is off to the far left, and yarn, beads, and knitting needles are to the right of the exit. And adorable animal-shaped housewares are everywhere.
Here are all my finds. My favorites are the scissors (I LOVE these),
the tomato kitchen timer,
and these cheerful striped glasses.
After shopping we went out for dinner at Flossie’s. I was just in North Carolina last month, and got one sweet, sweet chance to go to Don Murray’s then, but when I’m here on the West Coast I miss Southern food so much — so this was such a treat! I ordered red snapper, cornbread, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, corn pudding, sweet potato pie, and iced tea, and couldn’t put much of a dent into it. Which is a good thing, really, because we went to Beard Papa for unbelievably delicious cream puffs afterwards. A perfect Friday — and I didn’t even hit any traffic.
If you go:
Penzeys, 21301 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance; 310-406-3877
Marukai 98¢ superstore, 22850 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance; 310-791-3919
Flossie’s, 3566 Redondo Beach Blvd., Torrance; 310-352-4037
Beard Papa, inside Marukai, 1620 W. Redondo Beach Blvd #116, Gardena; 310-538-2909
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I can’t wait to go to these stores! My former roommate teaches a unit on Japan for her first graders in NJ. I would love to get her tons of cute stuff for the kiddies. Have you been to Roscos Chicken and Waffles? THere are a few locations around LA. THey have pretty good soul food which is similar to Southern food. Not entirely the same thing but pretty good.
Comment by Jane— January 23, 2007 #
You’ll love Marukai! There are some adorable school supplies and toys that would be perfect for first graders. And I haven’t been to Roscoe’s yet, I really need to go… Andrew would love it too and he missed out on Flossie’s (well, he got some leftovers actually!).
Comment by Susan— January 23, 2007 #
I am a big fan of Penzey’s but have only had the opportunity to shop via catalog. Your day does indeed sound perfect! Love-love the Japanese treats!
Comment by myartfullife— January 23, 2007 #
Next time you come down this way, check out the Mitsuwa Marketplace on Western & Carson. (http://www.mitsuwa.com/) They have a great Japanese bookstore there too!
Also, a new Japanese market (that will include the bookstore from Mitsuwa) is opening on the corner of Hawthorne Blvd. & Sepulveda. I can’t wait for that one – it’s much closer!
Comment by Carrie Sommer— January 23, 2007 #
Wow! You got some great stuff there. I love it!
Comment by natalie— January 24, 2007 #
Carrie, thanks for the heads up about Mitsuwa, I’d love to go next time. I miss Kinokinuya in Portland (well, Beaverton) so much…
and Natalie, I can’t wait to check out Daiso after your post the other week!
Comment by Susan— January 24, 2007 #
There’s a Penzey’s around here? Omigosh. I’m there already. By the way. This is going to sound so silly. but when you take photos in a store, do you hide what you’re doing? Or are they okay with you doing that? Just curious. I always get nervous about doing that, so I don’t. I love the photos from Marukai.
Comment by mari— January 24, 2007 #
mari — you will love Penzeys so much! Their baking section is huge and lovely. About the photos, well, I semi-hide. At Rose Bowl flea market, I asked all the vendors before taking pictures, and got all yeses. At Penzeys, I asked and got a polite “not until we ask our corporate office and get formal permission.” At Marukai, I didn’t ask, just snapped away, and no one seemed to notice or mind. So I guess it kind of depends on my mood (I’m kind of shy) and how many people are around!
Comment by Susan— January 24, 2007 #
Thanks for coming down and visiting. I’m so glad you had fun, I love having an excuse to get out and do the fun things in my area!
Comment by Megan— January 27, 2007 #
Thanks for the recommendations! We drove to Torrance today to hit both the dollar store and the Penzeys. We’ve ordered from Penzey’s online but the store is awesome. Also, that BevMo next door is pretty great. We had a lot of fun today thanks to you.
Comment by Angela— January 27, 2007 #