Going to the grocery store can be utterly harrowing at the moment.
Like when you find yourself forced to make physical contact with the door handle of the frozen foods case. Right before some bonehead with his nose hanging out of his mask hovers over you in the cereal section. And then there’s Karen in Aisle 5 demanding to talk to a manager...
But you still need to eat. And you’ve been turning into quite the talented home cook lately. So how are you going to fuel your recipes?
Coming to your rescue are many of the local wholesale businesses that previously supplied restaurants with meat, seafood and produce. While they’re reeling from the collapse of the dining industry, they are willing to sell directly to you right now, even though many were not open to the public in the past. Most of them will ship or deliver it right to your door.
Alongside them are the struggling restaurants, which have come up with some creative ways to stay afloat while keeping you fed.
To help you take advantage of these opportunity, which usually helps save you money by cutting out the super market middle-man, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite SoCal suppliers, meat delivery companies, bars and restaurants who are offering you options to make at home.
So far, we’ve had excellent experiences with them and almost can’t picture going back to shopping in-person.
Take a look.
Seafood
Name: Kai Gourmet
Location: El Segundo
Specialty: Fresh, wild-caught fish delivered to your door within 36 hours of being caught, including whole Ora King salmon from New Zealand, Canadian black cod, Alaskan halibut, and Turkish branzino.
Name: Luxe Seafood Company
Location: Downtown L.A.
Specialty: A premium seafood wholesaler that supplies numerous local sushi restaurants and offers daily catches from home and abroad, including wild albacore from Oregon, Santa Barbara black cod, Hokkaido sea urchin, high-grade yellowtail and Pacific Northwest geoduck.
Name: Taylor Shellfish Farms
Location: Shelton, Washington
Specialty: With 130 years in the seafood business, Taylor delivers prized and sustainable oysters, geoduck, mussels and clams right to your door, along with shelf-stable products like canned octopus, smoked oysters and smoked mussels.
Name: P&D Seafood
Location: Downtown Los Angeles
Specialty: P&D has been supplying some of L.A.’s finest seafood spots in 1986. But your place is pretty fine, too, and these guys would just like to add some fresh and sustainable elements like Tahitian tuna, Scottish salmon, Japanese scallops, Fijian mahi-mahi, Lake Superior whitefish and Russian Osteria caviar to brighten things up.
Name: Sea Stephanie Fish
Location: L.A. and O.C.
Specialty: Stephanie Mutz is California’s only female sea urchin diver, cherished by SoCal restaurants for her live Santa Barbara uni. Recently refocusing her business to serve retail customers, she currently making a weekly trip to O.C. and L.A. where people can pick up their online orders, with delivery available for larger orders.
MEATS
Name: West Coast Prime Meats
Location: Orange County
Specialty: A meat-centered operation started by the O.G. founders of the Claim Jumper restaurant chain, just a few of the well-marbled marvels coming from here include BBQ competition-grade pork, Mishima Reserve Wagyu brisket, A5 Wagyu strip steaks, and dry-aged ribeye, as well as lean elk tenderloin, Jidori chicken, and ground bison.
Name: J & J Distributors
Location: Gardena
Specialty: This well-rounded meat and seafood purveyor is routinely offering the public a selection of decadent packages including “The Shot Caller,” with one 1 oz. jar of sturgeon caviar, one pound of Miyazaki A5 Wagyu strip loin, two pounds of crab legs and two 18 oz. ribeye steaks, with menus and details typically going out on Facebook.
Name: Premier Meat Co.
Location: Vernon
Specialty: Setting its sights on natural, humanely-raised meats, this family-owned business offers coveted cuts like olive-fed U.S. Wagyu and wine-fed Kobe beef, along with U10 scallops, pork loin and lamb loin porterhouse steaks, and dry-aged, bone-in ribeyes.
Location: Inglewood
Specialty: A multi-generational butcher and meat supplier, Rocker’s meats are proudly served at L.A. institutions like Philippe’s and popular newcomers like Slab BBQ. They offer just about everything, including Japanese and Australian beef, grass-fed tomahawks, carne asada, burger blends, Scottish salmon, Jidori chicken, rabbit, peasant, and prime sirloin, with great prices for the previously unserved public.
Name: La Española Meats, Inc.
Location: Harbor City
Specialty: This multi-faceted, Spanish food hook-up offers a wide variety of products from Spain, including $1,200 acorn-fed Iberico hams, Fermin sausages, imported cheeses and paella kits, although its usual selection of meat cuts is currently unavailable.
Produce/CSA Boxes
Name: County Line Harvest
Location: Thermal, Coachella Valley
Specialty: A dedicated produce farm offerings boxes of hyper-fresh products, including lots of leafy greens and root vegetables, available for pick-up at local restaurants including Felix in Venice, Highly Likely Café in West Adams and Eightfold Coffee in Echo Park, among others.
Name: Murray Family Farms
Location: Bakersfield
Specialty: Oranges, cherry jam and 10 types of honey sent straight to your door, as well as mixed fruit boxes offered for online orders and pick-up at Rockenwagner in Culver City.
Name: Astro
Location: Downtown L.A.
Specialty: Teaming up with a host of California food legends, including Weiser Family Farms, Laurel Chenel, Alta Dena Dairy, and La Brea Bakery, Astro offers boxes of seasonal local products for sale online, ready for pick-up at locations in Mar Vista, La Crescenta, DTLA, Commerce and Culver City.
Name: Rose Hill Farm
Location: Montecito Heights
Specialty: Local artist Joanna Bassi made an organic micro farm from a weed-covered hillside in 2017, and currently offers small packages of prized micro greens and produce through direct messaging on Instagram, including mixed greens, watercress, purple sprouting broccoli, lavender, edible flowers, and citrus.
Name: Nature’s Produce
Location: Vernon
Specialty: Home delivery and non-contact pickups take place at its wholesale warehouse, yielding nicely-priced herbs, fruits, beans, nuts, dairy, flowers, and groceries that would normally be snapped up by chefs and restaurants.
Cocktail Kits
Name: Pomp & Whimsy
Location: Distilled in Los Angeles
Specialty: This light, lower ABV gin liqueur is available to ship in gift kits you just know a housebound friend would appreciate this summer, including a bottle with an enamel coupe pin, attractive tea towel and recipe book.
Name: Strong Water
Location: Anaheim
Specialty: This innovative O.C. cocktail bar offers drinking kits for curbside pickup, including a changing selection of items such as daiquiris, pineapple shipwrecks, and Ford Saturn cocktails that come with shakers, strainers, jiggers and recipes.
Name: Guerrilla Tacos
Location: Downtown L.A.
Specialty: One of L.A.’s best Mexican restaurants, you can find produce boxes, nacho kits, and for the hot-and-thirsty, pre-made “emergency” margaritas and piña coladas, obtainable through a contact-less pickup,
Name: Gus’s Barbecue
Location: Pasadena
Specialty: Currently open for takeout, curbside pick-up and delivery, you can purchase Bloody Mary Kits, as well as beer growlers and full bottles of booze, including its own private reserve bourbon.
Name: Melrose Umbrella Co.
Location: West Hollywood
Specialty: One of L.A.’s best cocktail bars, they’ve teamed up with Postmates, Caviar and GrubHub to offer such multi-serving splendors as mai tais, penicillins and margaritas for delivery, along with proprietary drinks like their “Mezcali Mi Banana.”
Meal Kits
Name: Holbox
Location: Downtown L.A.
Specialty: This Cancun-inspired seafood favorite offers seafood, ready-to-eat meals and pick-up kits to help recreate their dishes at home, such as tacos de pulpo, kampachi tacos, and Maine diver scallop tacos.
Name: Banh Xeo Boys
Location: Santa Ana
Specialty: Known for different variations of the thin Vietnamese rice batter pancakes known as banh xeo, the Boys offers a take-home kit with pre-mixed batter, pre-cooked pork belly, shrimp, plus nouc cham and a hearty mix of lettuce and herbs.
Name: Porto’s
Location: Burbank, Glendale, Downey, West Covina, and Buena Park
Specialty: The beloved Cuban bakery ships kits containing its pastries to people around the country, so they can pop them in the oven and bake them to life at home.
Name: Sonoratown
Location: Downtown L.A.
Specialty: This reigning champion of Sonoran-style cuisine offers a 2-pound family feast with your choice of carne asada, mesquite-grilled chicken, or chorizo with 24 of their incredible handmade flour tortillas, salsa, guacamole and accouterments for delivery or pick-up. It’s a must-try if you’re yet to go.
Name: Ronan
Location: West Hollywood
Specialty: The recently opened, family-run Italian sensation offers delivery of produce boxes, pizza, pasta, mimosa kits, and ingredients for making your own pies at home, including prosciutto cotto, sourdough starter, cultured butter, burrata by the pint and pre-made pizza dough, just to start.
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