There’s a super upscale L.A. area food emporium that makes Whole Foods look like a 7-11. It’s called Erewhon, and while the quality of its food is unrivaled, so are its prices. A donut costs $7 (okay, it’s gluten free, vegan, organic, made with toctrienols, superfoods, and 10 grams of Mattole Valley plant protein, but it’s still a donut!) .
Eating at Erewhon is my guilty pleasure. I used to frequent Erewhon’s store in Venice, but the company months ago opened one in Santa Monica which is a lot closer to my home. The food and recipes are the same, but the staff at the Venice store are much nicer.
Interestingly, many of the employees of Erewhon’s Santa Monica store previously worked at the Venice location. One of them explained the change of attitude. The Venice store attracts a more laid-back crowd, while the Santa Monica store attracts a more entitled clientele. The employee said the snootiness of Santa Monica customers overwhelms the staff and they respond in kind.
As I drove home and inched my way in traffic, I pondered how living in L.A. for three-and-a-half years has changed me. Here’s the top 10 signs I’ve lost my New York state of mind and have officially become an Angeleno.
13) I’m willing to pay $7 for a donut, provided its gluten free, vegan, organic, and made with toctrienols, superfoods, and 10 grams of Mattole Valley plant protein.
12) I no longer think I’m three hours behind the east coast but rather I have three additional hours left in my day.
11) My enjoyment of a glorious, 70-degree day in summer or winter isn’t enhanced knowing New York is experiencing a major snowstorm or heat wave.
10) Hearing New Yorkers trash L.A. traffic and superficiality is music to my ears because it means fewer of them will move here.
9) When Trader Joe’s cashiers asks me how my day is going, I think they really care.
8) Regardless of how long I live here I identify as being from somewhere else and will forever cheer for my hometown sports team.
7) I’ve stopped asking why the 405 is called the San Diego Freeway when it doesn’t go to San Diego.
6) Eating at In-N-Out Burger is no longer a big deal.
5) When people say they are going to the desert, I know they mean Palm Springs, not Arizona.
4) I can relate to Marianne Williamson and think she’d make a great president.
3) I understand passive aggressiveness and the empowerment one feels speeding up so that a motorist misses their highway exit.
2) Experiencing a major earthquake and then going on about my business as nothing ever happened.
1)Yeah, I know I’ve listed 13 signs and I said 10, but in L.A. we don’t sweat the small stuff.