New International Grain Traders Food Market to Go
(Gerry Furth-Sides) A lunch invite to the new Grain Traders Food Market was the perfect answer to the January “blahs,” all the more to pick up the meal after a crosstown drive in the city under lockdown. Despite opening staff glitches, he new restaurant concept meal turned out to be as fresh and inviting, as the boarded up or closed businesses surround it looked glum.
The gourmet food “market” concept is for customers to pick a protein and build a box around it. The average protein weight is about 3 ounces, which is filling enough judging from our choices of glowing Tuna Tataki and beef that was both tender and textured.
Ingredients and spices are chosen for their wellness benefits. Grass fed, free-range and organic products are chosen whenever possible. And a variety of dairy-free, gluten-free and vegetarian/vegan options can be had with each combination.
So many sounded so good that I asked to try them. When doing this, it is wise to ask for different cartons to box them because of the bold flavors. We had:
Tuna Tataki marinated with citrus; Heirloom Tomatoes and Spring Onion with Yuzu; Chargrilled Broccolini with Hazelnut and Date Butter; Chargrilled Furikake Baby Corn Sauteed with Jalapeno Butter; Japanese Cucumbers and Lime Pickle, and Mixed Mushrooms and Seaweed Pickle. This is definitely a kitchen that favors the fermented and pickled dish!
Customers order what goes into their boxes from the day’s selection, cafeteria style, with a meal like the one above running a little over $20. The staff behind the counter, dishing it up wears masks and rubber gloves. A variety of housemade pickles and sauces add an extra and unexpected flourish.
Sauces include (clockwise starting on top): salsa verde, coconut curry, with the pickled cauliflower with shaved carrots), pickled cabbage with kim chi, a heavenly beet with feta and pickled cauliflower with shaved carrots.
Our reward for admiring the last cookie with chocolate slabs in it was getting to eat it. Crunchy, chewy, crispy and just oozing with chocolate, it was the perfect ending to this meal, and we would love it with a coffee.
Culinary Director, (Ms.) Gisela Salazar-Golding, directs the kitchen. This Venezuelan native developed her culinary skills working in restaurants across Europe and Asia. Her recipes pay homage both to the bold flavors of South American and Southeast Asian cuisine.
The sleek, organic new Grain Trader complex, beautifully repurposed from an auto repair shop
Grain Traders is a business under the Good Food company umbrella founded in Singapore. This first US location on Fairfax Ave, book-ends the famous street that extends to Ethiopian restaurant row at Pico, and included the historic Jewish bakeries and delis halfway there. The sleek, organic new restaurant, repurposed from an automobile repair shop, complete with the original garage doors, is a welcome addition to the famous neighborly street, now dotted with glaring multi-story new commercial buildings. And, there is plenty of parking, of course. For more details please see //www.graintraders.com.
The spacious building sits on a 10,000 square foot lot with two different outdoor seating areas and onsite parking. It proudly displays features of its previous life, from its cavernous ceilings to the former garage doors. Inside, the space is home to three distinct areas: the market counter, dessert bar, and coffee shop. Art from Argentenian-born muralist Franco Fasoli fills the walls, complemented by natural materials and textures, and accented with pieces personally curated by Perez from Southern California antique stores.
Grain Traders is located at 1010 N Fairfax Avenue, West Hollywood, CA 90046 and is open 7 days a week from 8:00am – 4:00pm, with takeout and delivery available via Postmates, GrubHub, and DoorDash.Open document settingsOpen publish panel
- Document
Gerry Furth-Sides 
Barbara Hansen 
Chef-owner Alain Cohen 
Roberta Deen 
Jose Martinez 
Nivedita Basu 