Super bargains at Super King

At least once a week I find an excuse to go to Super King Market on San Fernando Road just east of the Glendale (2) freeway. Lately that excuse has been limes, 15 for a dollar. In this weather, I’m living on fresh-squeezed limeade. I see some mango drinks in my future too, since I just bought a box of 12 mangoes for $3.99. I’m smitten.

One week I’ll find fresh almonds in their fuzzy green shells (3 pounds for 99 cents) or fresh garbanzo beans in their papery husks, or piles of fresh fava beans, all at unheard of low prices. A few weeks ago they had sour plums and — sour grapes! You could make your own verjus (unfermented grape juice), for example.

Armenian-American women crowd the aisles sorting through Persian cucumbers at 29 cents a pound as opposed to $3 or $4 a pound at the farmers market. Parsley for tabbouleh is five or six bunches to a dollar, cilantro about the same, depending on the week. Latino families stock up on fresh pasilla chiles for 49 cents a pound (sometimes less), yellow onions for 29 cents or avocados, three for a dollar.
Just look at the shopping carts — everybody here cooks. Women pick through the produce, taste before they buy. You won’t see many prepared foods in any of the carts. And most, by the looks of it, must belong to extended families.

Take a number at the cheese counter to buy five or six kinds of feta, lebne and thick ivory Mexican and Guatemalan crema. In the canned goods section, look for garbanzo beans, black or pinto beans and Egyptian foul medames (fava beans) for your pantry at a good price. I’ve found a mix of olive oil and vegetable oil for frying for something like $8 a gallon, and just last week I bought a 2-liter bottle of grapeseed oil for $9.99.

Last week too, meaty red bell peppers for roasting were just 59 cents a pound and organic blackberries 79 cents a package. Cherries? 79 cents a pound, but they’re right on the edge, so you have to eat them fast.

That explains why the parking lot is packed day and night. Checkers are fast and efficient. If you’re looking for a particular item, they can tell you exactly where to find it. And when you walk out of Super King with three or four shopping bags and haven’t spent over $30, that’s a bargain.

Super King Market, 716 N. San Fernando Road,  Los Angeles (323) 225-0044; and in Anaheim at 10500 Magnolia Avenue; (714) 527-5809; www.superkingmarket.com.

— S. Irene Virbila

Photo by S. Irene Virbila

Comments

[Glassell Park Person of Interest]

I shop the aisles at SuperKing. I am sometimes disappointed with the quality of the produce, they are obviously purchasing "Past Perfect" items as some of the stuff spoils very fast. So you have to shop accordingly. I find the deli at the back of the market to be very interesting all modes of salami spoken there. The meat market is bustling, but I purchased some steaks and found them kinda boring. It is quite an experience, oh forgot to mention that they run all the registers so you don't usually have to wait in line very much if at all.

[Cardie]

I love Super King for produce, try the fresh dates. Crunchy. Check out the venison steaks and rabbit. You can't be shy about the cart, we are all such good drivers it shouldn't be a problem LOL. BTW the stores was originally a Hughes but not for long (built to replace the little one on the corner of Fletcher and SF - when the bakery was still bakin'.

[Jose]

Yeah the Produce prices are great but the liquor prices are even better..... i thing that should be your next story....

[pastrygrrl]

I wish you wouldn't have written this. We already the Silverlake hipsters going to the store and it's off the hook everyday. It makes the aisles at the Silverlake Traders look empty.

[Lynda]

So glad to see someone (in print) who enjoys this market as well. I used to go to one of Jon's markets, but now I wait until Thursday to see Super King's specials, and then plan accordingly. They also have an incredible assortment of coldcuts and great sales there also. What I appreciate is they will give you a sample of anything (at the deli counter) so I was able to discover the wonders of crema salvadoreana..(or just vet a coldcut/cheese I was interested in).
A new favorite is Tonir lavash...ziplock bag, and it's precut in rectangles...both regular and whole wheat. So much easier for wraps, etc. It's a little heavier, so it doesn't rip easily, too.
If you need something special for your table (other than food) the Out of the Closet Superstore is just down the road--(2425 N. San Fernando Rd.) very good prices and nice people.... And this is technically still Los Angeles, not Glendale. The original market (Ralph's) was a project of a previous LA councilman but it didn't seem to draw enough people to keep it open.