fairymuff

That just looks so unappealing for a place to get European stuff.

Sixty Fiver

You must have romantic notions about European shops...

The exterior and interiors of both shops are rather plain but I do not go there for the decor as you can't taste that... Polonia has been in business for 23 years and they have won many awards for their products which are made in house.

It is a working class neighbourhood with customers who go for the good prices, excellent quality, and for goods that you can't get in many places and I do not mind the plain wrapper.

fairymuff

Not really. I just happen to be from (and live in) 'the old world'. From my perspective, that place looks like you'd go there for cheap carpet tiles. Not good food.

All very good reasons. It sounds like a great place for where it is.

alicestrong

Needs bike corrals out front...

Sixty Fiver

When you walk in you are greeting with the smell of roasting bacon and freshly baked bread... the Hungarian deli always has fried bacon as well as roasted.



Sweets...





Both shops are spotless... 4 cases of goodness here.

bitingduck

Some of the best food in southern California is in dumpy looking strip malls.

Sixty Fiver

Polonia is in the process of expanding their store and they apologized for having such empty display cases... they had just replaced their old ones with ones they bought from Poland and were restocking them.

Have been shopping here for a very long time and Juniper sausage is one of my favourites... bought a ring for $7.00 which is a great price.







Tomorrow I need to hit the Italian market... it is good to go in the morning as in the afternoon the wait at the deli can be a little long but to make up for it, they feed you while you wait.

They also have a great produce selection, aisles of pasta, and a small coffee shop that makes a great Americano... it is also a central social hub and a wonderful place to stop at any time.

Sixty Fiver

Have learned to never judge a book by it's cover... in travelling in Mexico and the West Indies and many places in the US and Canada some of the least appealing exteriors yield interiors that have some of the best food and service and sometimes have to ask the locals where the best food really is.

There is a West African shop around the corner from the bike co-op and you would barely know it was there... the decor is sparse although they do have a beautiful side room for bookings and the stews they make are amazing.

If one ever gets to Portland you need to hit The Queen of Sheba on the north side... it is a very old traditional Ethiopian restaurant and when you go there you feel like you are family and they will not let you leave until your hunger and thirst is completely sated for what are very reasonable prices.

But from the outside... one might never consider stopping.

One of my favourite local places is the Commodore restaurant which is your typical "greasy spoon" which has been serving up breakfast and lunch for 60 years from the same location and has been owned by the same family.

Go here and the food will be excellent and affordable and will spoil you for other places where you end up leaving feeling you paid too much for way too little.

Koobazaur

MMmmmmm this ALL looks so goood! Why cant they have one in la ;(


The hole-in-the-wall places usually fall into one of two categories: terrible food that will give you mad food poisoning, or the best meal of your life status.

bitingduck

One of my favorite sichuan restaurants is like that-- we brought a big (for them) group in about half an hour before close, and a couple more showed up just before close, and they just kept bringing food until nobody could move. And you get the bill and can't believe you got that much good food for so little.

I'll have to come up for the 6-day again some time. I was up for the last 3 days of that a few years ago.

Ray R

Barbecue at Eddie B's ranch in Ramona is where I had great Polish food recently. His wife Sophie is an excellent cook.

Just_Nigel

Agree. I lived in Warsaw for about a year and one of THE best kabob shop was a totally dump looking place. The cook generally had a cigarette in his mouth and had sweat issues...but it was a regular stop

headlight

It's a bit of a drive for you, but give the "Alpine Village Market" a try. It's in Torrance, at Torrance Blvd, and the 110 fwy. The parking lot is right at the fwy exit. They hold a large swap meet tues-sun, so parking may be a problem, the market is on Torrance blvd. side. It's mostly German, but they have won many awards for their sausage. They've got a great selection. Lot's of cold cuts , different cheese's, homemade German Potato salad. Good bakery, I love their rye bread. Lot's of imported canned items from Europe plus a good selection of wines, beers and liquers from Europe. They also have a small rest. for lunch, they have stuffed cabbage, a various sausages with boiled potato's (yum!) and other plate lunch's. Starting right after Labor day, they erect a large tent and hold Octoberfest till the end of October. Have fun!

Condorita

(Fixed that linguistic disaster area for you.) You can also take the Blue Line down to the Del Amo stop, ride west on Del Amo, then left at the stop sign after you cross under the 110. (It's not far from where I work.)