—Tom Christie
BEST ETHNIC DELI COUNTER
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To shop is to remember. All of us walk into corner groceries or supermarkets with a child’s memory of food. For me it’s the wonder of skinned rabbits and eels displayed by vendors under the cast-iron arches of an English marketplace, whose aromas were just as sharp as those of the cheeses and ground coffee that filled Long Island A&Ps in the 1950s. None of these memories come to mind, however, whenever I enter Super King Market. If anything, this somewhat chaotic supermarket reminds me of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport before the fall of communism. Few supermarkets’ doorways, after all, come with imposing lettering that gigantically announces “Entrance” and “Exit” at either end of the buildings. Super King’s Entrance portal is located on the right-hand end, and so once inside, you enter a great, counterclockwise tide of shoppers that becomes almost impossible to swim against later, should you forget something and try to go back for it. But there’s an Old World marketplace feel to Super King, nevertheless, from the shelves of hookahs to its mixed-nut bar (no, not the Frolic Room) and wall of tea biscuits, along with stocks of Middle Eastern and Russian foods, evidence of the store’s Armenian ownership and the huge local émigré population the market serves. It’s crowded in a way that we’re not used to in California — it makes another Armenian-owned institution, Jons Market, seem like the staid Pacific Palisades Gelson’s on a Sunday morning. One of Super King’s many strengths (besides fresh produce and meat selection) is a wonderful deli counter that seems as long as an aircraft carrier. It’s ridiculously well-provisioned: It doesn’t just have regular prosciutto, but prosciutto Parma and prosciutto Daniele. It doesn’t only offer feta cheese, but blocks of Helena feta, Greek feta, Bulgarian feta, French feta, Danish feta and, of course, Armenian feta. Tip: Get your deli ticket number as soon as you enter the store — otherwise, you may be in for a long wait against a counter of meat and smoked fish that will only make you hungrier than you are. 2716 N. San Fernando Road, Glassell Park. (323) 225-0044.
—Steven Mikulan
BEST DICEY THRIFT SHOP
On any day, Valley Thrift offers better-than-bargain-basement shopping. But Saturday is fiesta time, when locals make a day of it. If you’re not from the ’hood, you’ll be eyed suspiciously, so come early and park in the lot. If you arrive after 10, you’ll have to park on side streets and make your way past scores of independent vendors hawking balloons, churros, fruit-freezes and whatnot. It’s easy to spend your wad before you get in, but hold onto some cash for the goods inside: thousands of DVDs and books, furniture, appliances, piles of clothing that put Nordstrom Rack to shame, more kiddie items than Toys R Us and the coolest classics this side of Aaardvark’s. If you insist on a dressing room, it’ll cost a buck. But after you’ve nabbed that $5 Yellow Submarine lamp, or those $3 Anne Klein heels, smile as you walk out, or you may find that a neighborhood kid has gifted the hood of your car with a puncture hole — made with his Bic pen — as you exit. 9007 Lankershim Blvd., Sun Valley. (818) 768-8338.
—Heidi Dvorak
BEST CAB DRIVER
Perhaps it’s late afternoon and you’re stuck in traffic on the 110 North after arriving at LAX, or perhaps it’s 2 a.m. and you and some friends have wadded together enough beer-soaked bills to get a safe ride home from the bar. Whichever the case, you’re stuck in a taxi with a driver that has seen and heard it all before, but you’ve probably never seen a taxi like this, ever. Despite its standard blue and yellow Checker Cab exterior, once inside it becomes obvious that Taxi No. 3502 is not your normal taxi, and Lonnie “Wisefool the Cab Driver” McCreery is not your average cab driver. No, you still can’t smoke inside and, yes, he still only carries five dollars in change, but Wisefool’s taxi doubles as a mobile recording studio for spoken-word poets, rappers and any fare who has the freestyle skills to get on the mic. The good thing? It doesn’t cost a penny extra. Also a musician, Wisefool first decided to convert his cab into a mobile recording studio in 2009 after realizing that five years spent circling the airport terminal and babysitting drunks had left him with little time to work on his own music. He equipped Taxi No. 3502 with microphones, a laptop and Pro-Tools, all powered through the cab’s cigarette-lighter converter, and soon Wisefool was recording more than just himself, but also some of underground hip-hop’s finest, which he now documents on camera as part of his “Off the Meter” video series. From rappers Kosha Dillz, Black Skeptik and Verbs, to impromptu sessions with surprisingly well-versed Valley girls, if you’ve got what it takes to lay down a track while cabbing through L.A., then “Wisefool the Cab Driver” has you covered, seven days a week. (213) 858-3786.
