Best Cheap Indian Stuff
Govinda's
Do you need to remove some obstacles, refresh your incense supply, deodorize your pits (without chemical additives), buy a beach cover-up and a housewarming gift, and eat, all for less than 50 bucks? Govinda's boutique, housed inside the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in West L.A., is your one-stop shop for Hindu deities, tulsi beads, bangles, kurtas and stackable stainless-steel food-storage containers (and lunch!). Sift through rack after rack of airy summer skirts, luscious jewel-toned pashminas and beautifully embroidered tunics, all priced at a fraction of what you'd pay on Robertson or Beverly or Melrose or wherever people shop retail these days. After you've revamped your wardrobe, picked out a few Ganeshas and stocked up on body-care products, head downstairs for some yummy, sattvic, mushy, vegetarian food, made with love and cumin and blessed by sari-wrapped, kum-kum-dotted Krishna devotees. Self-served and sold by the pound, the buffet boasts a salad bar, fresh-baked bread and steamed veggies in addition to the spiced-up exotic fare. A popular lunchtime spot for Sony studio-folk, starving artists and working peeps in the 'hood, "that Krishna joint," as it's affectionately called, is a haven for really (really, really) good eats, and it's the best deal in town.
—Dani Katz
