Grand Central Market has been around since 1917. Across the street from the also historic, now out of commission Angel’s Flight, Angelenos would take a penny-ride to the open-air market which met the needs of newly immigrated families from all over the world. It’s been remodeled many times throughout the years, but it still has that old-world feel to it, which is a nice contrast to the high rise buildings and power-suited yuppies just a few blocks away in the Financial District.

During the past eight months, which I have spent as an office drone in the aforementioned yuppie-filled Financial District, Grand Central Market has become my weekly haven (biweekly, if I’m having a particularly shitty day). It’s a sweaty walk past Pershing Square from my office; down dirty sidewalks, past bored looking pedestrians – some waiting for a bus, some walking swiftly by, lost in their own thoughts. Once I reach the sanctuary of the Market, I’m relaxed, despite the busy bustle of the lunch crowd. On sawdust covered floors, I make my way past the always-crowded China Cafe, down the stairs and past a produce stand, a Japanese food stall, a “checks-cashed” store front whose neon sign is in dire need of repair, and work my way through the maze to my very favorite cheap lunch in all of Los Angeles.

I can’t remember how I stumbled upon Sarita’s Pupuseria (in fact, I didn’t even know what a pupusa was before I found Sarita’s) but I’m forever thankful that I did. The florescent bulbs keep all kinds of yummy (and a few gross) looking offerings warm. The stew always calls my name with its mix of meat and vegetables. The tamales look dry, but I can imagine they’re delicious with a generous pour of hot sauce. I’ve tried the plantains once, when I brought a friend here for lunch, but an order would be too much for myself, and I usually come here alone.

No, the thing that’s kept me a regular are the pupusas. For $2.60 (including tax!) a huge variety of combinations are available (beans and pork, squash and cheese, broccoli and cheese, etc.), but I go for the basic beans and cheese every time. Watch through the glass as a woman behind the counter, who’s probably made more pupusas than imaginable, grabs a fistful of thick corn tortilla dough and expertly stuffs it with whatever ingredients you chose. Flattened into a pancake shape, it’s then slapped onto the hot grill, and left to brown to a crispy goodness.

When my number is called, I like to grab my plate, two bags of the pickled cabbage traditionally topping the pupusa (called “curtido”), and a tub of the hot sauce that burns your tongue just a little, but tastes oh-so good with the cooling cabbage, and head back through the maze to outdoor patio on Hill St. There, I’ll read my book between bites, watch the colorful array of locals walk by, and almost fool myself into thinking that I don’t have to go back to work that day.

Stay tuned for more under $10 eats around town!

MAS PUPUSAS
» Profile: Pollo Master

You can experience Clifton’s and dozens of authentic Los Angeles attractions with me this Sunday, Feb 24 or next, March 2, on my ‘Disneyland’ Tour of Downtown Los Angeles. The MAIN STREET USA, ADVENTURELAND, FRONTIERLAND, FANTASYLAND and TOMORROWLAND of the heart and soul of our city awaits you! There are a few tickets left.

For Tickets and all the info click here.

Here’s to CLIFTON’S, rediscovering Downtown Los Angeles as theme park, and YOU!

Visit Charles’ site or join his Slide of the Week Mailing List.

I have a thing for pigs. And donkeys, lest we forget (one, two).

Hey man I admit it. Call me a fetishist. I don’t mind. The above bicycle rack is one of ten racks created for the the 1996 joint SCI-Arc and LADOT project titled “The Bike Stops Here.” This particular rack is located outside the Grand Central Market at 3rd and Broadway. It features dual hogsheads which have apparently been cast from a swine purchased at the aforementioned market.

Don’t take my word for it: Ruth Wallach has been documenting public art in Los Angeles for years. From her site, which I have found to be invaluable time and again:

Ten bicycle racks, funded by the Community Redevelopment Agency’s Downtown Cultural Trust Fund, were installed in downtown in 1995 and 1996 as part of “The Bike Stops Here” project. (One placed at the Los Angeles Times Building was subsequently damaged and removed.) Graduate and undergraduate students designed and fabricated these racks in a course at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). Supported by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, this project was developed as a way of encouraging bicycle riding in downtown by providing security at important public places.

Molina installed his bike rack at a dynamic and historic point near the property line on the sidewalk along Broadway dividing the Grand Central Market from the Million Dollar Theater. Two intersecting arches, capped by a pair of pig heads cast in steel from a head purchased at the Grand Central Market,(1) are embellished with cast fruit. The representation of foods sold in the market transforms the functional bike rack into a symbolic placemaker(2) marking the site’s importance, introducing the market and its surroundings, and capturing the heterogeneous culture of the city.(3)

Close-up photo of the steel-cast pig-headed goodness here.