Market Watch Vol. 1: Super King

Market Watch is a theoretically regular feature here on The Cocotte Communal, wherein we highlight places we shop at, with each of the contributors highlighting their favorite places to buy ingredients for their culinary adventures. If you're a contributor - feel free to edit this post to add your own two cents in a separate paragraph, with your name in bold before your take on the place in question.

HARTWELL - Super King, mentioned two posts ago, while describing delicious-sounding Pork Chop Sandwiches, by Anna, is a wondrous supermarket in Glendale.

I'm trying to wrack my brain to remember how I first heard of Super King. I think it was a Living Social or Groupon deal that I bought on a whim, and then used with gusto when I discovered one of their weekly specials was filet mignon for $3.99 a pound. I made the trek across the river, and braved the parking (always a nightmare at Super King - picture a Trader Joe's parking lot, and then cover the pavement in Batmobile-dispensed caltrops, and you get an idea of Super King on a good day) because the siren song of meat was great.

The butcher at Super King is intimidating - there's way more things on display than at your normal Albertson's or Giant Eagle or Kroger, and nobody there speaks much English. It's also the most packed part of the store, and for good reason. You've got a number, and when they call it, you act fast. I asked for two pounds of filet, and a giant slab of meat was held up and the guy said, "Smallest." Okay. Seems fair. At $3.99 a pound, an entire baby cow is really affordable.

I used the entire Groupon (or Living Social, who can say?) to purchase something like four pounds of filet mignon and took it home.

For comparison, this cut was the size of a small dog. 

They often have great deals on liquor as well, and carry some hot sauces you can't easily find anywhere else in East L.A. Try to carpool, though, cause of the parking issues.