If you can’t afford the time or money to jump on a plane to Calcutta or New Delhi, you can always drive less than a half-hour from the middle of L.A. to Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia. There, you can immerse yourself in a colorful swirl of Indian fabrics, spices, jewelry, decorative artworks and languages, not to mention some of the most flavorful vegetarian dishes south of the 10 Freeway.
The enthusiastic, somewhat gregarious owner explained that his place—a simple, clean, squarish room with sparse decorations—serves the popular street snack foods one finds round the clock in cosmopolitan Mumbai. The traditionally spicy nibbles are made milder here for American tastes. Also enjoy the chef’s Indo-Chinese fusion dishes from Maharashtra (the Indian state of which Mumbai is the capital). In other words, they’re not your typical curries and saag.
It looks like a small, old-school grocery store, except it’s jammed with every kind of canned, jarred and bagged Indian food product you would need to make a feast for the gods. You’ll also find a few fresh produce items, a sizable cold dairy section, exotic gifts and decorative knickknacks, but it’s the phenomenal spices and bulk bins of grains and legumes that will make you dance with glee like a Bollywood star.
A dhaba is a simple, roadside eating place in India, but this joint sports some serious decor! A craggy interior waterfall pours into a system of glass-covered streams that run, quite visibly, under the floor of this smallish strip mall restaurant. And then there are the thatched huts Oh, and the food! For the meat eaters, the Northern Indian menu includes a specialty of spicy goat and some superb chicken dishes.
In an area known for sellers of authentic Indian garb, this store is not the Queen Mommy, as the hand of Indian women is everywhere. There are some men’s clothing racks and decorative turbans, as well as a large kids’ section, but mostly this giant, multi-roomed emporium features row upon row of brightly colored, glittering saris and exotic dresses, as well as magnificent jewelry and shoes. The manager told us Gwen Stefani and Madonna shopped here recently. Need we say more?
With its plastic chairs and old-fashioned service counter with glass display cases, this looks like a modest, well-lit bakery, pizza place or ice cream shop. And yet the food is anything but conventional American fare. Come for highly authentic, intricately flavored Indian vegetarian plates, as well as baked sweets and interesting candies. Grab your own ice water and plastic cutlery and dine among the Indian families that pack the place.
CD stores might be taking a hit from MP3s and the Internet, but not every music store features such genres as Bhajans, Punjabi Religious and Hindi Old Songs. Throw in a fairly comprehensive collection of imported DVDs; fun Indian movie posters; and a musical instrument area in the back with harmoniums, tablas and dhols and youve got yourself an exotic experience that beats any day at Best Buy.
