On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: Grocery, Ethnic Food, Beer, Wine & Spirits, Delis [Edit]
Neighborhood: Glassell ParkMon-Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Loading...
True, the parking lot is INSANE but who can blame their patrons?! With great prices in these times, and the wonderful selection of interesting ingredients from all around the world I give them 5 blinking sparkly red stars. I've found flavorful jars of veggie dips, alllll kinds of olives. a bazillion different types of cheese, their meat section is very popular and it's practically impossible to navigate that section of the store. Here's where your trained monkey comes in.
Priceless in so many ways, Super King is a hub of little Russian or Persian or Asian grandma's who tell you how to pick the best produce after shoving their way in front of you. ONe tiny granny taught me how to pick out the best ginger "no, theese wan..theese wan better for you.. that wan no goooood." I believe her. She looks like she's 100 years old and if in her shape when I'm here age, I will be grateful for all she taught me.
There are also birds flying through the store that add to the atmosphere. I hope they don't add to the cooties though.
What they say about the booze here is true. I bought a GIANT bottle of very nice Vodka here for 25.00!!!
The only reason Im giving this place less than 5 stars is because its like a war zone the minute you pull in...The parking lot is insane..but even worse is the cart wars inside the place...prepare to be banged around by rude pushy people....
But other than that are you kidding me....this place is Ab-Fab!!!! The produce is amazing.....the price are incredible....and the meat...my God the meat...I take everyone I can convince to go with me and they are always equally shocked at the prices and selection....
The steaks , the seafood....oh my...I can fill up my cart with all kinds of tasty wonderful goodies and Ive still never spent more than $80....Thats for rib eyes, Filet, chicken, lamb, fish, jumbo shrimp and all kinds of produce...they have so many choices....and the Puff Pasty...I love love love puff pastry...This place is wonderful....I can't believe anyway still shops at Ralps and gets ripped off when this place exists!!!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!
Pre-apocalyptic stockpiling hell swarm, anyone?
Getting someone an Xmas gift card for Super King would be kind of a fucked up gift. On one hand, free groceries! Whoot! On the other hand, they have to actually go there to redeem it.
Even though I'm the girl who'd rather carry two baskets than try to maneuver around the obstacle course with yet another grocery cart that's too big to properly round the corners, I had an old man actually ram ME with his cart when I was shopping here. Had I not loudly said "OW" he probably would have just kept pushing till I was pinned against the far wall. People here sure are focused - on the goods, not on their fellow shoppers. And for good reason; the shelves are packed with weird delights from around the globe. Worth a vist for the packaged foods (crackers, cookies, soups, etc.), cheese aisles, shelves of cured meats, yogurt selection, and mexican ice cream (can someone please tell me whether Mamey ice cream is good or not? I'm intrigued).
However, I don't necessarily equate CHEAP FOOD with GOOD FOOD, especially when it comes to produce. When I was here, the vat of persimmons outside looked rancid, but people were grabbing them by the handfuls anyway because they were cheap. Not Okay.
I shopped here when this store originally opened as a Hughes Market and later when it became a Ralphs and went completely downhill until it closed and remained vacant for several years. I am so glad the owners of Super King decided to locate their market right here because it is an awesome store at a conveniently short distance from my home.
If your grocery shopping includes a lot of ready prepared/heat n eat foods this may not be the right market for you. Or if you're looking for locally grown organic foods, this is not the place. But if you want rock bottom prices on a huge selection of good quality fresh produce, meat, bulk nuts and coffee, cheeses and cured meats from the service deli. Super King is probably your kind of place. It does get crowded here, annoyingly so at times. But, hey, there are good reasons why it's so popular. Most supermarkets have one person working the produce section. Super King has about 20 people just to keep all the produce bins stocked. It's that busy. But even so, you'll almost never have much of a wait when you get to the checkout. There are 14 check stands and they keep as many operating as it takes to avoid long lines when it is busy.
You can check out their weekly ad online. They also have special one-day promotions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays as described in the ad.
Restrictions: This market does not accept manufacturer's coupons. Returns are accepted only for 2 days from purchase and there are no returns on meat or produce. Also, no cash back when you pay with a debit card.
The apocalypse is near and every one is running to Super King to load up on groceries!
Or at least that's what it seems like when you step inside and see the massive amount of people. But seriously the way people are fussing around in the produce and deli areas, you would think its the end of the world or something. I went with my dad a few weeks ago to get some groceries and to see the place for myself.
Every time I went to get something and run back to the cart I nearly got run over. The only way I safely made it back to the cart was pretending I was Mario. Yes, I had to pretend I was in a video game!
It started to get wayy too crowded so I kept running into empty isles. Remember when you were a little kid, and you would go to the super market and you would roam around. Next thing you know you cant find your parents and you start to panic? That's exactly how I felt the entire time.
On the plus side, it has tons and tons and tons of stuff and its at a reasonable price. They also have an awesome bakery area with yummy goodies.
It truly is something you must experience yourself!
I do my once a week grocery shopping here, with supplements from Whole Food for Life on Los Feliz Blvd (better meat). I spend 70% of my time in the produce area and can tell the time of year by what is available there. Fresh yellow dates, fresh almonds with fuzzy green husks in the late summer, wonderful persimmons in October, the best Persian cucumbers in the spring. It's an amazing produce department with wonderful staff. $.99 for 10/lbs of potatoes every couple of weeks, beets for $.50/lb, 5lb of carrots for $1, about 15 kinds of peppers, tomatoes of all types for about $.50/lb, great fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, etc, 7 pounds of yellow onions for $.99. It's great!
The dairy department has great Lebna and yogurt, the deli is full of wonderful cold cuts and cheese, and oh the meat department! It's full of Harris Ranch beef, various chicken, pork and a seafood (although if you are looking for much more than salmon, shrimp, tilapia and catfish, you will be disappointed).
Plus they have Armenian coffee, and the medium blend at $3.99/lb gives any coffee shop blend a run for its money. In a Gaggia grinder and espresso machine it gives a great crema and wonderful flavor. Big juicy Medjool dates for $3.99/lb, walnuts, raw almonds, an entire nut bar, etc. round out the produce area and make it even more wonderful.
I could go on. . . it has a whole wall of spices, an aisle with many types of olives and pickled veggies, lots of fruit nectars, a whole isle of dry beans, rice, noodles and couscous and another aisle of wonderful jams and sweets. The bakery has a deli with hot foods, baked goods and fresh orange juice.
I love this store! I've tried the Altadena SuperKing and it's not worthy of this one.. This is a wonderful, friendly and often CROWDED store, but the crowds know their stuff. It's worth it.
Super King is anarchy at its finest!
First of all, if you haven't been to Super King, you're in for a bit of culture shock. The shoppers are abundant, and come from many, many, many different cultures. Expect to get your shopping cart banged a few times by oblivious old ladies who will not offer an apology. Expect to encounter some interesting aromas from folks who don't believe in a daily shower. Expect to be there for a good while, because the aisles are overcrowded and impossible to navigate at times. Expect to observe some indescribably bad driving in the parking lot (don't drive a nice car down there).
Those are the negatives.
The positives include some of the freshest, least expensive produce, fresh nuts, and meats you'll ever come across. The fresh fruit and vegetable section is a veritable United Nations of good stuff. Persian cucumbers for a fraction of what other markets charge. Eggplants, onions, spinach, all colors of bell peppers, melons, mangoes, papayas, all at dirt cheap prices. And unlike Grand Central Market in Downtown LA, the produce at Super King is fresh, not wilted and half-rotten.
As for the meat counter, I'll just say that I've never seen fillet mignon sold in slabs at a special sale price of $4.99 per pound anywhere else. When that stuff's on sale, I buy 10 pounds of it at a time and cut it up into steaks or kebab chunks and freeze it. We've served Super King fillet mignon for guests on several occasions and they rave about it. I believe their beef supplier is Harris Ranch.
By all means, go to Super King. And take patience and a sense of humor along with you!
This place is frickin' nasty! Where do I even start?
I came here once on a road trip up to the Bakersfield area, and my daughter was about to explode, so we stopped here to use the restroom. The first thing I noticed was that there was zero parking, and crappy drivers were backing out of their spots without looking, stopping wherever they felt like it, etcetera. It is a ZOO. We sprinted to the doors, at which point I noticed a security guard letting people INTO the store. What kind of place needs that kind of security? How ghetto is this area?
We wandered a few aisles before things became "an emergency," at which point I asked a staff member where the restrooms were. The guy was really nice and didn't seem annoyed or bothered at all. In fact, all of the staff seemed like they were in a decent mood, so I was impressed by that.
The restrooms? Not so impressive. The women's restroom was sort of locked, with the door half ajar from the lock receptacle. Another staff member told me that it was occupied and that we could use the men's restroom. I nearly puked. Inside, we found that the urinal was all backed up, and the water in the toilet was pale yellow. The whole room smelled of piss. I felt really bad for the guy waiting outside afterward, because the toilet didn't flush at all! Sick!
To stretch our legs, we walked a few of the aisles before leaving. The prices were indeed low, but I'm suspicious of a store where even the bakery area smells like seafood and rank meats. I'm quite used to the various smells of ethnic markets, but this one really took the (rotten) cake. Normally, the fishy scents are confined to the seafood section. This whole place smelled bad! The floors were dirty, and the store was beyond crowded.
I'd rather hit a gas station for both food and restroom use next time.
Yes, as others have noted, sometimes with love and sometimes with scorn, Super King is a zoo.
But there are good reasons for this. The store's business model is a perfect match for its present time and place.
These are recessionary times, and people are looking to make their limited financial resources stretch as far as they can. Super King shows what's possible as far as pricing... while the big grocery chains are charging 2 and 3 and 4 times as much for a lot of things (especially produce), Super King gives us a clue how much we might be overpaying at those places. When I go into stores like Vons, Ralph's, and Albertson's lately, it seems like business has slowed down a lot. But people still have to eat, so where have they all gone? Super King. When I have the time and the mental energy to deal with it, I make the 4-mile drive from where I live, and I embrace the zoo-ness.
I do wish they were open 24 hours, or until midnight at least. I like shopping at odd hours.
There is one store much closer to me that has produce prices that are *close* to what Super King offers, and that's Jons... but their quality isn't as good, the store in general is a little shabbier, and prices on non-produce items are higher.
If I had to choose one word that describes Super King Market, I would definitely go with: INTIMIDATING.
This is not your normal, run-of-the-mill market. Its like Vallarta on crack. The produce selection is amazing. Its all really fresh and priced incredibly competitive. The butcher carries fresh cuts of your favorite animal flesh and is priced cheap. The rest of the store is ridiculous. They pretty much have everything.
Coming on a Tuesday after work, the parking situation wasn't really the issue as the other Yelpers described. However, I'm sure most of the patrons walked there because there was eleventy billion people in the store. Its really hard to maneuver in there.
I would like to offer my fellow Yelpers a tip: Make sure you know what you're going there for. If you're just coming to browse, this ain't your store, buddy.
Oh Yelpers, I listened to you again. I lived pretty close to Super King Market, so I thought I'd check it out. I had specific things I was looking for and I thought this would be the spot.
Did I find what I was looking for? One item. And yes, the produce prices were low. And I got a pretty good deal on vodka. And if I was going to BBQ for a gang of folks, I'd probably here. And there is a wide variety of international items. (I have a thing for German candy.)
BUT, bring your patience and make sure your car insurance is up to date, because there are people who don't seem to care that they may be backing up into your car. I thought Trader Joe's (like, all of them) had shitty parking lots. Oh no. This was craptacular.
I bought asparagus. I had to carefully go through to make sure I wasn't buying something that was going bad, because many of them had soft tops, wilty tops. I also got strawberries for $.99, which looked quite nice (I checked the bottom of the basket), although I haven't tasted them yet.
The cashiers are not friendly, but I'm a grown up and I know that everyone doesn't have to warmly embrace me. The customers, however, are some of the rudest, pushiest people I've ever seen and I've lived in the 'hood. Seriously, these people are no joke. If you're shopping here, don't bother to be courteous, because your efforts will be wasted.
I was going to give it 2 stars, but I like variety in food and it's crazy close to my humble abode. There's also a wine called Mother-in-law that I'm curious to try.
Maybe I'll try to come back on a weekday morning or something instead of a Sunday afternoon. It couldn't possibly be that bad all the time, could it?
Driven by for many years and lately in the area daily. No interest to go in till I Yelped. What a find! Have been in twice. First time I only had time to go to the Deli section. Found a great whole roasted chicken for $3.99 which was well roasted and tasty. Hummus was tasty as well. Large fresh squeezed orange juice for $1.99. Tasty Mid Eastern breads.
Second visit...brought in Mom. This lady is hard to impress. Heck, I should know I've been trying all my life. Thanks, Mom for the heat...that is what made me what I am today. Off track, back to Super King. No joke, the King knows what he is doing. We headed to the produce section first. You can tell as soon as you walk in that it's all fresh. Great prices. Ever had fresh pistachios? I had never even seen them till I came here. $1.99/lb. Blueberries and raspberries were fresh and under $2.00/pack! My mom immediately said that she would be doing her shopping here from now on. Good enough for Mom!
We walked through the meat section and it all looked fresh and very well priced. Best yet, I hear they sell no pork on site!! I stay away from that animal. Made Mom even happier.
Yes, there is a lot of people of every color, race and size there. I didn't find anyone to be rude just in a hurry to get their shopping done. I figure you can go to work and deal with lots of people to make your money or come here and deal with lots of people to save money. Also, keep in mind that all those people can't be there for no reason at all. I'd be worried if there were no customers there.
As far as I am concerned you shouldn't go there because I need to get in and out quickly but as I appreciate an honest review, I had to tell the truth. Super is the King of fresh and inexpensive.
I'm going through the aisles next time to check out all the foreign goodies!
I'll keep it short, because you'll need extra time to get navigate through the Super King parking lot:
- Ridiculously crowded parking. They sometimes have an employee guiding cars. Good luck getting a space.
- Ridiculously cheap food. Especially with the produce. Puts costco to shame.
- Great selection of lots of ethnic ingredients, especially middle eastern and mexican.
- Crowded again inside, especially when you're trying to get into a checkout line. Keep your patience; you're getting a good deal.
There's even a cafe/restaurant inside; I've never eaten there but it looks interesting.
This market is good for you if you are:
-A short drive to their store location
-In need of ethnic food
-Having a party, BBQ or event where meat, seafood and produce is needed
-Have a second freezer to store goods
-Have an empty refrigerated and need to stock up all at once
-A vegetarian and need to stock up on Veggies and Seafood
-A carnivores man who loves meat. They sell standard brands as well as Harris Ranch.
This market is NOT good for you if you are:
- Buying items any standard grocery store sells. Here, standard merchandise is similarly priced to other discount competitors.
- Looking to run a quick errand because this is a time consuming venture with parking and cart traffic inside the store.
-Claustrophobic, anti-social or afraid of people in general. Even during off-peak hours this place is packed.
I came here on Saturday around noon. There was no place to park so the ladies and I decided to park up and around a block. Inside the store was total chaos. We only wanted a few items but the human traffic annoyed me. I am not one for large crowds and shopping cart grid lock. We eventually put our items back and went to Trader Joe's. The only cool part about that experience was checking out the fine ass Middle Eastern Men. Middle Eastern men are spicy like Sriracha. I want to taste their Soujouk.
Anyway, I just got back from there and the crowd was much better. I picked up a bunch of fruit and vegetables... I got so much stuff and only spent $32.00. I was hoping I would be able to grab some food from the deli like a falafel plate but they didn't cater to my lifestyle.
The store is awesome for fruits and vegetables. I think I'm going to walk back there on Saturday or Sunday to look for a dude. Maybe a dude who can cook Baklava and stuffed grape leaves...
This place is inexpensive and cool if you like to experiment with cooking because some of the items are not in English. They also have whole sale items.
Great account of the experience in this place. Please read.
http://www.deliciousco...
This is by far the BEST place to buy alchohol. I researched many places and they have the most… Read more »
Dear Super King,
I have come to you for your produce aisle alone. I haven't gone to other sections of the store yet. Please forgive me; I don't mean to love you and leave you.
What makes you so great? Let me count the recent ways...
--10 pounds potatoes $1.29
--9 mangoes for $4
--2 pounds spinach $3.49
--gallon peeled garlic $4
--pound bean sprouts $.50
--cucumbers 6/$1
--orange & green bell peppers $.69/lb
--3 romaine hearts/$1
--cilantro and green onion bunches 5/$1
--6 oz raspberries $.79
--limes 12/$1
With prices like this, you won't be a one night stand, sugar.
xo,
B
make sure you get there early and make the most of your trip, this place is always packed!!!!
i have been coming to this market since it replaced the ralphs that used to be there.
reallllllly good deals on everything.
the long line that constatly exists to get into the parking lot proves that i ain't lying. people come from all parts of glendale/l.a. to shop here.
my advice. go on a tues/wed...usually the least amount of people these days.
- Insane parking
- SUPER cheap prices
- Crazy mix of Armenian, Hispanic, etc. types of foods
- Careful with dry goods like giant bags of beans - there are rats in the back
Okay. So I still LOVE SK, however, I believe that the lack of employment in Los Angeles has sent a stream of bargain hunters to the store. And since no one is working regular (weekday) hours anymore, there is NO safe time to approach the parking lot. Even the trusty old "go during church hours" no longer works. Even on Sunday mornings, the place is full of heathens! It is a danger zone beyond my comprehension. Don't bother trying to park in the lot until they have some sort of attendant out there creating some sort of order. Find street parking or just walk.
I wish to send many of these people back to driving school. My favorite is the person who stops in the middle of the lot, takes up the entire driveway and blocks all moving traffic. I love that. Even better ... I think that everyone's turn signals are broken... you must GUESS which way they will erratically drive (or not).
Please Super King! Hire someone to direct the traffic!!! PLEASE. :)
I spent a lot of time in eastern Europe growing up and my uncle is a Hungarian butcher. When I first… Read more »
If you have problems with "ethnic groceries", then read my review on Jon's Market
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
and avoid this place (that might cut down on the throng of shoppers here every day). If you have never been to, or lived in a foreign land (or been to parts of LA that are mostly non-WASP) then avoid this place (that might cut down on the throng of shoppers here every day).
Otherwise, Super King is one of the best groceries I have seen in LA. It is located right off the 5 Fwy and the 2 Fwy (San Fernando or Fletcher exit?) in what appears to be the border of Glendale-Eagle Rock-Glassell Park). It is close to the Ribet Academy private school.
The parking lot is actually pretty big, but not nearly enough to deal with the throng of shoppers here every day. The produce are fresh and well stocked, and even less expensive than the previously-reviewed Jon's Market.
As you enter, there tends to be a bottleneck of shoppers (hint, most are not queuing to enter, they are buying melons or berries or whatever else is stocked near the entrance. Just pass by them.
If you do not need a large cart, great! Grab a couple of hand baskets and weave your way through the heretofore-mentioned "throng of shoppers."
Otherwise, find a clever place to stash your cart and load it up as you pass each aisle.
Most shoppers come here for 2 things, produce and meat. Thus, the fruit & vegetable area at the entrance is the toughest part to negotiate. Being raised in the US (and in particular in the law & order Midwest) I also am surprised at first when I see folks pick over and sample produce before they commit to buying anything. But, I've noticed in travels that this is pretty common practice in many countries and I notice at Super King that the clientele is from many countries (most times I notice my fellow Armenians, Latinos, Filipinos, East Asians, Middle-Easterners, East Europeans) and these folks . . . my people . . . know their produce! Yes, it s a generalization, but most non-Americans eat fresher and cook more often than the typical American, at least I've come to that opinion.
As you enter, there is a section to your right with fresh roasted nuts, roasted coffee and roasted seeds (i.e. watermelon, sunflower, etc...). That is very Middle-Eastern. The owners are Armenian, and per rumor, the present Armenian president's brother is the main investor in this business (hope it ain't Armenian government money :-)
One can find fruits and vegetables here that are not generally at the Ralph's or Von's . . . fresh figs in season, fresh dates, champagne grapes, flat Italian green beans, . . . hoping they have loquats in May! Did I say the fruits & vegetables here are inexpensive? Dirt cheap is a better description. Great prices! Most shoppers, you'll notice are stocking up on tons of fresh fruits and vegetables (they're not re-selling them, trust me) we ethnic types eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, we cook and tend not to eat processed foods as much.
But if you're looking, you'll find jams and jellies and preserves made of quince, rose petals, etc... from Syria, Lebanon, Iran . . . you'll find Armenian "tarragon" soda and imported juices and nectars made of all sorts of berries and fruits. The imported beer selection is better at Jon's, but Super King has much more of everything else it seems.
There are some unique frozen food from lands far away (I noticed Georgian "khingali" dumplings, Chicken Kiev, Egyptian "mouloukhia" or jute leaves, even frozen stuffed grape leaves (gasp! . . . don't worry mom I didn't buy them).
There is a good selection of cheese from the Middle East and Eastern Europe (Cypriot Halloumi, Bulgarian Kashkaval, Greek Feta, Armenian Brinza, Lebanese Naboulsi and Ackawi).
There is also a bakery with fresh desserts and (mostly) Armenian baked goods. You can even buy a hookah (nergila) near the registers . . . and amazingly there is hardly ever more than two carts ahead of you at the register (as they tend to have every one manned by a cashier). Hint, to avoid the rush, they open at 8:00 a.m. Only downside is that the baked goods might not have been stocked until 9:00 a.m.
If you shop here, its not for convenience, its not for the friendly staff (though they are friendlier than Jon's) . . . its for quality, freshness, variety/selection and price.
A coworker of mine and a random woman at Starbucks recommended this place to me and OMG . . . I absolutely love it.
The produce section is amazing. While I WAS eating strictly organics, because of recent hard times, I've had to go back to eating "regular" produce. No snobbery from me though. It's just how it is.
The first time I went in, wasn't sure what I was to expect. Started picking up some product then realized - Hey I need a basket! It's very easy to go overboard and buy lots of yummy fruits and veggies here.
I was able to find huge portobello mushrooms (perfect for sandwiches), beautiful eggplants, kale, organic alfalfa sprouts, sweet grapes, gorgeous orange and yellow bell peppers . . . and can go on and on.
Picked up Guerro crunchy circle thingies for my parents there. Only 99 cents when normally they go for over $2 in other stores.
If you're looking for strictly organics, it's not here. I'm definitely going to use this market as my go-to place for produce. Saving Whole Foods for my precious Kombucha.
What can be said about Super King that already hasn't?
The parking sucks, it's generally pretty packed and hectic inside, but the food here is well worth it. Great deli, great produce, great bakery, great meat market. It's all cheap too! Especially the produce.
Besides the obvious benefit of cheap, fresh food, the staff here kicks serious ass. They always have a lot of the check stands open, and no matter how crowded it has been since I've been going here, I don't think I have waited for more than a few minutes in line. Everyone that works here is busy doing their job. From taking deli orders to stocking produce, they attack it with urgency and fervor rarely seen at a grocery store.
Pinche gueros like myself take heed, this is not a quiet mom and pops market, nor is it a giant cookie-cutter chain like Ralph's or Albertson's. Don't get upset at the other customers, just try to be quick and confident with your shopping cart!
The only thing that annoys me about this place is that they never seem to have spinach....but I suppose it's a worthy sacrifice for all the other benefits.
Ok... I am warning you DO NOT go here on a day before any holiday. I am from a large hispanic family and would have thought I'd be used to this (come on lighten up its a joke) but this place was CROWDED last time I went. Then again, you cannot beat the prices and the produce was ***** quality! Great stuff. When is the last time I filled my grocery cart just to the rim and paid just over $100? Been a while. Love this place, Definite go to when I need to stock up on staples and greens.
For all of you who love to cook:
This is THE place for produce. No matter how many times I come here, I'm always amazed at how much this place rocks.
Where to start?
How about the abundance of the produce? It doesn't matter if I come in for my shopping in the morning, or later, closer to closing time, their shelves are always stocked full of fresh veggies and fruits.
The actual produce is amazing- the tomatoes actually smell like tomatoes- the nectarines, the oranges, the lemons, the pears- almost perfect looking. The parsley, the spinach, the blemish free celery and fennel. The isles are kept clean by constant cleaning- they have a lot of staff ready to pick up pieces of lettuce and cilantro off the floor before you even notice that it dropped to the floor.
Their deli section is great- they're very efficient with their number system, even if you have to push your way through the crowd to be heard saying " NUMBER 27!!! THAT'S ME! 27" Anyway, you can sample all the cheeses and meats and olives before you buy them and it's crazy how big of a portion they give you when you ask them. The last time I asked to try their valbresso, the lady behind the counter gave me enough for a small, yet filling cheese sandwich!
Their meat section is just as impressive. I once went here with my mother- and she wanted ground lamb. The man behind the counter said they didn't have any, but the manager- I think her name was Anush- overheard this, and said that she could have him take out a lamb leg, or lamb meat off the shank- whatever it was and grind it there on the spot. She even ran it through the machine twice to my extremely picky mother happy. Now that is good service.
The best part? Their prices are unbelievable. Don't believe me- just go and see for yourself.
I recently moved to the LA area from the east coast and was floored by food prices here. I thought for sure I was going to have to resort to a diet of bread and water. I'm so glad I found this store on Yelp. You can't beat the prices. If I know I'm going to spend more than $20, I only shop at Super King.
To echo some other reviewers, here are a few tips:
1. Go early - parking fills up. I've even happened on a shopping cart line of folks waiting to get in like it was a club - security had to stagger the number of folks coming in based on the number coming out because the place was so packed.
2. Sometimes I can't find all of the brands I want, but it's not a major deterrant. There is still a great selection of fresh produce and meats.
3. The deli counter offers a number of great meats from eastern Europe, Russia, etc. But, if you're accustomed to east cost deli meats, you'll get quite frustrated because despite how descriptive you try to be and how much you urge the attendant to slice the meat/cheese thin, it's still going to be as thick as cardboard. But, I'm finding that's pretty common in LA anyway.
4. I've read that some reviewers found the staff to be rude. I haven't had that experience, but the customers can seem pretty haughty. Wear shoes that cover your heels - more than one cart has rammbed into my achilles. And, expect folks to rudely leave carts everywhere but to the side of the isle.
We love Super King! Thank goodness we live close enough to walk. All weekend all we can hear is honking from the parking lot. If you love clean, organized un-crowded aisles filled with perfect displays, this is most certainly not the place for you. If you love a wide array of ethnic food and cheap prices while you dodge carts trying to dive to take a number at the insane deli counter, you have got to go to Super King! I knocked off one star just for the crazy parking and the long wait at the deli counter.
I swear, my friends never heard me cussed and yelled so much here. The parking here is terrible. I'm not saying that it is badly designed, I am saying that there is so much people, and a shiz load of armenians, with a couple of asians, and a few mexicans, do not mix well in a packed parking lot.
The whole time I was like "B*tCh no way no way no way" or "Hellll noooo B*tch!" "O nu uh I swear" and last but not least "F U MOTher trucker!"
this guy tried to steal our parking space! so I kept saying no way nu uh, but we got it. the victory dance is mine.
SO anyways, (btw they have a cafeteria here. O and they have a lot of armenian things here because I think the owner is armenian, so their bakery and food is too.) they have cheap stuff here lol. DUDE! you HAVE to get their carne asada meat (ranchera) its not marinated which is the way I like. and everytime I go, their sale is ridiculous selling them for 2.99! and if you know ranchera meat, you know they can get pricey. plus ranchera is the best meat for carne asada! just get your own seasoning or marinade!
thats pretty much it. GO BEEF!
Pop quiz hot shot: you have three hours to make a 4 course meal for 8 dinner guests. What do you do?
Always cut the blue wire and head over to Super King Market. Fast, fresh, and cheap. It looks a little ghetto on the inside but when you need to buy 12 fresh fish fillets, enough vegetables to start your own farm, and loads of liquor and do it all without welfare afterward - Super King is the only option. And unlike a bad Keanu movie, Super King has substance (and sustenance)
A shopping trip to a Ralph's or Albertson's can easily cost $100, try $50 at Super King. And you can get all kinds of ethnic food at Super King that regular supermarkets don't carry.
And like any good ethnic grocery, Super King has a GINORMOUS selection of liquor. You know, because we ethnics love to come home, drink, and complain about the man keeping us down.
Thanks to Super King my dinner party was a success, got a few phone numbers, and an offer to be a chef.
Geeze, this place gets a lot of reviews. Fortunately, when I lived in Mt. Washington, this was my latest fave market in the hood. Prior to the opening of Super King, the store went through a lot of close downs; I think it was Boys and a Ralph's at one point...I don't remember, this was so long ago.
But the reason I conveniented this market was specifically for the "Nut Bar" and the fruit. Being a vegetarian and all, Super King offers a meatless protein section. They have every nut you can imagine. It's an actual bar with actual nut servers. They have such an array of different protein's that I became highly dependent on Super King for my daily nutrition.
Luckily, another cheapo ethnic market opened up even closer to my house, Superior Warehouse, which is more less on the Latino and Asian tip.
God I love this place. It is a zoo so bashful shopping cart pushers go elsewhere, you must be quick, assertive, and graceful as you plow through families and their loved ones in your shopping cart of doom.
A very diverse market and each group plays out their battle amongst the unsuspecting produce. Oh my sweet chayotes are always off to a corner, behind the packages and packages of mini dried toast and fruit whose name I have forgotten.
The alcohol aisle is worth the trip. Vodka bottles in the style of Russian nesting dolls, and so many bottles of pomegranate wine, a girl does not know what to do with herself, wait yes I do, it involves drinking.
Oh, I am so glad I tried Super King. With a name like that, and a location to match, I was hesitant, but I kept getting fliers in the mail, and eventually gave in. I usually go to Vons and Trader Joe's with random stops and fruterias to make up for shortcomings. This place IS a zoo - like everyone has stated and complained about. That's because it's good! Park far away and walk, C'mon
you can do it.
There will be an outdoor fruit and veggie setup outside staring at you while you wrangle a cart. Don't get too excited, most of it is inside too incase you get overtaken. Actually the pitch and pace and mass of the place makes me think of a bazaar in Istanbul -I don't mind. When your cart is getting rammed, and your heels flattened, imagine being in an exotic land.
They have redundant isles of produce -thank heavens -and a nut bar just to the right as you walk in. It IS chaos.
Here's my strategy: I park my cart, sling my purse, and run all over gathering up Asian pears, Jerusalem artichokes, regular GIANT artichokes (straight from my childhood in Ojai - for 50 cents a piece) big bags of baby spinach, bundles of fresh, fragrant herbs, little beautiful Italian eggplants... I could go on and on....All the standard stuff, and many of the more exotic cravings extremely cheap and fresh and beautiful.
Huge isle of spices to the left. From a distance it looks standard. I assure you it is not. I like spices and use them all the time, but found myself sneezing, turning colors and having and overall physical attack while I was lingering over all those aromas.
A fellow with a broom and pan cut me off. "Excuse me" I said "Yeah" he said, lol! At least he's serious about his job! I got a huge bag of turmeric for $1, etc.
Next there's dairy. All the yogurt is Middle Eastern: get some. Plain yogurt can be divine.
All the isles between the produce and meat section are there to kill time while you are waiting for the crowds to disperse. There's ramen and all that other common garbage, but also rose and orange blossom water, varieties of molasses, and syrups, a zillion different olives and other picked things, There's an isle of cheese -no cheddar. (I got some lovely cheese things, and a couple of unbearable).
Rose water ice cream aound the corner.
Jars of tapenade, et al.
An entire isle of grains and different cous cous, ohhh, fun! Skip the roman meal this week.
People WILL look at you sideways if you're enjoying yourself and exploring- F'em. They will also pop open jars of olives to try them. What can I say? Check your safety seal.
Anyways...
The packaged meat section is deceiving. Go to the butcher. I wanted lamb, because all those overbearing spices and exotic grains put me in the mood. I was staring at leg of lamb, which was about $5/lb. -unheard of. The nice butcher boy saw me staring wide-eyed and helped me out. (Awww! Unheard of!) The leg of lamb was only sold by the half or whole -so I passed -for now. The shoulder was cheaper and available however you wanted it. "How would you like it cut miss?" "Who me?" Oh yeah. We had lamb chops rubbed with herbs 2 days in row for $10.
I'm assuming you share my enthusiasm. You like to cook, and like Middle Eastern food and people. And cheap stuff, and hustle and bustle.
Don't come here with PMS wanting your Dove dark chocolate bars RIGHT NOW! Come with a sense of adventure and a lust for pungent and tangy food, and a tolerant curiosity for human nature. Enjoy.
I used to think that white folks were suckers for buying their produces at Ralphs, Vons, Albertsons, when they can go to korean market for cheaper produce. Superking has fresher produce than most korean markets and most non-korean produces, they usually sell it cheaper: tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, nectarine. (korean market still has cheaper scallion at times, napa cabbage, daikon radish etc...and you're really a sucker if you go to japanese market for these cause i checked the prices)
Along with it they have cheap boneless chicken that i get time after time for my famous BBQ chicken, deli, seafood section bakery, already cooked food, middle eastern dish section.
Beware of middle eastern elder men and women who bathes once in a blue moon. I was stuck between these armanian man and woman while waiting my turn at the deli and the lovely mixture of pungent body aroma struck my nose which in turn told my brain to kill itself.
oh and the parking. It's crowded around the clock, so to alieve headache, just park far and walk.
Try the Turkey Pastrami for under $3/lbs. Very good. I usually get 2-3 lbs and come home with 1 lbs
This store is a madhouse! Hard to get in the parking lot, hard to get in the store and maneuver around. The rudeness started in the parking lot, you can only go one way, and one man was determined to scoot around me, thinking I was just being an idiot for sitting there! ARGH!
They have staff to help maneuver you around the parking lot and staff inside trying to keep people from blocking aisles and impeding traffic in the store.
Some produce is a very good deal, others aren't. Nut bar looked like just bulk nuts dumped in bags. Prices did seem to be good, but not earth shattering good enough to put up with the rudeness and madness.
When I was here, the people were extremely rude. Banging into you, blocking aisles. Never got to look at the deli counter, people were standing around it almost guarding it like they were giving away gold! If people could shoot lasers out of their eyes, I would have been fried on the spot!
There are much better examples of stores like this with better deals and polite patrons, try Sunland Produce, or Valley Produce.
This place has the cheapest vegetables ever and a great selection of meats in the deli. Really cheap lamb and steaks. The Miramar salsa in the cold food aisle for $1.99 is really good.
They must not have shopping carts in the old country because most of the people shopping here have no concept of their surroundings or other people when pushing a cart. Almost every time I go someone has stopped halfway in the front door to look at something and blocked the entrance for everyone.
Okay so it's a bit of a struggle to get here, and once in the market it's packed, but totally worth it. Fresh produce and fresh seafood. The produce wont go bad after two days in the fridge like when you go to Ralphs. And it's really cheap. The seafood is mighty tasty and reasonably priced. The meat is also good and they have all the cuts.
Sure the cashiers like to give hard stares and all, but I'm sure I'd be the same way if I was working in a crowded hugely packed market for eight hours. But put that aside. Consider the $$ saved...I mean, dang, the veggies here will last 'ya!
I have never been so happy walking out of a grocery store and saving so much on fruits and vegetables. Today, I had at least 8 full bags and I only spent less than $40. I've shopped here before but for some reason I guess I didn't realize that SuperKing is the real deal for produce. I think that if I continue to shop here I'd probably won't go off to some other market where I would purchase chips, sweets, and other junk.
I love this place. My only concern is that I can't trust, for the life of me, to go ahead and try their poultry, fish, and other meats here. I don't think its as fresh as their produce products. I also love that I can snack on some fruits, seeds, almonds, and other nuts while pushing the shopping cart, but be careful you might crash into another shopper (as said before, it gets pretty crowded).
Don Julio 1942 for 100 bucks.
Johnnie Walker Blue for 140.
Affirmative on the hookah/tobacco products. This is definitely my new local liquor stop.
Need I say more? Not a big fan of a nice scotchy brunch?
They've produce fresher than a pimp.
I went here yesterday for the first time... loved it. Produce is dirt cheap. Think about what you assume is cheap. It's cheaper.
The meat section was really good. They had a nice variety of cuts and types of meat. Although it was really crowded, the line moved pretty quickly(they had 4 people working).
The only downside to this place in the convenience. I went at three in the afternoon, and it was almost difficult to get around the store with a cart. I suggest maybe going in the morning, cut down on the headaches.
Forget Whole Foods and TJs and the Monterey Park Chinese markets ... thanks to Yelp we've found our Holy Grail of supermarkets. Fresh and cheap produce, dozens of varieties of olive oil (now I don't have to go to Papa Cristo's to get Lebanese olive oil), cheeses, yogurt, sausages and smoked meats, flat breads, rice and grains. Decent wine and liquor selection. A little Chinese fast food place that offers whole roasted chickens plus a couple of pieces of flat bread and a side of lo mein, fried rice or egg rolls for 6.99. Short lines at the checkout, and you don't have to bag your own stuff. I'll suffer the crowds gladly. Plus, you can buy a hookah on your way out.
UPDATE: We had the leg of lamb I got at 2.99/lb for Christmas, and it was marvelous. Still haven't tried the fresh seafood - and the frozen seafood section's limited - but we'll be having lamb more often now that I've found an affordable source.
Neighborhood: Pasadena
Category: Grocery
Anaheim, CA
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: Glendale
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: Glendale
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: Echo Park
Category: Grocery
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
