laleanne: Our first adventure took us to the heart of Los Angeles’ Historic district where we meandered around the Grand Central Market. This open-air market is a captivating medley for the senses. Aisle to aisle there are stands with fresh produce, barrels of beans and nuts, and even clear cases filled to the brim with unique Mexican spices. Immediately, you are hit with a smorgasbord of scents from all of the food vendors freshly grilling, sautéing, and frying made to-order meals. As usual, my sense of smell overwhelmed me and I was eager to eat anything handed to me—literally.
We made our first lunch stop at Sarita’s Pupuseria. Pupuseria? Is that Spanish for where they make Mexican pupu platters? Carla quickly defined “pupusa” for me as something similar to a pancake filled with savory goodness. I’m in! Officially a pupusa is a thick, hand-made corn biscuit-like flat bread, made using a maize flour dough that is stuffed with anything of your choice (cheese, vegetables, or meat). I chose a pupusa de hongos con queso (cheese and mushrooms) and Carla had a pupusa de jalapeno con queso (jalepenos and chese). Wrapped around Sarita’s stand is a counter with bar stools overlooking the cooking area. We perched up on some stools and watched the ladies pound, knead, and cook our pupusas. Served with a side of pickled cabbage and a bottle of a hot sauce, we went to town on our pupusas. Imagine a crisp pancake filled with cheese, paired with the tartness and crunch of some cabbage and the kick of hot sauce. Trust me, it’s tasty. Here’s the big plus, the pupusas are about $2.40 a piece. Cook up a couple of those, mix and match them if you want, and you could have a full meal for under $5.
carla: Next up, it was time to get our ceviche fix. Laleanne and I are huge supporters of Mariscos Chente, so any opportunity to satisfy our ceviche cravings elsewhere are always entertained. Maria’s Fresh Seafood at Grand Cetnral Market makes three kinds of ceviche: fish, shrimp & a mixture of the two. We ordered a pint of shrimp ceviche and headed to Las Morelianas as it was said to be the best spot for carnitas at the market. As we walked up to the stall, we were immediately handed a taco each filled with moist, delicious carnitas. This was a just a mere sample given to us in order to help our decision making, needless to say this did not make the ordering process any easier. Las Morelianas specializes in slow roasting the ‘whole hog’ – the results are delicious. Ears, skin, snout, feet, ribs, stomach, heart – they’ve got it all. Drizzle some mild tomatillo or fiery red salsa over top, and it’ll be the best $2.50 you’ll ever spend.
Once we had demolished our pupusas, ceviche, tacos & a Mexican Coke– we made a quick stop at the bathroom (btw it’ll cost you a quarter) and headed back to our meter on Hill street. As we approached the car, we realized the meter had expired 5 minutes prior so we were faced with one of LA’s finest slapping a fat ticket on my windshield. Begging and pleading didn’t help, we were now proud owners of a $50 parking story. About $10 for every minute we were late:) But no need to worry, we pulled a movie trick and put the ticket back on the windshield for free parking later on!
Fashion District
laleanne: For years I’ve had friends talk about the LA Fashion district and how it is the place to go to buy purses, shoes, and clothes for dirt cheap. Having never really ventured into LA, I imagined something close to the 3rd Street Promenade with different vendors on either side of the street selling fabric, knock off bags, couture clothing, and other items. Boy was I surprised to see what it’s really like. The LA Fashion District is literally building after building of street-style vendors selling everything you can imagine all crammed into a couple blocks of space. Vendors were even selling contact lenses! Now, I don’t suggest you go and buy contact lenses from a street vendor in downtown LA, but still—being able to have the option is intriguing and weird. People crowd the streets, pushing past each other trying to get to the next stall. If you’re looking for a knock-off Chloe, Dolce, or any other brand name bag—this is your place. I immediately eyed a great violet Chloe handbag in the first block (fake badge and all). Carla mentioned how odd it was that they would put the “fakies” in the front display cases—that’s asking for trouble. With the prospects of finding something better in a different store, we moved on with the intention of returning later.
carla: After winding our way through the crowds, and attempting countless negotiations for purses, boots and wallets, we headed into a store which made me very happy. Crazy pink patent stilettos, studded grey platform heels, open toe Gaga booties, prairie girl wedges – the walls were lined with the craziest of shoes. I left with a pair of black gladiators sandals covered in silver and gold grommets. 16 bucks, thank you very much! I also scored a flouncy tangerine tube top for 12 bucks. Happy happy!!
laleanne: So we hit all the stores on this main block and I had yet to find my “IT” bag. So we headed back to the very first stall for me to grab the Chole I saw earlier. To our surprise, the entire store was being reorganized. Guccis being moved to the back and all the blatant handbag knock-offs being scrambled around with the fake leather bags. Weird. Alas, I was too late. The stalls stupidity caught up with them and the store got raided. There goes my Chloe. Oh well, it wasn’t going to be my lucky day. Maybe our next trip for cheap bag and shoe hunts will be more profitable. So we started heading out but felt like a little snack, so we headed across downtown to Bottega Louie.
carla: With our parking ticket strategically placed on the windshield on Grand, we popped into Bottega Louie for a quick snack. Iced tea, a mini-turkey avocado baguette, raspberry tartlet and a chocolate cannele were all enjoyed sitting in the cavernous café space. All in all, this was an excellent way to start our list. Adventurous and unexpected to say the least!
The Day’s Damage: $5 pupusas + $4 ceviche +$7 carnitas ,coke &water + $4 parking + $16 sandals+ $12 top+ $5 parking+ $50 ticket = $103 total
Item 22 & 26: Check
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