It's hard to find these joints in Bridgetown. When I was little, moms would take me shopping with her, old school city of angels style. She was born and raised in West Hollywood, like, back when it actually meant something to claim that. CBS studios, Fairfax, Melrose, Farmer's Market kid! Palm trees, sweaty sidewalks and Pink's Hotdog stand. Venice Beach just a short drive in the drop top away.
But I digress. Getting groceries with G'Ma back in LA were multiple walks, hand in hand, pushing a roll cart into which fresh fruit and veggies, choice slice cuts of Kosher beef, dewy flower bunches, tan pantyhose, gold onions and white potatoes got gingerly placed. Moms still hangs onto the simpler way of life, so in '78 when she drove the scooby doo van, complete with a German Shepard in the back seat, with pops up to P-Town, she made sure to preserve tradition. Fast forward with toddler Sara Bear in tow at the local Vietnamese shop on Killingsworth while ma dukes stocked up on ginger, bok choi, prawns, soy sauce and ginormous bags of rice, I would sneak shrimp chips, sticky, sesame seed-coated bun coms and boxes of Botan Rice into the basket.
It's been years since I've had these chewy cubes of candy but in the midst of perusing the "Ethnic Foods" aisle at Jantzen Beach's Safeway, there they were, staring up me between Strawberry Pocky Sticks and Top Ramen. (Oriental Flavor. Seriously. Gawd.) They're covered in rice paper, double trouble for your mouth. And after the thin film melts on your tongue, you find yourself smacking on what can only be described as the miraculous middle ground between an Orange Mambo and something wonderful and gooey and well, smackable. It's enough to make Willy Wonka proud.
They even come with collectible stickers inside (I got the kitty cat!) and cost $.69 a box. Register 7 holler back.
No comments:
Post a Comment