HTLA- Episode 58: Cheap Fast Eats #5 Culver City

Brian De Los Santos  00:00

[freeway ambi] So why are we under a freeway, Gab?

Gab Chabrán  00:02

Correction. We're under a freeway in a Sizzler parking lot, Brian.

Brian De Los Santos  00:06

That's a bit more descriptive, yes.

Gab Chabrán  00:08

Well, we're not here to try the salad bar at Sizzler, okay? In the little alley next door is a ghost kitchen and that's where we're headed. [music in] We may have to jump a fence, okay?

Jasmine Market & Deli Staff  00:17

Wanna show a little bit the noodle, white noodle?

Brian De Los Santos  00:22

Mmm, oh my god.

Gab Chabrán  00:22

This right here is soup hall of fame status.

Brian De Los Santos  00:25

I didn't bring a sweater. Now I feel better now just with the soup. This is so good.

Empanadas Place Staff  00:28

So when you're talkin', you're ready. Music or talkin' about the culture in LA? [Gab: No music. Just talking.] No music! Just talking. Okay! Is there somebody listen to them?

Brian De Los Santos  00:36

This is Cheap Fast Eats with our food editor Gab Chabrán. And I'm your host, Brian De Los Santos.

Gab Chabrán  00:41

The moveable feast that is Cheap Fast Eats.

Empanadas Place Staff  00:43

You need a plate? Couple of plates?

Gab Chabrán  00:44

Let's get a couple more, yeah.

Brian De Los Santos  00:46

So, we're in Culver City. What's the deal with this area? It's not just a neighborhood. It's a pretty big city in LA County.

Gab Chabrán  00:53

Yeah, technically a little south of West Los Angeles per se.

Chef Simoní  00:57

Normally, we mix everything on the plate. And we just mix everything, and we eat it.

Brian De Los Santos  01:01

The rub on it- I'm sucking my fingers because it's juicy as F.

Gab Chabrán  01:06

In my mind I always kind of associate it with entertainment and tech, and all of those things. And while there is a lot of that there, there is a cute little neighborhood to explore, too.

Brian De Los Santos  01:16

This is Culver city still? Yeah, Culver City bus right there. Okay.

Gab Chabrán  01:20

It was an area that I didn't really know too much about prior to this segment. I wanted to use this opportunity to kind of explore a little bit more and really get to know the neighborhood as best I could. [music out]

Gab Chabrán  01:34

Culver itself is divided up in sort of East and West neighborhoods, but it's not just the downtown core, the arts district. There are little sort of micro neighborhoods that run through it as well- Del Rey, Mar Vista, Palms.

Gab Chabrán  01:49

[restaurant ambi] We're kicking things off with some empanadas, and I'm stoked about it.

Brian De Los Santos  01:55

I'm so excited for these because I haven't had good ones, like since I lived in DC a while back. So let's see what you got in store for us.

Gab Chabrán  02:03

We are here at Empanadas Place today, right off of Sawtelle, sort of butting up right against the Palms neighborhood.

Empanadas Place Staff  02:10

Did you wanna order? Have a seat. [Gab: Let's order. Let's order.] Have a seat. [Gab: Okay.] Enjoy your meal...

Gab Chabrán  02:15

This is a cash only establishment, folks. So make sure you stop by the ATM beforehand. [dog barking and laughter]

Brian De Los Santos  02:21

This space feels like someone's living room with the manteles, or the tablecloths are kinda like antique looking. Pictures on the walls of people. The FIFA World Cup jerseys. So it seems like whoever owns this place is very proud about ***Spanish.

Gab Chabrán  02:36

Yeah, it's very homey, very comfortable.

Brian De Los Santos  02:39

Are we ordering?

Gab Chabrán  02:40

I already ordered. I hope that's okay.

Brian De Los Santos  02:41

Damn, you were sneaky with it, Gab.

Gab Chabrán  02:43

One thing that I like about this menu? The fact [Brian: Oh, yeah.] that it's like hand drawings. That's not from a computer. Each empanada is formed its own unique way. I ordered one of the Arabes and you're gonna see it's gonna come out as a triangle.

Empanadas Place Staff  02:58

*states order in spanish* [Brian: speaks spanish] Si, spicy sauce. [Brian: Okay, *speaks spanish*] This a chimichurri and a spicy sauce, okay? [Brian: Grac- Thank you.]

Brian De Los Santos  03:07

So I'm a sweets and bread and tortilla guy. Like I love all that. It has to be soft, but also hard to hold its substance. I think it's good. It's soft, but hard.

Gab Chabrán  03:18

[knife scraping empanada] Just the sound right here, that I'm running the knife against. It's a little food a- ASMR for the folks. You have this beautiful, flaky, crunchy, soft crust all together. I just- I can't get enough of it. This also has raisins in it. It's a little sweet, but it's not too sweet. It's not overpowering by any standards. I am an ardent stand for raisins. I think we as a culture need to celebrate them more, you know? If I'm ever at a Winchell's, I'll go for a raisin roll like nobody's business. Brian's very disappointed by that. [laughs]

Brian De Los Santos  03:53

Oooh, Gab. [laughs]

Brian De Los Santos  03:54

[music in] Alright, Gab. So where are we going to next?

Gab Chabrán  04:00

We're gonna go ahead and try some uh, Burmese cuisine next. [Brian: What's Burmese cuisine?] It's a region of Southeast Asia now known as Myanmar. [Brian: Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.] And um, it's a really great combination of Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern foods that all kinda come together, and I promise you've never had anything like it.

Brian De Los Santos  04:22

[car ambi] This is Culver City still? Yeah, Culver City bus right there.

Gab Chabrán  04:26

We are headed on Sepulveda Boulevard right here. I'd say it's a little bit of an older section- 1980s style condos, small businesses, strip malls, and smack dab in the middle of all that [outdoor ambi] [music out] is Jasmine Market and Deli.

Brian De Los Santos  04:41

[Gab talking in background] Oooo!

Gab Chabrán  04:41

Jasmine Market and Deli, Burmese cafe slash grocery store. The original owner sold the business to his niece, I think about seven or eight years ago. Her and her husband have taken it over, and they haven't changed a thing. It's exactly the same.

Gab Chabrán  04:59

[market ambi] Here at Cheap Fast Eats, if you remember back to like Roma Market and what have you, we love a good combination cafe slash grocery store. You can get pretty much anything you need, and you can also grab lunch.

Brian De Los Santos  05:13

Yeah. Here we have candies, things that seem to be like seasoning, a lot of like ingredients like in cans and in bottles, teas. There's a lot of South Asian things. There's salted mangoes, chili powder...

Gab Chabrán  05:29

When I was speaking to one of the owners a couple weeks ago, he was saying there's a big mosque here in Culver City. And so a large portion of Islamic Burmese folks come to this area for that reason. Y- You know, in Los Angeles, we talk about diversity within black and brown cultures because that's sort of the dominant cultures, but if we scratch the surface a little bit more, you start to see, No, no, no there's all these different waves of diversity that are happening. Not just here in Los Angeles, but kind of throughout the world, and you know, they take on different forms and shapes, and build communities in places like Culver City, which I think is super cool.

Brian De Los Santos  06:03

Being from here, I've lived in different spots, and they've been either Asian dominant um, neighborhoods, or Black neighborhoods, or Latino neighborhoods, but that intersection of faith and a region hasn't really been in my radar in that way. So I think that this speaks to why people move here, right? I think it's like- we just were at a Latin American place, we're at a Southeast Asian place, next we're gonna be hitting a Brazilian inspired cuisine. So it's like, there's a little bit of everything here.

Gab Chabrán  06:30

[restaurant ambi] This soup- mohinga. So this is mohinga, the national dish of Myanmar, developed from a fish stock. They add different curries and all different kinds of spices, and then you have this really great rice cracker made with yellow lentil as kind of your [Brian: Mmm!] crispy, crunchy element to it. And all for $10.

Gab Chabrán  06:53

But the richness of the broth, the [Brian: Mm.] creaminess [Brian: It's, it's thick.] too, on a, on a cool, [Brian: It's not too big.] on a cold day today, you know?

Brian De Los Santos  06:59

Oh, yeah. This- I, I didn't bring a sweater and I'm like, I feel better now just with the soup. This is so good.

Gab Chabrán  07:04

*Spanish*

Jasmine Market & Deli Staff  07:05

So [silverware clatters] this is a coconut, chicken noodle soup made with a coconut and a wheat noodle.

Gab Chabrán  07:10

Uh, so they found out we were here, and they were generous enough to send out a few more plates.

Jasmine Market & Deli Staff  07:16

Onion, cilantro, and the egg. This is a daily salad. [Gab: Tea Leaf?] Tea leaf. The crunchy beans and then dry...

Brian De Los Santos  07:23

Yo! [Staff: ...lettuce, tomato...] This is so much food. I feel like I'm the Beyoncé of LA right now getting all this food [laughs] coming out, plate after plate.

Jasmine Market & Deli Staff  07:34

Mixed noodle salad, the one there- rice noodle, wheat noodle, the glass noodle, [Gab: Mmm.] and the tofu, cilantro. The house made the tamarind sauce.

Gab Chabrán  07:43

Ooo, so good.

Brian De Los Santos  07:43

I don't know if we're gonna be able to finish all of this, Gab.

Gab Chabrán  07:46

I don't know if you know this, Brian, but my refrigerator's full of leftovers from all my travels. So-

Brian De Los Santos  07:51

Oh my goodness!

Gab Chabrán  07:52

It's kind of a- You know, a thing.

Brian De Los Santos  07:54

Leftovers are the way to go.

Brian De Los Santos  07:57

[restaurant ambi] Mmm. Oh my god, I'm coming back here. Oh my god, probably my most favorite spot you've ever taken me to, Gab. [someone exclaims: Ooo!]

Brian De Los Santos  08:05

What's really cool and cute about this spot is that people are so excited to share their food. Like, there's this woman who just came up to us and started talking to us about how we should try this and that, and what she recommends.

Woman  08:17

This one [mumbles] like uh, traditional food. [Gab: Yeah.] That is traditional. [Gab: Yeah, yeah.] Like uh, gravy. [Gab: Yeah.]

Brian De Los Santos  08:24

She was telling us what we could buy so we could create this food. I remember the, the seeds and such. Like Oh, this, this is the crunchy part.

Woman  08:30

[mumbling] ...base and, [Gab: Mm hm.] base and powder. That's rice powder. [Gab: That's beautiful. Thank you.]

Brian De Los Santos  08:36

It was just so exciting to see someone so loving of their culture and their food and seeing us try it, right? I think that was a moment for me, like just feeling warm and fuzzy from the soup, but also warm fuzzy from this woman just sharing her details.

Gab Chabrán  08:49

I mean, anytime that somebody comes up and, and shares a personal anecdote about their culture, I consider it a win. It means that they love being there, and they love us being there, and it just makes the experience all that more special.

Gab Chabrán  09:02

[car ambi] Okay, Brian, the last place we're gonna go to is a first for Cheap Fast Eats. [car door closes] We're gonna be visiting a ghost kitchen.

Gab Chabrán  09:12

[freeway ambi] Okay, we're here!

Brian De Los Santos  09:14

Uhhh, what? [car honks] Why are we under a freeway, Gab?

Gab Chabrán  09:17

Correction. We're under a freeway in a Sizzler parking lot, Brian. We're actually here to visit Chef Simoní of Sexy Beans. We may have to jump a fence, okay?

Brian De Los Santos  09:27

Wait, what?

Gab Chabrán  09:28

In this age of Postmates and DoorDash, and what have you, a lot of the food prepared comes from ghost kitchens. They're usually in an industrial part of town. They aren't restaurants per se. You're either ordering from an app or you can pick them up to go.

Brian De Los Santos  09:45

[outdoor ambi] You're taking me to get some Sexy Beans. They better be sexy.

Gab Chabrán  09:48

Only sexy from here on out, Brian.

Brian De Los Santos  09:50

Heyyyy! That's what's up.

Gab Chabrán  09:52

We're actually gonna get a little behind the scenes. So if you come around the corner right here...

Chef Simoní  09:56

Come on in! Don't be shy! [laughs] [Gab, Brian, Chef Simoní speaking]

Gab Chabrán  10:01

So it wasn't really clear exactly how many ghost kitchens were in this particular area. Probably somewhere in between 10 to 15. It was very labyrinth-like though once we got inside, so luckily we had Chef Simoní guide us to her beautiful kitchen space.

Chef Simoní  10:18

My name is Simoní. This is my kitchen. It's a small space, but there's a lot of love in here. This is my staff, Ryeli.

Chef Simoní  10:27

This is Sexy Beans, Brazilian food mostly. A lot of people are very acquainted, especially after the uh, COVID, with the ghost kitchen type of service. We provide delivery and pickup. I decided to do it because I was a little bit concerned about the business. I decided to do this first to see how it goes.

Brian De Los Santos  10:48

Have you always been into cooking or wa- is- This project began during the pandemic. How did Sexy Beans start?

Chef Simoní  10:55

What- I was always about food. I used to throw parties in my house all the time just because I wanted to cook. To me, it's basically a daily thing. I even cook at home. I've been dying to open a physical location because I am a people person. I like people so much. I mean, Brazilians are very friendly. I think I'm a little over the top because I'm Gemini. [Brian: Heyyyy!] So- [laughing] I mean, I've been trying, at least by September, hopefully if things go the way I want. And you guys have to be there for my inauguration day. [Brian and Gab: Yeah.] [Chef Simoní laughs]

Gab Chabrán  10:56

Maybe we should start with the different kinds of beans? [Chef Simoní talking in background] Maybe you can walk us through? Okay.

Chef Simoní  11:31

Yeah. So, Brazilian people, we have zillions of ways of making beans. What I bring here to Sexy Beans is basically what I grew up with. I grew up very poor. The vegan beans was the very first version of the beans that I learned how to make because we didn't have the money to buy the meat. My parents came up with the idea of adding vegetables just to give like a little flavor. Thank God I grew up this way because now I can make this amazing vegan beans. Otherwise I would not know how to do this. This version with the meat we call 'feijoada.' There's tons of ways of eating it. You can even eat on its own.

Chef Simoní  12:07

You guys- Why don't you try to the vegan first and then the, uh-

Gab Chabrán  12:10

Sure.

Brian De Los Santos  12:10

Mmm. I- This is my go to like saying when I like the food that I taste is: It reminds me of home. It tastes like someone in a kitchen made it with love. It's light and doesn't feel like I'm eating a whole bunch of stuff. It's like a light meal before the gym [Gab: Right.] or before a huge test that'll hit the spot. [Gab: Definitely.]

Gab Chabrán  12:31

This is the meat version right here.

Brian De Los Santos  12:32

Okay. Oh, man. Wow. This meat. [Chef Simoní speaking in background] Yes. It's like barbecue-ish. And- when I put my fork in there, it just like slid off. [Gab: Yeah.] You know like, perfect feeling.

Gab Chabrán  12:32

[music in] You can get a rotisserie chicken with the rice and beans and all of the fixings right here for around $10.

Brian De Los Santos  12:53

Wow.

Brian De Los Santos  12:54

A chef like Simoní is kind of like this American dream, right? She actually started in her own kitchen she tells us, trying to cater to her friends, making more food than she could serve?

Chef Simoní  13:05

We have just like- have some leftovers and not enough.

Brian De Los Santos  13:08

I am like so full. I'm just gonna try the, the smallest slice of yours. 

Gab Chabrán  13:13

Yeah, yeah.

Brian De Los Santos  13:13

And then she launched this ghost kitchen, and now she's dreaming of her own brick and mortar store.

Brian De Los Santos  13:19

[smacks lips] I'm sucking my fingers because- [Gab mumbles] finger licking good! Yeah! [Chef Simoní laughs]

Brian De Los Santos  13:24

And I think that is what a lot of people that come to LA do, right? They wanna amplify their dreams. They wanna get to know their communities. They wanna be part of a community. And I also see that story in a lot of my friends, and a lot of my family have- they're like, Hey, I have this niche thing, or I have this special thing to offer to other people and I wanna expand it here in LA.

Brian De Los Santos  13:46

This is a first for us. [Gab: Yes it is.]

Chef Simoní  13:48

Really?

Gab Chabrán  13:49

Yeah. A champagne toast?

Brian De Los Santos  13:50

A champagne toast [Gab: In a ghost kitchen.] in a ghost kitchen.

Gab Chabrán  13:53

In Culver City.

Chef Simoní  13:54

You better get used to it with me, because it's exactly what I do all the time! [laughs]

Brian De Los Santos  13:57

To Sexy Beans!

Gab Chabrán  13:57

To Sexy Beans [Chef Simoní and staff: To Sexy Beans!] and big things in 2023!

Chef Simoní  14:00

Yay! Thank you guys! [speaks in Portuguese] [laughter]

Gab Chabrán  14:04

Cheap Fast Eats, baby.

Brian De Los Santos  14:06

Cheap Fast Eats.

Brian De Los Santos  14:07

Alrighty, y'all. That is all the time we've got for you today. We've got so many leftovers to chow down and so it's time for us to go the hell home.

Gab Chabrán  14:17

Thanks so much to Empanadas Place, Jasmine Market and Deli, and Sexy Beans. As always, if you wanna read my full list of Cheap Fast Eats in Culver City, head over to LAist.com/food.

Brian De Los Santos  14:30

We're gonna put a link to the article in our show notes too.

Gab Chabrán  14:33

Do we wanna tease the next one?

Brian De Los Santos  14:35

Wait. You always are so secretive with these things, dude.

Gab Chabrán  14:38

Wh- You know I can't give all the secrets to the sauce away.

Brian De Los Santos  14:41

O- Okay, my bad.

Gab Chabrán  14:42

But I, I can tell you where we're going next.

Brian De Los Santos  14:44

Where are we going?

Gab Chabrán  14:45

Koreatown, after dark.

Brian De Los Santos  14:47

Oh my god! No way! We're doing it?! [Gab laughing] Yeah! Ah, I'm hungry now.

Gab Chabrán  14:52

It's going down, guys. Mark your calendars.

Brian De Los Santos  14:56

How To LA's produced by Evan Jacoby, Megan Botel, and Victoria Alejandro. Hasmik Poghosyan is our engineer. Chris Farias is our social media producer. Aaricka Washington writes our newsletter. Music this week provided by Dexter Thomas, Austin Cross, and ero <3. Our executive producer is Megan Larson. And I'm your host, Brian De Los Santos. Production support this week came from Marina Pena, Josie Huang, Gab Chabrán, Jackie Orchard, and Phoenix Tso. Thanks, y'all. Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live. [music out]