Create meetup in Los Angeleschevron_right
Select a place on the map to change the location.
I want to meet
Verified required?
explore Los Angeles Guides
bar_chart Trends in Los Angeles
Where can I buy the kind of flat anchovies and pickled peppers used to make Basque pintxo "Gilda" in LA?
for the anchovies, try the jarred ones at mitsuwa in mar vista or little tokyo's niijiya market. the japanese brands like yamaki or shirakiku are actually cured more like the basque style, less aggressively salted and softer in texture. i've seen people grab the spain imports there too but honestly the japanese ones work better in a gilda because they're not fighting the olive and pepper.
pickled guindillas are trickier but the armenian markets on santa monica blvd in hollywood or the gelson's on sunset in silver lake sometimes stock them in the olive bar section, not jarred. the olive bar ones are usually less sweet and have that slight bitterness you want. just ask for "guindilla peppers" not pickled, the staff at gelson's actually knows what that means
honestly for the anchovies try La Espanola Meats in Harbor City or the big Vallarta on Sherman Way in Van Nuys. they carry Ortiz brand which is the closest i've found to what you get in San Sebastian - way less salt than the Cento or Crown Prince stuff. for the pickled guindilla peppers check Super King in Glendale or the Argentine market on Santa Monica in Weho, they sell them in jars labeled "guindillas" not "pickled peppers" which is prob why you havent spotted them. the ones at Whole Foods are too sweet and vinegary, totally wrong texture
seen a lot of good recs already but nobody's mentioned the italian markets yet. eataly in century city has a surprisingly decent selection of boquerones style anchovies in their refrigerated case, not just the oil-packed tins. they're way milder than the salt-cured ones and closer to what you'd get in a basque bar. pricey though, like $12 for a small jar
for the peppers, honestly check the persian markets in westwood or beverly hills. places like shamshiri market or attari's on westwood blvd carry whole jarred sweet peppers that are almost identical to guindillas. they're labeled as "sweet banana peppers" in the persian section but they're the same thing, just less briney. get the ones that look wrinkled and pale green, not the bright yellow ones. about $4 a jar and they last forever
one thing nobody mentioned is that the anchovies you find in the US are usually salt-cured and need to be rinsed tbh. even the good brands. soak them in milk for 10 minutes then pat dry, it pulls out that aggressive saltiness without ruining the texture. learned that from a basque chef who did a pop-up in dtla a few years back
load 7 more replies
How can I find mobile hot dog vendors for a private event?
honestly the SGV has a ton of licensed cart operators who mostly do private stuff now. look up "hot dog cart catering San Gabriel Valley" on Yelp and you'll get a handful that are fully permitted, which matters if your venue needs a health permit on file. expect around $400 to $700 for a few hours plus a per person minimum, usually 50 or so. the ones based in Alhambra and Rosemead tend to be cheaper than Pasadena because they're not paying that rent.
fwiw the county health dept keeps a public list of permitted mobile food operators, its searchable by city on the LA County Public Health site. filter for "pushcart" or "MFF" and you'll get vendors cleared for SGV zip codes, which saves you the headache of a venue asking for paperwork later. also worth checking with the Old Town Monrovia or Alhambra farmers market folks, the carts there are usually booked solid but they know who's free and they'll pass along names. just dont wait till the last week, good ones book out 2 to 3 weeks in teh summer.
You could try hitting up the folks who set up outside Home Depot or the DMV in El Monte on weekends, a lot of those carts are owner operated and they'll do private gigs if you ask. Just walk up and grab a card, they usually have one taped to the cart.