Once again, it was game day! The Devils were playing the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center, arena 2 of 4, for a St. Patrick’s Day game in a bit!
We had to eat something before the game of course. My friend suggested checking out Grand Central Market to see what breakfast options we could find. I was down for that. The downtown landmark has been bringing the cuisines and cultures of LA together since 1917.
After browsing the bustling market for a bit, we decided to try Sari Sari Store. The Filipino eatery from James Beard nominated chef Margarita Manzke and her husband Walter Manzke serves savory rice bowls, halo-halo, and coconut pie. They also have draft beer, calamansi soda, coconut juice, and iced teas.
In tagalog, sari sari means “whatever” or “variety” and is used to describe small convenience stores that sell everything from candy and chips to snacks and skewers.
I was pretty excited to try their food. My friend who is also Filipino was down for sharing a few items. We ordered a couple buko (coconut) juices to drink. I also had to have a San Miguel beer which they had on tap. Cheers!
For the rice bowls, we had the Lechon Kawali, Adobo Fried Rice, and the special, Spam Silog. After ordering, we sat at a vacant area at the counter. It was nice to see patis (fish sauce), sriracha, and suka (vinegar) as condiments scattered around the counter.
The food didn’t take very long. Time to eat! First up was the Lechon Kawali rice bowl. Lechon kawali is deep-fried crispy pork belly. Filipinos love their pork! The bowl also had atsara (pickled papaya), garlic rice, and a fried egg. Yum!
The second bowl was the Spam Silog. Silog is a popular Filipino breakfast combination with garlic fried rice (sinangag) and an egg (itlog). The spam was made in house which was a nice take on the canned version I enjoyed throughout my childhood.
The third rice bowl was the Adobo Fried Rice made with Mary’s organic chicken, garlic rice, pickled chiles, and a fried egg of course.
The rice bowls were good and we enjoyed our Filipino breakfast at Sari Sari Store inside Grand Central Market. They were tasty unique versions of some of our favorite dishes.
It was time to head to Staples Center for more Devils hockey!
Sari Sari Store
Grand Central Market
317 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(323) 320-4020
Website
