by William S.
International markets are few and far between, here in Santa Clarita. This one has been here for a few years now. The size of the store, itself, is quite small and narrow, but they manage to compact everything in order to serve as much as they can. They make sandwiches here, but I have never had one. What brings me to this place is that they carry a hard-to-find meat called "bastourma." I don't eat red meat anymore, but if I did, I would be eating this everyday. Bastourma is a Turkish-style meat that is cured seasoned with cumin and garlic. It's served as very thin slices, and it's great to eat with pita bread. Anyway, if you were to go into Mom Pop's deli, make sure you ask them to slice it for you. Also, I should mention that this is not always in stock, so it's best to call in advance to see if they have it. In talking to the order, he purchases his bastourma, specifically, from a place in Downtown L.A.. So when he sells out, he has to take a drive 40 min. south of Santa Clarita to get more. Lastly, if you call and he does happen to have it in stock, ask if he could slice it for you and at what time would be best to pick it up. It really takes a while and for them to slice up a half-pound or a pound, because the beef is so thick. But if cumin and garlic sounds like a great combination to you, then this cured beef is a winner. I should probably say, the bastourma they have here is great. Reading the ingredients, you would guess that this might leave your breath rather stinky. Well, bastourma has a reputation for being so genereously seasoned that it can come out of your pores. So you basically don't want to be sweating within 24-hours of eating this, until it gets out of your system. However, with this bastourma, I've never any problems with smelling like how it tastes. I never did eat it that much, but I would have been conscious of going out with anyone I might want to impress, after eating this. Like I wrote...no concerns with their bastourma. Hygeine tested, William S. approved.Again, I haven't had the sandwiches or tried any of the other meats; I've just bought bastourma and pita bread from there. But I've seen people come in, looking like regulars based on the discussions I've heard them have with the employees behind the counter, and order sandwiches, themselves. They must seem to like it. I'll have to make sure to order a sandwich from there -- all Americanized, by the way -- and update this review with my thoughts on that. However, I just wanted to point out that my intent on going to an International Market is to get...well, international foods. So sandwiches aren't usually on my radar, or on my mind, when going to them.Their fruit and vegetable selection seems fresh enough. I've seen better ones at Whole Foods and Trader Joes, but they don't exactly look like anything to be concerned about either. Their prices are cheap. So that is a plus for them, also.I know there are people who just love baklava. If that's your bag, then you can find it here, as well.The Persian owners also carry a lot of trinkets and doo-dads that are native to the Middle East. They have tea glasses meant to hold Persian tea, hooka pipes -- small and grand, international music (Arabic, Persian, Armenian, and maybe even Assyrian), etc. The owner is very personal, by the way. I had a talk with him once. I asked him how business was. He said it was alright. He and his wife had moved here from New York. I didn't ask, but I wondered what they thought of this typical suburban town, compared to wherever they lived in New York.Finally, parking in front of Mom Pop's Deli can be quite tricky. The parking lot is narrow at that end of the strip mall, but it's not unmanageable. It's just that two cars can not be pulling out at the same time, from opposite ends.One last thing I'd like to mention, as far as details go, they don't accept credit card purchases under $10. I don't think, however, you'd want to spend less than that anyway. But just in case, make sure you have cash if all you want is just pita bread and some Persian snacks.Until I try what else they have to offer, I'm reserving a 4-star rating for this deli. The owners are friendly, they have interesting international stuff, and most of all, they carry hard-to-find bastourma. It's a little claustophobic inside, but not an issue if you're not...uh...claustophobic. Other than that, definitely a bit of flavor and spice that this city needs.
by Gina S.
I used to come here to buy flavored tobacco to use in my hookah a few years ago. But like all fads, that phased out quickly. Mainly because I would rather smoke hookah than cigarettes, and its not exactly kosher to drive around with a hookah in your passenger seat. Its kind of a fire hazard with the burning coals and all. After not being here in a while I ventured in looking for middle eastern spices that I had run out of. Sadaf foods (http://www.sadaf.com/) makes a spice mixture for kabobs that is amazing. Its a mixture of Onions, Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Sumac and Saffron. I like to use it with lentils or on chicken. You can usually only find it in specialty shops. So, the other day I took my chances and stepped into Mom Pop's Market to see if they carried it. To my surprise, for the size of the store, they have a pretty large selection of middle eastern spices. I found my kabob seasoning and a few others that I have yet to try. As William S. mentioned in his review, I guess they make sandwiches also. Their deli counter is VERY small. I almost missed it on the way in. I didn't get a real good feeling about the stuff in the cooler, such as the meats and cheeses. Its not necessarily the shop in particular, I am always a little wary of delis because the food sits out and I don't always know if the proper temperature is maintained at all times in small shops like this. I guess I'm just one of those over-cautious white people.
