Years ago, while in high school, I had a Hare Krishna friend who lived across the street from the Hare Krisha temple on Venice Blvd in Los Angeles (across the street from downtown Culver City). One Sunday he took us to the weekly free (donations accepted) Sunday Feast at the temple. We walked to the temple, removed our shoes, and were served a wonderful vegetarian Indian meal on the steps of the temple. There were Indian Hare Krishnas next to American Hare Krishnas, some wearing saris, some in regular clothes, some with the pony tail, some with regular haircuts, and some folks like us: out to get a good, free meal. Well, I revisited the scene last Sunday and very little has changed. Rather than serving out in front of the temple, everyone gathers at an apartment building across the street on Watseka (actually they converted the parking garage into a cafeteria).
Leave your shoes at the door, grab a plate, drop some money in the donation box, and get in line. They served Basmati rice, a vegetable curry with eggplant, bell peppers, fried tofu and peas, a piece of fried cauliflower, and some sort of buttery, sweet grain for dessert. Beverages were a choice of pear juice or keifer.
The food was good, certainly not the best Indian food in town, but certainly the friendliest, most interesting atmosphere in which to enjoy it.
International Society for Krishna Consciousness of Los Angeles
3764 Watseka Ave
Los Angeles, Ca 90064
310-836-2676
Sundays, 6:00 PM
4 comments:
Try Samosa House on Washington Blvd next to the DMV. It's a recently renovated Indian market with a counter similar to India Sweet and Spices. I think it's tastier and definitely cleaner and healthier. You can take out or eat there.
It's not free but it's pretty cheap.
Thanks for this article. I went to the temple on a Saturday once and was totally confused--I'd heard vague, good things about the place but not the specifics about the Sunday meal. On my Saturday visit, there was a buffet, but it looked and smelled pretty uninteresting so I just left without trying it.
I used to work nearby the Hare Krishna community in Palms (pretty soon they'll have bought up the whole 3700 block of Watseka -- it's amazing) and would go there about twice a week for lunch. A huge pile of healthy food for 3 to 4 dollars. Couldn't beat it, esp. when I was on a diet.
But after awhile I realized I was supporting a cult and just couldn't do it anymore.
OMG, I have not been there in AGES. I have got to head back! Thanks for the reminder!
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