One of the main reasons I continue to hold out for a new apartment somewhere within striking distance of our Mighty N (despite the amazing amount of pain and suffering such a decision has inflicted on me) is because there are so many interesting local businesses that offer bargain hunters like me incredible deals, as well as saving me a trip to other parts of Our Fair City. Sunset Super is one of those places.
I don’t know that I’ve ever been in this store when it wasn’t busy, and Saturdays are obviously incredibly busy, but frankly that has never bothered me since no matter what, I’m always able to get in, buy what it is I need, and get out in a reasonable amount of time.
More important than the speed of service is the fact that if you are looking for any sort of Chinese or other Asian ingredients, this is the place to go. I bought a container of the good green curry that the folks at Whole Paycheck charge a fortune for, at a significant discount. Sunset Super also has an amazing array of frozen food that you can’t find in most stores, and their selection of candy and snack foods from all around Asia is one of the best I’ve seen.
Now, a word on the meat market – some of my colleagues, upon entering said store immediately make all sorts of assumptions, none of them good, about the quality of the meat here, but they are incorrect! Not only do they have just about any part of the pig or chicken you might need, but they also have an incredible array of seafood. Now, sure, some of it, in fact much of it is alive when you buy it, and that may not be everyone’s cup of tea, so to speak, but to me that just makes coming to Sunset Super that much more fun.
True, it was a bit wince-inducing when a woman and her young daughter were in the market, obviously for the first time, and the kid exclaimed “Look mommy! Pet Froggies for sale!” as she pointed to a vat of live frogs. But to me that just made the visit that much more interesting.
Other notables include an incredible selection of sake, soju, and some types of imported Chinese liquor that I have never heard of that looks rather fierce. Their sake deals are amazing – the same dry sake you’d pay a fortune for at Safeway for some little bottle comes in a 1.5 liter bottle for like, 7 bucks. Talk about a bargain! They also have the city’s biggest selection of canned luncheon meats as well so if you find yourself jonesing for some SPAM but just can’t bring yourself to picking one up at Safeway, try “GreatWall” luncheon meat instead and impress all your pals!
All in all, one of my all time favorite places to find bargains on Irving Street. Check it out sometime and you’ll most likely end up buying something good at a great price!
Sunset Super
2425 Irving Street
(415) 566-6504
Next Door to the Awesome Tel-Aviv Kosher Deli, which we’ll review soon!
Greg, thanks for the review of Sunset Super. Please also consider a review of Blue Moon Cafe, which just opened at the N-Judah stop of 28th Ave and Judah. Lots of interesting things opening on outer Judah these days.
I noticed that place recently but haven’t yet had a chance to go in…unfortunately I’ve been having to commute to the Peninsula a lot lately…and my spare time is spent looking at apartments, so I don’t have the free time I thought I would to do more reviews and stuff…
Well, gee Thanks! You’ve just told the billion readers of your blog about this great place so there will be even more people there (pout, sulk). Seriously, this really is a great place that I’ve been going to for years. In fact, I love all the ethnic stores on irving St but this one is a favorite. I do a lot of experimenting and the store has been my friend in picking up the unusual ingredients for Chinese, Malay, Thai and other cuisines of Asian. Good luck on finding an apartment; I knew that apartment hunting in SF was a total nightmare but I had no idea that there was nothing out in the Sunset.
@nancy: indeed! it’s the conundrum of reviewing local places…you want to get the word out about how awesome a local biz is, but you dont want it overrun by poseurs and hipsters…
I made the foolish mistake of NOT moving earlier this year, then giving notice thinking “how bad could it be I always score a place” (I managed to score a great temp apartment during the DotCom Boom 1 – although it had to be cleaned by the crime scene folks since someone had died a week before, it ended up being a stylin’ place near the Cable Car Barn…but that’s another story) , this time it’s sucked, mostly because the rents are going up past what it’s worth it to me to spend on “rent” vs. a housing payment (and I’m not really ready to plunk down the cashola for a place).
When apartments that used to go for 1000-1250 a month are now going for 1600-2100 a month in the Sunset, and ridiculously lame “in law” units (many of which turn out to be illegal) are renting for as much, and the trend towards TICs and the like, plus school’s in session, make for a challenging mix if I wanna stay in the area.
At this point I’m willing to even (ugh) consider living in other nice parts of Our Fair City, but I think my magical luck with apartment hunting is being used elsewhere this time around…