Finding Sri Lankan Food in OC

By Dave Lieberman Wed., Dec. 14 2011 at 11:00 AM

Categories: Local Eats

Pin It

Dave Lieberman

We had a lot of love for Wadiya, Orange County's only place to get Sri Lankan food. I raved about the hopper nights, and Gustavo reviewed it in 2009 and named it #5 in our 100 Favorites from 2010. Sadly, Wadiya closed in April and has been replaced by the new, buffet-less incarnation of Victory Bakery. It was exciting, then, to see that there was a Sri Lankan business still open in OC.

Unfortunately, it's not a restaurant; Safe Mart is a grocery store behind the garish Mad Greek on bleak Beach Boulevard in "el Estánton." In talking with Denzil Anthony, who owns Safe Mart with his wife Charmaine, I discovered that he was the owner of the now-defunct Wadiya.

Sadly, OC's Sri Lankan community is very small; the space was too large for the clientele, the rent kept climbing, and Anthony finally made the agonizing decision to stop hemorrhaging money and close it.

While there's no prepared food available at Safe Mart, there are frozen prepared entrees, including string hoppers (red and white), fish biryani, and, of course, the amazing sambals that make devotees of Sri Lankan food out of people who may never travel to the island. Once a month, a member of the community makes lampreis (rice and meat baked in banana leaves) and sells it through the store.

At the moment, Denzil has Sri Lankan Christmas cake available; it is to fruitcake what a steak at Peter Luger is to a hamburger at McDonalds. It's sticky but not too dense, full of citrus zest, dates, and dried fruits--Denzil showed me the array of dried and preserved fruits used for it. There is also jaggery cake, a sweet confection made with the unrefined sugar Mexicans know as piloncillo.

While we still mourn the loss of Wadiya, it's comforting to know that at least the flavors are available.

Safe Mart, 12126 Beach Blvd., Stanton; (714) 899-9994.

Follow Stick a Fork In It on Twitter @ocweeklyfood or on Facebook!

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Dining Newsletter: The week's top local food news and events, plus interviews with chefs and restaurant owners, dining tips, and a peek at our print review.

Write Comment

Email to Friend

Print Article

Related Content

If a restaurant has a limited audience, then its food isn't worth covering? Shit, maybe I shouldn't write up the Texcoco-style barbacoa joint I just found...
Thanks for that response. Personally, I read the blog often because I want to find out about places I didn't know existed or be challenged to try something new from a culinary standpoint. And admittedly, I don't try it often enough....that's my loss. Further, I would assert your taste IS better than the majority of us readers because you make a sincere point to examine what makes a dish superior to others similar, and spend way more time than we do scouring the county for restaurant gems. I might have indeed missed out on some great food now that this particular restaurant is gone from the scene. My point from the outset, including the use of the word "filler", was that the article didn't serve a real purpose in that all it did was inforn us of a place that is now defunct, and it appeared that few cared enough anyway when it was open. If a tree falls.......
There aren't enough people who care. You're probably right. But I base my writing on what I think is good, not what I think people want to read. If I only wrote about restaurants that people flock to, it'd be very boring indeed. Is my taste better than the general population? I don't know. I think so, but obviously I'd be a pretty biased judge. So you, the reader, can either read it and shake your head, or go try it. Precious few people except the Vietnamese ate Vietnamese food ten years ago, Honeyman, but Gustavo was writing about it. Non-Koreans didn't eat Korean food, even non-threatening BBQ, but we write about it and people started doing it. I'm not suggesting we're tastemakers, but the fact is that there's a lot of good stuff out there. People who eat Punjabi food (northern Indian, the "default" Indian food with soupy, creamy curries) might like Sri Lankan food. I love it. You're welcome to dismiss it, but I'm not going to stop writing about it because some guy in a comments section told me it was filler.
I admit I have no idea what does drive page views. According to Dictionary.com: FILLER: Journalism . material, considered of secondary importance, used to fill out a column or page. I'll stand by that as I think that's accurate. My point is simply that this place failed. It could be for a multitude of reasons, but the fact remains that as a business it did not attract enough of a clientele to make a profit, and failed. But again, you guys insist that you're taste is better than the rest of the population, imply that everybody else is clearly wrong, and more people should relish this delicious Sri Lankan cuisine. However, this joint's demise (and the fact that nobody but us three are even commenting on it) shows that there just isn't enough people who care, or perhaps (GASP!) you guys are wrong and maybe the food wasn't all that good after all.
You called it filler, useless, and fit only for pageviews (which just shows you don't know what drives pageviews—I promise you, Sri Lankan grocery stores ain't it). I will absolutely tell you you're right—when you are.
And you the same!
Knew you'd come thru! Thanks for proving my point, Gustavo!
Anyone who thinks writing about Sri Lankan food is "filler" is a fool at best, but most likely a permanent troll. Ain't thin-skinned--it's gospel. Gracias for reading!
Actually, I like the blog for the most part and usually find it interesting. But this story seemed like filler to me and thought I'd mention that. My intent at humor obviously fell flat, and I probably shouldn't have used the word "dumb". However, you guys, especailly Gustavo, seem to really have a problem with anyone criticizing anything you write, or countering an opinion you advocate. I feel it comes across in many of these columns and I don't think that strengthens this particular blog and OC Weekly as a whole. Granted, the internet is indeed full of trolls, and your leniancy on letting virtually any comment fly might open it up to some inane missives. But you guys do seem a bit thin-skinned to me and tend to dismiss other comments from folks who are simply disagreeing with something you have written.
I didn't know Gustavo had a dissociative personality disorder. I wonder if he moved from the "Editor" seat to the "Gustavo" seat when he needed to switch personalities and roles. Incidentally, why do you read the blog if you don't like the content? Does it give you hope of completing your goal of correcting the Internet? Are you hoping it'll turn into something different if only you leave enough snarky comments? Or are you just a troll?
1 hour previously, at the same staff meeting: Editor: "Anybody got any story ideas we can fill that dumb blog with? Gustavo; "I know! Let me reprint an article I wrote 2 years ago on tamales! it's timely, and it'll help me sell more books!
Talk about a loser...
Staff Meeting at OC Weekly: Editor: "Anybody got any story ideas we can fill that dumb blog with? >>>crickets<<< Gustavo: "C'mon! We need page views!" Lieberman: "I got it! Nobody gives a fuck about Sri Lankan food..in fact the only place in the county that served it stopped because of lack of buisness. I can get 250 words out of that!" Gustavo: "I smell a Pulitzer!"