"You’re cruising the Deep Valley. You pop into a strip mall convenience store for a bag of chips and an iced tea, then end up staying for an hour eating spicy banana leaf-wrapped rice, garlicky stir-fried noodles, and other dishes cooked by the couple who run the place. That’s the scene at Baja Subs, a Sri Lankan restaurant inside a sub shop inside a corner store in Northridge. It’s the kind of place where you hope you’re the only customer because that means more one-on-one time with the sweet owners who’ll pull up a chair and pry out your life story. Lines here are blurred in the best way. Is it a restaurant? A store where you can grab string hoppers and a lotto ticket on your way out? Why not both." - brant cox, garrett snyder, jess basser sanders, nikko duren, sylvio martins, cathy park