Midtown Lunch

Wait a second… we have pretzels.  We have pizza.  And we have Philly cheesesteaks.  So why is it that we have not attempted the “Philly Prizzasteak”?  Jamie shows us how it’s done over on Midtown Lunch: Philadelphia, creating this South Street special using a slice from Lorenzo’s, a soft pretzel from Jim’s Pretzels, and a cheesesteak from Jim’s Steaks. Who will step forward and accept the challenge of making one of these in Midtown?!  Also making us jealous today… the po’boys and the potato wedge stuffed chicken sandwich that Andrea discovered Downtown, and the red chicken grease covered french fries and Chinese food w/ eggs and home fries (!?!)  that Zach ate in Los Angeles last week.

We’d be lying if we said we weren’t a tiny bit worried for our boss’ health. Last week on Midtown Lunch: Los Angeles Zach agreed to eat at any and every strip mall cheap Chinese food place between Downtown L.A. and Santa Monica. If you thought Yips (or that weird Chinese food steam table in the back of Sushi Osaka) is bad, you should see some of the spots on the West Coast. Godspeed sir…

This place is already incredibly well known in L.A., but I’m new here so I didn’t know about it (and thought you guys would get a huge kick out it.)  After reading Mamacita’s post yesterday about the double down, I was completely drawn in by the top of this (what I thought was a) KFC in the Palms section of L.A.  yesterday. Sadly, when I pulled up to score my double down I discovered it had been converted into a weed dispensary!!  Yes, this is the spot that was the inspiration for the recent KFC South Park episode.  Yes, I completely felt like Cartman (complete with yelling and cursing.) And yes, I was foiled in my attempt to eat the new double down.  (Which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you ask.)

Speaking of which…

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When Zach discovered the Santouka in Los Angeles, he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t read more about the place while he was still in New York (there is also one at the N.J. branch Mitsuwa.) Always Hungry did a ramen video from there, but didn’t even mention the name Santouka once, and Time Out New York left them off of their list of the Ten Best Bowls of Ramen in NYC (although in fairness I guess it technically isn’t in NYC.) Coincidentally enough, forums diva “Yvo” wrote about Santouka this week on Feisty Foodie, calling the broth amazing.  Why isn’t this place mentioned in the same breath as the East Village ramen royalty more often?  Sure… it’s not Midtown, but we love Mitsuwa, and if you have time for a 2 hour lunch there is a bus from Port Authority that will take you there.

Apparently it’s a burger truck kind of day on Midtown Lunch. Zach still hasn’t been able to track down a decent plate of street meat in L.A., but today he wrote about two burger trucks that look way better than La Cense and Carnegie John’s. And we’re not just saying that because one of the burgers was topped with sausage gravy, bacon and maple syrup!? (Ok, maybe that’s exactly why we’re saying it.) I wonder if we can get Schnitzel and Things to top their deep fried burger with bacon and maple syrup? I think that would make things right…

If you haven’t been following along with Midtown Lunch: Los Angeles, Philly, & Downtown NYC you’ve been missing out! Jamie found Indian tacos from a truck in Philly, Kevin found a good spot for soups and sandwiches on Reade St., and I had my first taste of L.A. ramen (with extra back fat, naturally.) Plus if you’re a fan of the ML Profiled Lunch’er posts you have to check out today’s inaugural profiled lunchers post on the L.A. site. (Spoiler: It’s a double dose of awesomeness- and they love street food to boot!)

By now you’ve probably heard that I’ve moved to L.A. (although our new contributors are doing such an amazing job I can see how you would have not noticed!)  Anyway, I just started the L.A. section of Midtown Lunch– which you can visit by clicking on the “Los Angeles” link at the very top of the site.  I know L.A. is far away, and there is potential for jealousy (today I posted about the most amazing Thai food– sorry!) but I hope you’ll follow along anyway.  It’s going to be pretty lonely out there without you guys…