Midtown Lunch

As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Dan, an Imagineer who doesn’t eat pork (booooo!) but loves chicken tacos, natch. (We’re also assuming he’s a District 9 fan…)

Name: Dan

Age: 33

Occupation: Concept Designer

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale

Favorite Kind of Food: I love noodles, any and all kinds of noodles. Oh yea, and pancakes too, just not at the same time.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Bacon

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: The chicken kabob plate at Cafe Bravo (1135 W. Grandview Blvd, Glendale) is solid. Lily’s Cafe (357 E Magnolia Blvd, Burbank) serves fresh soup and salad combos as well as a just-right sweet tea. Finally, Cafe Colombia (222 S Glenoaks Blvd, Burbank) is my comfort food. But I’d say the jackfruit noodle at Viet Noodle Bar (3133 Glendale Blvd) in Atwater Village and the chicken tikka masala at Curry Land (4329 Lankershim Blvd) in Toluca Lake are my favorites.

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I discriminate against no food. And, quite frankly, I don’t understand people who do. Well, that’s not entirely true. I understand why people do what they do. I just don’t comprehend the how of it. I guess what I’m saying is, I understand why somebody would want to be a Vegetarian (although admittedly I understand the pescatarian phenomenon less), I just don’t understand how you could not eat pork (could I be a swineatarian!?) That being said I totally don’t mind good vegetarian cuisine, because often the chefs are forced to make things *more* delicious because they can’t fall back on ingredients like pork belly, bacon, or lard. (“Those all come from the same animal!” “Yeah, right Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.”)

So when I heard there was a Saveur endorsed, $7 all-you-can-eat buffet, in a Culver City Hare Krishna temple, my love of cheap buffets overruled my love of pork. And it was off to Govinda’s.

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Burgers from the newly opened Patty Wagon. Photo courtesy of Noms Not Bombs

• MOBILE: The newly opened Patty Wagon is better than Baby’s & Grill em All! [Noms Not Bombs]
• HOLLYWOOD: New Tender Greens is now open [Grub Street;Eater]
• DOWNTOWN: Everything at Market Cafe is < $10 [Eater]
• BEVERLY CENTER: New food truck lot coming soon? [Grub Street]
• GENERAL: Nominations for Taco Madness 2010 are not being accepted [LA Taco]
• MOBILE: Ceviche from a truck!  I like it… [Gourmet Pigs]
• GENERAL: So much pizza to try… where should I start? [LAist]

I discriminate against no Chinese food.  I can’t help it… from chicken’s feet and tripe in the SGV to orange chicken at Panda Express, there is a place in my heart for all of it.  Thinly sliced Sichuan beef tendon in chili oil?  Yes please.  Crappy all you can eat Chinese buffet? Now you’re talking!  (Oh, and did I mention my love of Panda Express orange chicken?) So when our inaugural profiled lunchers recommended Chu’s Chinese Kitchen (111 W 9th St, Downtown) as one of their goto lunch spots, I was immediately intrigued.

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I’ve been craving a burger since the day I got here (this city has some good burgers) and I thought long and hard about what I wanted my first burger in L.A. to be. Would I go old school at the Apple Pan, or new school at the Oinkster.  Would I splurge on Umami Burger, or go cheap at Capitol Burgers. And then of course there’s In N Out Burger, but I ruled that one out pretty quickly.  If an In N Out opened up in Manhattan it would be the greatest, most exciting day in Midtown Lunch’ing history… but here in L.A., a new In N Out Burger is like a new Starbucks (and therefore not a Midtown Lunch.)

It was a tough choice, and in the end I went for… none of the above!  I know it’s terrible, but if there’s one thing I like more than burgers it’s food trucks… so when I randomly found myself outside of Baby’s Badass Burgers the other day, I couldn’t resist trying it out.

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As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Nick, a video editor who knows all the hot spots on Pico btw. Hauser and Fairfax.

Name: Nick

Age: 37

Occupation: Video Editor/Web Designer

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Will Work For Film Prod’s – home office in Mid Wilshire/ Fairfax & Pico (Little Ethopia) area

Favorite Kind of Food: Anything rice based, particularly Chinese

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Cream Cheese, Fruit Crumble, Mayo

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Ho Ho Kitchen (5677 W Pico Blvd, btw. Hauser+Fairfax) for Chinese, Bloom Cafe (5544 Pico Blvd, btw. Hauser+Fairfax) for best pizza in town, Canter’s (419 N Fairfax Ave, nr Beverly) for best corned beef west of the Mississippi, Chic Cafe (5545 W Pico Blvd, btw. Hauser+Fairfax) for great rotisserie, Chulada Grill (5607 San Vicente Blvd, nr. Hauser) for really good burritos

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