Midtown Lunch

I distinctly remember my very first New York burrito. It was at a cheap dive called La Paloma in Hell’s Kitchen, and after a few years of living in L.A. (preceded by 9 years of eating at the very worthy Anna’s Taqueria in Boston) I pretty much thought it was terrible. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I never had a great burrito in New York. That is a “real” burrito, which to me means a giant tightly wrapped nugget in tin foil, eaten with your hands, and usually stuffed with delicious carnitas. (That’s how I do it.) Some people call it “mission style”. Or “dry” (because it doesn’t have sauce poured over the top.) I just call it a burrito.

But as time went on (I spent 5 years in New York) I could feel myself gradually becoming more accepting of New York’s burrito offerings. And by the end of my time there, I even called certain burritos “decent”- even though they probably weren’t half as good as that original burrito from La Paloma (which I claimed to hate.) Now that I’m back in L.A. I’m guessing the same thing is going to happen with pizza. Because as everybody knows, the pizza here is as bad as the Mexican food in NYC. I don’t doubt that there are decent slices to be had in Los Angeles, and of course there is now Mozza and Antica and even Bottega Louie. But those aren’t Midtown Lunches. Where do us cheap bastards go for a decent pizza lunch!?

Pitfire Pizza? Seriously?!

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Travel Channel Filming Baby’s Badass Burgers on Wilshire Yesterday

• MOBILE: Grill ‘Em All & Baby’s Badass Burgers to face off on Food Wars [AHT]
• WESTWOOD: Shawarma food fight pits Sunin against Alcazar [Squid Ink]
• DOWNTOWN: Urban Noodles is now open [Eater;Blog Downtown]
• N. HOLLYWOOD: Pad thai isn’t the only good thing at Krua Thai [Food GPS]
• DOWNTOWN: More praise for Starry Kitchen [Gastronomy]

Speakin of Asian Food Courts… Midtown Lunch is always open to new suggestions, tips, and reports from readers. This one was sent in earlier today by Lunch’er “Lee” (aka Flatrock).

I happened to be in LA last week and while driving through Koreatown decided to stop in to the Koreatown Plaza on S. Western and 9th Street in the hopes that I could find some mandoo. I walked into this Plaza and it was a full fledged mall, but all Korean! I wandered through the mall towards the aroma of food, and eventually walked into what I believe is “Zach’s Personal Nirvana,” a mall food court that serves nothing but Asian food!!! There were dumplings, a pho shop, a weird Korean sandwich stall, a curry spot, mostly it was Korean food with the Pho thrown in there for good measure. As I wandered around from stall to stall in a state of bewilderment and amazement, I discovered the pinnacle of this Nirvana like mall food court, a stall serving dol sat bibimbap (it was called Gamja Bawi). I’m thinking, mall food court, all asian food, real hot stone pot! How could this be bad.

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Ever since I was a kid growing up in Miami I have had a soft spot for mall food courts. Where else could I enjoy a pork lo mein dinner (thank you random Dadeland Mall Chinese food spot) while my brother ate a bowl of matzoh ball soup (Bain’s Deli represent!) I’m ashamed to admit it, but I still love a little Daphne’s, or Hot Dog on a Stick, or Panda Express (the king!) from time to time. But those aren’t Midtown Lunches. Food courts are havens for your lazy co-workers, who don’t want to venture just a bit farther for something good. In other words they’ve become the very thing this site is meant to fight against.

Unless it’s an Asian food court! When I hit up Daikokuya in Little Tokyo the first week I was here, the ramen recommendations started pouring in. “Daikokuya is overhyped! Go to Mr. Ramen.” “Drive down to Torrence!” “Take the Orochon Challenge!” I plan on doing them all… but first on my list was a visit to the “West L.A.” branch of Mitsuwa, the giant chain of Japanese grocery stores. Every location has a food court, and nobody is serving samples of chicken teriyaki.  There was actually a giant (and awesome) Mitsuwa in New Jersey that we used to take the bus to once in a blue moon (hello giant bluefin tuna!) but somehow I never tried Santouka- the famous Japanese ramen chain located in their food court. Thankfully they have them out here as well!

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I love street food and covered it with Rain Man like precision in NYC, but at this point I feel like there is little left that would surprises me in the new school food truck scene.  Grilled cheese?  Sure.  Peruvian food?  Why not.  Asian food in taco form from a truck whose name rhymes with “kogi”? Uh… yeah.  In other words, just when I thought I couldn’t get excited anymore, a new truck goes and gets me all super giddy. Dim sum… my all time favorite food…  from a truck? Here we go.

For a white guy I consider myself fairly well versed in the ways of dim sum.  I don’t know the Chinese name for anything (besides shu mai and har gow), and still resort to pointing… but I have a pretty general idea what most things are (based on experience, shape, color, etc.)  I like the giant places, where pandemonium rules and you might have to stalk items across long distances (like a hunter with a punch card in place of a spear.)   I like carts, and lots of them (dim sum that you have to order off a menu is not real dim sum imo.)  And to the delight of most dim sum cart pushers, this short fat Jewish guy loves chicken feet.  I also know that in New York, if you want good dim sum you go to Brooklyn (or maybe even Flushing… but never Manhattan.)  And in L.A. dim sum fans all head east to the (at this point incredibly well known) San Gabriel Valley.

In other words, if you want awesome “dim sum” you’re clearly not going to get it from a truck parked in Santa Monica!  And yet there I was yesterday, “punch card” in hand,  as excited as I possibly could be to try the brand new “Dim Sum Truck”.  And you know why?  Because we don’t work in Monterrey Park.

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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 Alaia, a consultant looking for some good mac and cheese.

Name: Alaia

Age: 25

Occupation: Professional Dot Connector/Business Consultant

Where in L.A. do you Work?: I run my own business (One Organized Business) as well as a local networking group for entrepreneurs (The Entrepreneur Connection). I travel all over Los Angeles for clients and events, but I primarily work out of my home office in Silver Lake

Favorite Kind of Food: If it involves carbs, or cheese – I’m there!

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Tofu, eggs, and avocados

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Gobi Mongolian BBQ in Silver Lake (2827 W. Sunset) . They have long lunch hours (perfect for a workaholic entrepreneur like me), and I can really pile on the pasta and fresh veggies. No matter how much I try to chow down, I always have plenty of leftovers around for my 11pm dinner… And, even though they took their amazing potato skins off the menu (my reason for living….why?!?), I still stop in at Home Los Feliz (1760 Hillhurst Ave) for Mom’s Meatloaf Sandwich with a side of garlic mashed potatoes. Yum!

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When I ate at the India Jones Truck last week I was completely intrigued by the owner’s claim of being related to India’s “largest restaurant family” (Gaylord Kwality).  I couldn’t find an info on them myself (probably because googling “Gaylord Quality” yields a completely different result!), but Andrew from TruxMap was kind enough to send over this great link detailing the history of the Gaylord Quality Restaurants in India (which seems confirm the origin of India Jones’ delicious butter chicken!)  The India Jones Truck will be parked at MTV today, on Stewart Street.  Check their Twitter account for updates.

Related:
India Jones’ Butter Chicken is a Force to Be Reckoned With