Archive for April 2010

ML on Good Food: So excited... I get to be on Good Food w/ Evan Kleiman this weekend on KCRW!  Listen live on Saturday from 10-11am pst, online or via podcast after the fact.  I'll be talking about Starry Kitchen, Ganda, Simpang Asia, Cafe Columbia, and more, while trying not to sound like a complete dork. UPDATE: Did you miss it?  Here's a link to the podcast.

Lunch Links (The “I’m Starting to Come Around to This Bunny Chow Thing” Edition)

World Fare “Bunny Chow”. Photo courtesy of gas•tron•o•my blog

  • MOBILE World Fare’s bus food keeps looking better and better [gas•tron•o•my]
  • DOWNTOWN Starry Kitchen makes a righteous banh mi [Food GPS]
  • PASADENA The newly opened Taco Station is really good [Immovable Feast]
  • CULVER CITY Bawarchi has a great raita [Eater]
  • CULVER CITY A new Pinches Tacos location is now open [Grub Street]
  • MARINA DEL REY A sneak peak at the new Mendocino Farms [Gourmet Pigs]

Los Angeles’ Best Pizza: When I wrote about Pitfire Pizza last month, the recommendations for good L.A. pizza poured in. Now I have, like, a thousand more places to add to my list!  Slice, the king of all pizza blogs, has put together a list of their favorite places for pizza in Los Angeles.

Isaac Toast is the Cure For Your Turkey Sandwich Blues

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I don’t like turkey sandwiches.  Is that crazy?  Don’t get me wrong… freshly roasted turkey topped with cranberry sauce, stuffing, and gravy is one of the greatest sandwiches of all time.  But Boar’s Head roast turkey on a roll with lettuce, tomato, and mustard?  Meh.  In fact, this site was founded pretty much entirely on my desire to find an alternative to boring turkey sandwiches (and salads.)  But what about a Korean twist on the turkey sandwich?  I do love Korean food.  And they did wonders with fried chicken.  Could they possibly make a turkey sandwich on white bread palatable?  2000 locations of Isaac Toast in Korea would say yes… and the first U.S. location opened in Westwood a few months ago.

What exactly is this “toast” craziness?

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Shook & Dotolo Added as Vendy Judges: Speaking of the guys from Animal, they've been added to the judges panel for this years Vendy Awards... which is just 3 weeks away! (May 15th, 4-7pm in MacArthur Park.)  Once the nominees are announced, sometime around May 1st, it's going to be a tough ticket to score... so you should probably do that now.  For more info about the "Oscars of the Street Food World" go here>>

Leftover Fried Chicken Sandwiches (From Animal!) Are An Embarrassment to Us All

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What are you thinking about? Just do it!

After 4 years living in NYC, I was super excited to move back to L.A. The Midtown Lunch’ish food here is out of control good, and I think “The Guru” was right to call this the best place in the world to eat right now in Saveur (sorry, contrarian guy from the Jewish Journal.) There is nothing wrong with the food scene in this city… it’s amazing. But I wish I could say the same for the people! (Not you of course. I’m talking about your boring co-worker who would rather eat at a salad for lunch than a fried chicken sandwich.)

Case in point: Yesterday Cart for a Cause, the food truck that hits the street every Tuesday with a $10 lunch made by a celebrity chef to benefit Meals on Wheels, was in front of the Pacific Design Center (on San Vicente and Melrose). The $10 lunch? An out of control good, unbelievably huge, fried chicken sandwich served with corn on the cob, a cookie, and a drink by the boys from Animal- Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo.

Check it out after the jump…

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PROFILE: L.A. Lunch’er “Michael”

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 Michael, program specialist who wishes he worked Downtown, across the street from an all you can eat yellow curry buffet.

Name: Michael

Age: 28

Occupation: Program Specialist at Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of LA

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Mid-Wilshire (near San Vincente) or Glendale

Favorite Kind of Food: Thai Food, hands down. I visit a new Thai restaurant every week. I order the meal every time: Yellow Curry with Tufo over white rice. The same thing everywhere is my way to compare who is the best. I rarely will visit the same Thai restaurant twice. A close second is french fries. Village Idiot (7383 Melrose Avenue) has the best fries in town. My mouth is just watery thinking about them.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything with pork. Can’t do it.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Sushi & Kushi IMAI (8300 Wilshire Boulevard). Their lunch specials happen to be one of the best in town. I always get the Spicy Tuna Bowl. So much food for $7.95. Its impossible to go back to work on an empty stomach. The newest place I have visited is Mixt Greens (5757 Wilshire Boulevard). Full of taste and options. Choose from their pre-determined salads or create your own. They have at least 30 different ingredients you can have in your salad. The salad dressings are full of flavor and great for dipping your bread into. Can’t go wrong. It’s great place for a vegetarian option.

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