Midtown Lunch

One of the things I missed most about L.A. during my 4 year excursion was Peruvian food, so much so that within a week of moving back I didn’t bother trying to find the best Peruvian spot in L.A. (or the most Midtown Lunch’ish).  I just returned to my old standby… Mario’s (on Melrose). And when I discovered it was too expensive to qualify for a Midtown Lunch I hit up Inti a few doors down. Once my craving was satiated, I asked for some better (preferably under $10) Peruvian recs from you guys- and Lunch’er “luckyme23” pointed me to Mo Chica, the modern Peruvian food court joint that opened last year in the Mercado La Paloma- just south of downtown.

Mo Chica is no hidden gem.  “The Guru” is  all about their ceviche, LA Taco praised their market driven menu, and Profiled Lunch’er Pat wrote that the place takes Peruvian ingredients “about as far they can go.” Only one problem… practically all of the menu is over $10!  So when I made my first trip to the Mercado La Paloma last week, I felt inexplicably drawn to Chichen Itza.

Come to think of it, it’s not inexplicable.  It’s because I’m a cheap bastard.

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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 Sarika, a writer who likes to eat lunch at a place called Vegan World, but is looking for good Korean BBQ in the Valley (only in L.A.!)

Name: Sarika

Age: 33

Occupation: Writer/Managing Editor

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Peter Greenberg Worldwide, Studio City

Favorite Kind of Food: Thai, Korean barbecue, brunch, cookies

Least Favorite Kind of Food: The sea slug I ate in China

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Stir-fried vegetables with tofu at Vegan World (11044 Ventura Blvd.),mango salmon sushi from Sushi Dan (11056 Ventura Boulevard), “grilled” chicken sub with green peppers, spinach and honey mustard from Subway, matsu box (five pieces of sushi, spicy tuna hand roll, inari, salad and miso soup) from Sushi 101 (11331 Moorpark Street), wild veggie burrito from Aroma Cafe (4360 Tujunga Ave.), ploughman’s platter from The Fox and the Hounds (11100 Ventura Blvd), aloo chat and a mango lassi from Bollywood Cafe (11101 Ventura Blvd), grilled chicken with rice and red pepper hummus from Shish Mediterranean (11052 Ventura Blvd), and vegetable soup from Vivian’s Cafe (10968 Ventura Blvd).

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I have a feeling the area around Overland and Palms is going to be one of my new favorite spots to eat.  There is Sushi Central (which was featured on Bobby Flay’s Throwdown), Kogi’s Chego! is having their grand opening this week (although, sadly not for lunch yet), and of course there is Simpang Asia, one of the best Indonesian spots in the city.  It might be a coincidence, but it looks like the latter is preparing for their neighborhood’s moment in the sun. At the end of last month they moved into a newly renovated space formerly occupied by their “grocery store”, which has now moved into the generic looking convenience store next door to that.  The old Simpang Asia space is going to be converted into a larger kitchen to accommodate the larger restaurant.

If that means shorter wait times on Thursdays and Fridays during lunch (the place tended to fill up pretty quickly), I’m all for it!  As for the food, well if you’ve ever been you know it’s pretty freakin’ awesome.  Check out the new digs, plus plenty of banana leaf wrapped food porn after the jump.

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Photo courtesy of Noms Not Bombs

• MOBILE Your first look at the new Dumpling Station Truck [Squid Ink;NomsNotBombs]
• MOBILE The Dim Sum Truck is now permitted to park in Santa Monica [Eater LA]
• HOLLYWOOD Rincon Chilleno has mote con huesillos!?! [Uncouth Gourmands]
• GLENDALE A location of “Best Fish Taco” just opened on Glenoaks [Feast]
• DOWNTOWN Hoisin burgers are on the menu at Starry Kitchen right now [BrandX]
• MOBILE Cheesy mac and rib?!  Yes please [Food GPS]
• WESTWOOD Saffron & Rose Ice Cream is a great spot to hit up after Alcazar Express [NomsNotBombs]
• WEST L.A. Chego! is looking good… to bad they’re not opening for lunch yet! [Grub Street]

I am quite possibly the worst Jew of all time. Yesterday I ate a Cuban sandwich in Pasadena… which is wrong on so many different levels. (Spoiler: It has nothing to do with it being in Pasadena.)

1. It’s Passover. Sandwiches tend to be frowned upon (sorry, but pb&j placed between two pieces of matzoh is not a sandwich in my book. I don’t care what your mom says.)
2. A Cuban Sandwich has two kinds of pork. Not one. But two.
3. It also has cheese (what was that one about milk and meat?)

But to add insult to injury I am actually considering using another religion’s rules as an excuse to eat fried fish for lunch. (Yay lent!) The only question is where? I could go the fancy fish and chips route, but I prefer things a little dirty. Hello Fisherman’s Outlet and Catch 21! Now I just need to decide which one. Fisherman’s Outlet always has the longest lines (good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective), but Catch 21 is cheaper (a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective.) Or maybe I just need to eat at both.

You know who would know what to do in this situation. God. Sadly, I don’t think he’s talking to me right now (for so many different reasons.) So I have to rely on you guys. Thoughts?

Fisherman’s Outlet, 529 South Central Ave., 213-627-7231
Catch 21, 441 S. Central Ave., 213-485-1614

We here at Midtown Lunch are firmly against April Fools Day (most pranks are sooooo lame!) but even we have to give credit to Thrillist LA today for their email about the new “Toilet Truck” hitting the mobile vending scene. Get it? Because the only thing more played out than April Fools Day pranks is new hipster street trucks. I wonder what the Toilet Truck will be sprinkling their seasoned fries with.