Archive for August 2010

PROFILE: L.A. Lunch’er “Betty Hallock”

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 Betty, an L.A. Times food writer who wishes she worked in Tokyo… but has found a ton of amazing lunches in Little Tokyo.

Name: Betty

Age: 39

Occupation: Editor

Where in L.A. do you Work?: The Los Angeles Times, Downtown

Favorite Kind of Food: Japanese (sushi in particular), Chinese, Italian, Eastern Mediterranean, Mexican

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Bad bread

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: The Times building is at 2nd and Spring and if I go up the hill, I’ll take the Angel’s Flight funicular to Mendocino Farms for pork belly banh mi or a pork rib sandwich. Or to Starry Kitchen for any of its specials (Japanese meatball curry, “nom nom” pork, etc.) as a lunch plate with special rice (I like the coconut rice). If I walk to Little Tokyo, lately it’s for Koshiji (123 Onizuka St) for yakitori (the yakitori is juicy). Or Daikokuya for hiyashi-chuka (cold ramen salad), especially when it’s hot out (and if the line isn’t too long), or tsukemen (the broth comes separate from the noodles and you dip them into the bowl – I like the sort of DIY experience of it). Mr. Ramen (341 E 1st St) for the tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) bento with cold tofu (also, their chashu roast pork is really good). Izayoi (132 S Central Ave) is on my list of lunch spots too (croquettes, grilled eggplant, black cod, matsutake soup when it’s in season). Lazy Ox (241 S. San Pedro) for yellowtail with crushed avocado and crispy hash brown. If I have a craving for Hawaiian, then I’ll go to Aloha Café (410 E 2nd St) in Honda Plaza (which is conveniently located a couple doors down from my favorite Little Tokyo bakery, Frances). I like that the breakfast menu (corned beef hash, Hawaiian bread French toast) is served all day. South on Spring Street, the Gorbals used to serve lunch (Persian cucumbers with za’atar and chickpeas, bacon-wrapped matzoh balls) -– sadly, it isn’t open for lunch anymore. And for afternoon coffee, Spring for Coffee (548 S Spring St). On special occasions, Drago Centro to sit at the bar and have some of their fresh pasta, or Water Grill’s raw bar for oysters.

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Charity Truck Bringing Little Dom’s to Mid Wilshire Today: Today the Cart for a Cause Truck will be parked at 5700 Wilshire from Noon to 2pm serving spaghetti and meatballs, a tomato and burrata bruschetta, and a brisket sandwich made by Chef Brandon Boudet from Little Dom's in Los Feliz.  You get an entree, plus dessert, plus a drink for $10 and the money goes to charity.  Do it.  Do it.

For Sweet and Saucy Downtown BBQ, Head to The Original Texas Barbecue King

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I’m beginning to learn that there is no shortage of good BBQ in Los Angeles, provided you know where to look and are willing to drive.  The Vendy Awards introduced me to Big Mista’s BBQ back in May (their pig candy is possibly the greatest use of bacon ever invented), last week Ed Levine from Serious Eats took me to Phillip’s in Jefferson Park (totally worth the ride south!), and Bludso’s in Compton is high on my list of places to try.  But what if you work… say… Downtown.  And don’t have two hours to trek over to Compton, or down to the Torrance Farmer’s Market on a Thursday.  What then?

Answer: The Original Texas BBQ King.  Located on 7th Street btw. Grand and Olive, the OTBBQ King is one of those places that you could drive by a million times and never notice (even if you were looking for it.)

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Lunch Links (The “Bacon Brown Butter Ice Cream Sandwich” Edition)

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Photo courtesy of Deep End Dining

  • MOBILE Cool Haus’ bacon/brown butter ice cream is *amazing* [Deep End Dining]
  • KOREATOWN Authentic Thai food in K’town!? I’m intrigued. [Squid Ink]
  • PASADENA Lunch at the new Intelligentsia looks pretty good [Mattatouille]
  • BEVERLY You can get liege waffles at Shaky Alibi [Squid Ink]
  • STUDIO CITY Even the chicken ramen at Jinya is good [Savory Hunter]
  • MOBILE SaMo has approved a permit for temporary food truck lots [SM Daily Press]
  • MOBILE L.A.’s 1st Kosher taco truck rolls out on Monday [Squid Ink]
  • VIDEO Lord help me, I’m not an attractive man [Eater LA]

Don’t Tell Anybody, But My Favorite Thing From the Flying Pig Truck is Vegetarian

Los Angeles - Flying Pig Truck

I have a confession to make.  When I first moved here from New York back in February I was completely overwhelmed by the street food scene here.  NYC has its fair share of new school trucks, and Midtown Lunch has enthusiastically covered them since their numbers began to explode back in 2007.  But what’s going on in Midtown is nothing compared to the scene here in Los Angeles.  As everybody knows, it’s far from easy to vend here… but if you can believe it, it’s even harder in New York.  Licenses are hard to come by, and permits are capped, so the waiting list to legally open a food truck in any of the five boroughs is a mile long. Don’t believe me?  Kogi, arguably the most successful street vending operation to date, looked into opening in NYC and decided it was too difficult.  Here, parking might be tough in some high density areas, but renting a truck is super easy (there is no Road Stoves equivalent in NYC) and there are no caps placed on permits so there is no limit to the number of new trucks that can (and have) hit the streets here in L.A.

The Flying Pig Truck, which will be one year old in October, is one of those trucks that I would have been super excited about had it opened in Midtown.  Or if I had been living in L.A. when it first hit the streets.  On one hand the choice between pork and anything else is no choice at all for this (lower case) jew.  On the other hand, Asian tacos and Asian sliders are not as exactly the ground breaking menu item they once were here in SoCal.   And then I read this blog post a few weeks ago, saying their pork buns were “ripped from the Momofuku playbook”.

Well, that’s all I needed to hear.

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Sak’s Teriyaki is a Zillion Times Better Than I Expected (and My New Favorite Westwood Lunch)

Los Angeles - Sak's Teriyaki

Westwood has no shortage of teriyaki.  Whether it’s for the office workers on Wilshire, or the students of UCLA, if you want some cheap chicken covered in a sweet and goopy Japanese(ish) sauce, you are totally in luck in this part of town.  San Sai and California Teriyaki Bowl are the most visible in the heart of Westwood Village, but for the old school anti-chain hole in the wall Midtown Lunch seekers there is only one option: Sak’s Teriyaki!  I first heard of this place back in April, when Lunch’er Steve recommended it as not great, but “a great Midtown Lunch”.

I finally made it to Sak’s yesterday, and I don’t know if it was the low expectations or what- but great is precisely the word I would choose to describe it!

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Lunch’er Esther Hits Up School Food: Check it out!  Freelance writer, pro surfer, and Profiled L.A. Lunch'er "Esther Hahn" reviewed K-Town's School Food Blooming Roll on Squid Ink today. According to her it's not as good as the original Korean locations- but just looking at her photos is putting me in the mood for another go at the gigantor plate of kimbap we tried there back in May.