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 Heather, a video game archivist (hello dream job!!!) who hates fake food.

Name: Heather

Age: Really? I thought you were a gentleman.

Occupation: Creative Development Historian (Archivist)

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Activision, 31st & Ocean Park in Santa Monica

Favorite Kind of Food: Fresh. I can’t commit to any particular cuisine, but noted that most of my favorites are only edible when fresh. Caprese salad, Sushi, New England Clam Bake (lobsters, clams, corn on the cob- best if everything was in its natural habitat of field or sea when the sun rose that day), Grass fed burgers w garden tomatoes, Farm Fresh eggs in a crepe with ham & cheese.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything that requires a loophole legal term gives me the creeps: “cheese product”, “juice drink” “chicken by-product” “frozen dairy desert”

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Border Grill Food Truck (Check twitter for location): They don’t come by often enough! Cerviche from a truck?!?! I know…this is the only truck I trust for that & it is awesome. The tacos are divine. Mrs. Winston’s (3150 Ocean Park Blvd): I was blown away the first time I saw their salad bar- it is extensive, fresh and clean. This isn’t your NYC bodega salad bar (no ambrosia, no mayo carrot salad, no bugs). You pay for what you get however- even careful salad artists can easily spend $12-$15. It is nearly impossible to spend less than $7. Zabies (3003 Ocean Park Blvd): Steak salad, chicken chopped salad, homemade soups. Takeout is recommended- their service sometimes makes me angry. The Counter: Build-a-Burger with sweet potato and shoe string fries (fav burger: swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions on a bed of mixed greens.)

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It’s official… my new favorite thing about Los Angeles (and more specifically L.A. over NYC) is Thai boat noodles.  I can’t say for sure if there are or aren’t “boat noodles” in New York City (I’m guessing you can get them somewhere) but it isn’t like it is here.  Here, boat noodles are a thing. And like most regional specialties in L.A. (be it Thai or whatever) there are quite a few restaurants that specialize in this one dish.  For those of you who have never tried boat noodles (aka me, three weeks ago) it’s a beef noodle soup that got its name from being served off of boats in the rivers and canals of Thailand.  It is traditionally made with bits of beef, liver, tripe, and whatever else is on hand… but for those of you who aren’t into the offal, most restaurants in L.A. have a version that’s just pieces of plain old beef.  The one thing they can’t go easy on (or else it wouldn’t really be boat noodles) is…brace yourself… the blood.  (Please don’t stop reading.)

That’s right.  The not-so-secret ingredient in boat noodles is blood- but now that I’ve told you that, I want you to completely forget you ever knew it.  Because if nobody told you about the blood, and pushed this sweet and sour, savory and spicy soup in front of you and told you to drink, you’d love it. And why should a little blood get in the way of you tasting one of the best foodstuffs ever. I guarantee you will love it.  Well, maybe you wouldn’t love every version.  But some boat noodles are… let’s say… easier than others.  So the trick is to find the bowl that is right for you.

And if you thought department of health ratings or willingness to accept credit cards is a factor, it isn’t. They all get Bs and none of them take plastic.

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Jade Noodles from Sapp’s Coffee Shop in Thai Town

• HOLLYWOOD Jade noodles at Sapp’s are a perfect summer dish [Gourmet Pigs]
• WEHO Carney’s Chili Cheese Dog is better than Pink’s [Squid Ink]
• WEHO Vito’s makes the best NYC style pizza in L.A. [HuffPo]
• CULVER CITY Japanese b’fast for lunch!?! [LAist]
• DOWNTOWN A Chick-Fil-A has opened near USC [LAist]
• MIRACLE MILE The tinga at Tinga is great [Savory Hunter]
• PASADENA “The Guru” samples the food at the new Intellegentsia [Squid Ink]
• SAMO The new SMP Bloomingdales has a Forty Carrots! [Toddrickallen via Eater]
• MOBILE L.A. City Council held a panel to discuss food truck issues [LAist]

I discriminate against no dumpling!  Chinese… Korean (mandoo)… steamed… fried.  I love them all.  So when Josh Lurie and Matt Kang invited me to try Myungin Dumpling in K-Town, I was down.  The place is not necessarily going to make you swoon, but it’s an interesting hybrid of Korean ingredients with Chinese preparations.  They give you some panchan (always a good thing) and have a pretty standard verison of mandoo, but I prefered the hybrids… like the giant steamed Chinese looking buns filled with kimchi, pork, jap chae (Korean glass noodles).  Check out Josh’s comprehensive review over on Food GPS>>

Myung In Dumplings, 3109 Olympic Blvd., 213-381-3568