Midtown Lunch

If you were to create a ramen compass of Los Angeles it would be fairly simple… any of the places in Torrance to the South, Santouka to the West, Daikokuya to the East (in Downtown), and the new’ish Ramen Jinya to the North (Studio City). For most people the decision over where to ramen is one of proximity, but what about those who are smack dab in the middle? That problem seemed to be solved thanks to the news that Ramen Jinya would be opening a new spot, Robata Jinya, on 3rd Ave. and Crescent Heights. And when I read yesterday that they were now open for lunch and serving up ramen, I rushed right over to check it out.

Read more »

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 Christine, a designer who hates L.A. bagels and doesn’t mind walking a few blocks for food trucks.

Name: Cristine

Age: 30

Occupation: Designer

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Montalba Architects, Inc. in Santa Monica, near Cloverfield and Olympic

Favorite Kind of Food: Japanese, all things Italian, especially pizza, homemade Mexican

Least Favorite Kind of Food: L.A. Bagels

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: The spinach burrito at Tacos Por Favor (1406 Olympic Blvd), the meatball sandwich at Bay Cities (1517 Lincoln Blvd), the cochinita pibil two taco plate at Frida Tacos in the Brentwood Country Mart (225 26th Street), the salad pizza from Abbott’s Pizza (1811 Pico Blvd)

Read more »

**Since this post was originally published, Mozza2Go has begun to offer these specials daily**

I don’t know if there are many absolute food truths in this world, but one that is seemingly undeniable is that Nancy Silverton is an L.A. food goddess. And nowhere is that more evident than at Pizzeria Mozza. Minor quibbles aside (some people just have to be contrarian!), the place is awesome… so much so, I’ve been back more than once. (Which is saying a lot considering how much catching up I have to do since moving back to L.A. from NYC at the beginning of the year after 4+ years away.) Obviously the place isn’t a Midtown Lunch, but when Mozza To Go opened up around the corner it didn’t give me hope that maybe- just maybe- we could squeeze a $10 lunch item out of the Mozza empire. Sadly on their whole menu of pizzas and sandwiches (sorry, I think of salads as an appetizer not a lunch!) only one thing qualifies: the $10 tomato pizza with oregano and extra virgin olive oil. I’m guessing that means no cheese, right? A cheese-less pizza? (*sigh*) Can Midtown Lunch really endorse this?

Read more »

Attari’s Tongue Sandwich. Photo by Noms Not Bombs

• WESTWOOD Attari’s tongue sandwich is like pulled pork [Noms Not Bombs]
• CULVER CITY Sandwiches not pizza is the thing to get a Victor Jr’s! [Eater]
• DTLA Hurry Curry of Tokyo is coming soon!? [Squid Ink]
• DTLA Hosting Ludobites has paid off for Gram & Papa’s [Blogdowntown]
• DTLA Ciudad becomes Border Grill this wekeend [Grub Street]
• MID CITY Andre’s handmade ravioli and tortellini are a steal [LAist]
• PASADENA Cham Korean is a great goto lunch spot [Gourmet Pigs]

A few weeks ago Bibigo opened in Westwood Village to much fanfare, and while I mostly liked the food it didn’t make me as excited as it would have had it been… how to put this… dirtier. So when I saw Gushi (“the long standing beloved Korean shack on Gayley”) casually mentioned in this review of Bibigo I knew it had to be my next Westwood lunch.

Read more »

As much as I love, and have done serious research on, all you can eat buffets across the country, there is one gaping hole in my canon of face stuffing experiences: all you can eat Korean BBQ.  Every time I drive through K-Town I stare lovingly at all the signs touting meat feasts of epic proportions- and the best part is, a ton of them are under $10. And yet, for some reason, I’ve never been able to the pull trigger.  Part of it is my allegiance to the true all you can eat buffet (like Hansong), where all the food is laid in one giant smorgasbord, ready to be defeated at the hands of my rather large gut.  Admittedly a real all you can eat master wouldn’t let that technicality stand in his or her way, so I’m forced to admit that the real reason I haven’t been to one of these places is sheer intimidation.  Not only are there too many places to choose from, but I wasn’t sure exactly what happens when one enters one of these places.  Yes, many have $9.99 lunchtime options- but with upgrades avaialble (that allow you a better quality of meat) was the $10 ayce Korean BBQ deal really worth it?

So, when a Korean friend offered to accompany me to one of his favorite spots, Tahoe Galbi (on Wilton & Wilshire), I jumped at the chance.  Not just to fill the gaping hole in my all you can eat buffet resume, but also the big gaping hole that pops up in my stomach every day around 11:45am.

Read more »

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 we’re excited to welcome Thrillist’s L.A. editor Jeff Miller who works in the Mid-Wilshire area but wishes he was in Japan…

Name: Jeff

Age: 31

Occupation: Editor

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Thrillist LA; Mid-Wilshire

Favorite Kind of Food: Sushi

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Dessert

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: I’m roaming around the city a lot for work — but by my home/office I find myself eating the chirashi from Sushi & Kushi Imai (8300 Wilshire Blvd) and salads from Doughboys (8136 W 3rd St) at least once a week, but I like it when I end up in the valley and find myself at Pita Kitchen (14500 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks) for their chicken kafta. I’ve also been doing TONS of lunches at Tinga (142 S. La Brea). MMM.

Read more »