Midtown Lunch

Big news in the world of Westwood Persian food! Attari Sandwich Shop, the (not so) hidden gem on Wilkins Ave. just off of Westwood Blvd., has opened up a sit down restaurant just to the right of their cozy courtyard. Attari has long been famous for their unique sandwiches (kuku, kotlets, or tongue anybody?) and delicious kebabs, but the two month old Attari Grill gives them a chance to showcase a more upscale menu- featuring a whole host of stews more similar to their incredibly popular ab goosht (which is only served on Fridays at the sandwich shop.)

And you know what the best part is? Despite a way pricier menu, the “Grill” has a bunch of lunch specials for under $10. Naturally, I had to try all of them.

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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 Austin, a pastry chef who hates taro.

Name: Austin

Age: 29

Occupation: Pastry Chef, writer, ninja by night

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Westside Tavern, a 300 seat restaurant in West LA at Pico and Westwood.

Favorite Kind of Food: Pretty much anything, I’m open to try most things at least once, but I consider myself a “burgers and pizza” kind of guy

Least Favorite Kind of Food: There are 2 things I absolutely refuse: taro (in any form) and papaya

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: As someone who works the dinner shift in a restaurant, I actually have the liberty of choosing just about anywhere to go for lunch before I need to leave for work, however tend to stick to places near my home in San Marino. But this also applied while I was previously doing private catering out of my home.

With that said, some of my favorites near me are B-Man’s Teriyaki and Burgers in Pasadena (on Huntington and San Gabriel Blvd) for the ABC burger, a cheeseburger (American or Swiss) with teriyaki sauce and avocado. Their chicken curry fries are also pretty bomb and a meal in itself.

South Pasadena also has quite a few good lunch places.

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For fancified Israeli falafel, you could do a lot worse than Pita Bar & Grill on Fairfax, and for a cheap, no frills, good if you’re-starving-and-in-college-on-the-west-side falafel, Hungry Pocket is your spot.  But what about some authentic Lebanese falafel action?  For that, all signs pointed to Falafel Arax in Hollywood, the next stop on my quest to find LA’s best falafel.  Situated right next to Spicy BBQ in Thai Town (on Santa Monica and Normandie), my first Falafel Arax recommendation came in the comments courtesy of Lunch’er Katherine, and since then a bunch more people have mentioned that it could be the best falafel in all of L.A. (most agree it’s the best in Hollywood.)  Clearly it was time to check it out.

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Fries from Philly West. Photo courtesy of Savory Hunter.

• WESTWOOD Philly West looks like my kind of place [Savory Hunter]
• CULVER CITY Kebab Bistro will have tandoori skewers and fresh naan [GS]
• DTLA Look at the line at Fisherman’s Outlet! [Single Dad in L.A.]
• KTOWN Sokogdong Soontofu is now on “the list” [JWolfson’s Posterous]
• KTOWN Kalbi Burger isn’t perfect, but is a satisfying lunch [NomsNotBombs]
• SAMO Hello AYCE Indian buffet for under $8! [Savory Hunter]
• MOBILE Lunch’er Lynn agrees, Mandoline > Nom Nom [Actor’s Diet]
• MOBILE Fishlips is way better than grocery store sushi [Squid Ink]

There’s no doubt that fusion tacos are the most ubiquitous item found on food trucks these days (thanks for that, Kogi!) but if you were forced to pick a runner up, you wouldn’t be wrong to think banh mi. Nom Nom Truck is undoubtedly the most famous, thanks to their nearly undefeated record on the Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race, and the Phamish Truck was named one of L.A.’s ten best food trucks by Los Angeles Magazine. On paper Mandoline Grill is an easy pick for 3rd place (they’re vegan friendly and don’t even have pate and Vietnamese cold cuts!?!) and yet their grilled pork banh mi might be the best version from a food truck in the city.

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If you work Downtown or on the west side you are probably well aware of how amazing Mendocino Farms is.  What you may not be aware of is that every month they have a different off-the-menu “secret sandwich” that you only find out about if you sign up to receive their emails.  I got on this train months ago, but there hasn’t been a special sandwich yet that sounded good enough to unseat my go to order: the pork belly banh mi.  That is until this month…

Meet “Andrea’s Beef Bourguignon Dip”: Marsala braised short ribs with roasted fall mushrooms, parsnip puree, balsamic onions, sauteed greens, and arugula on toasted ciabatta in jus, served with a horseradish crema.

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