Midtown Lunch

I had a “tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are” moment the other day.  Fresh off my $5 pita sandwich at Shawarma Palace, I got another Pico lunch recommendation from Josh Lurie- the guy behind Food GPS.  I ran into him at my new office, and he handed me a menu for Pita Way and pointed out the half and half combo sandwich featuring shawarma and schnitzel.  Yup, you read that right.  That’s spit roast meats *and* deep fried chicken together at last- a sandwich that he said sounded right up my alley.  Translation: “I see you as a fat, disgusting pig.”  I would have been offended if I hadn’t been busy thinking “Holy shit, are you joking?  Shawarma and schnitzel on the same sandwich!?  For under $10?  That sounds like one the greatest things of all time.  I need to go eat one right now.”

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Photo courtesy of Dommy Gonzalez/Squid Ink

• CULVER CITY Chicken samusas are the thing at Jasmine Market [Squid Ink]
• CULVER CITY The pastrami at Johnnie’s doesn’t look too bad! [LAist]
• DTLA There’s a great new Thai spot on 5th and Hope [Squid Ink]
• DTLA The shrimp chow fun at New Moon looks great [The Minty]
• KTOWN Corner Place makes some great cold noodles [TasterTots]
• MOBILE Lardon is the second best food truck in L.A. [Gastronomy]
• MOBILE The Flying Pig is now suing that porno company [Eater]
• WEST LA The Naan Hut is hoping to open by this weekend [Grub Street]
• WEST LA Rojas Eatery looks kind of awesome [Grub Street]
• FAST FOOD This inception burrito kind of makes me want Del Taco [Food Beast]

Ever since visiting Thailand back in 2007 I’ve been on a futile quest to recapture some of the great meals I had there, minus the expensive plane ticket.  Pad thai from a street cart in Bangkok, khao soi from a night market in Chiang Mai, rice noodle soup from a shack in Phitsanluk (oh, how I miss you legs hanging rice noodles.)  So back in July when The Guru called Siam Sunset, a coffee shop looking restaurant connected to an America’s Best Value Inn,  the Thai-est Thai restaurant in Thai-Town I was instantly interested.  He described it as being the cafe you’d find around the corner from your apartment in Bangkok, but the thing that got me most excited by the review was the fact that they have a menu of specials for just $3.95.  That’s right.  4 bucks!

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A few weeks ago I shared my… uh… unique guide to what I consider a “healthy” lunch in Los Angeles. Because as much of a fatso as I am, there are occasionally days when this “job” catches up with me.  And for those days, I try and eat something “light”.  (Sorry, a side effect of writing about food that isn’t dripping in fat is the overuse of quotation marks.)  I mentioned how much I like Vietnamese bun, and posted a photo of the ok version at Tiato- an Asian’ish lunch spot in Santa Monica.  It’s the kind of place I would never go out of my for, but if I worked in the building (or anywhere in a 5 minute vicinity of Colorado & Stewart) I might eat there once or twice a week.

Lunch’er Jake W. was nice enough to let me know in the comments that Le Saigon (on Santa Monica Blvd. near Barrington) made a much better bun than Tiato.  And since I was feeling a little gross the other day (possibly because of Reddi Check and Greek doughnuts) I decided to put this theory to the test.

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As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Katherine a freelancer writer who hates McDonald’s but loves Asian food.

Name: Katherine

Age: 28

Occupation: Writer. Lifestyle journalist, when I’m feeling fancy.

Where in L.A. do you Work?: I work from home in Silver Lake, freelancing for any publication that still pays its writers. Right now I’m doing a lot for City’s Best.

Favorite Kind of Food: That’s way too hard. I’m going to cheat and say “Asian.”

Least Favorite Kind of Food: After a horrifying experience in North Las Vegas with a truly upsetting “southern chicken biscuit,” I’d say McDonald’s. Just everything McDonald’s.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: I can walk to Forage (3823 W Sunset Blvd), for whatever salads they offer on a given day, and the avocado sandwich. In Chinatown, Yum Cha Cafe (638 N Broadway) and My Dung Sandwich Shop (314 Ord Street) in Chinatown, for cheap dim sum and banh mi, respectively. And Pho Broadway (942 N Broadway) for cold bun. Xoia (1801 W Sunset Blvd) in Echo Park has a great brisket banh mi.

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Photo courtesy of Savory Hunter

• MID CITY Our hunch about Simplethings’ Thanksgiving sandwich is confirmed [Savory Hunter]
• BRENTWOOD Lemonade is expanding to B’wood! [Eater]
• BRENTWOOD Lunch at the Country Mart will be super cheap next Friday [Eater]
• CULVER CITY 3 great lunch options on Venice [Grub Street]
• DTLA Umami has plans to launch a delicatessen of sorts [Eater]
• DTLA Mas Malo is now open and looks kind of good [The Minty]
• MOBILE A lot of new Indian trucks hitting the road [Grub Street]