Midtown Lunch

Midtown Lunch has never really taken a stand on anything more important than protecting the right to stuff my face with loads of delicious food at lunchtime for under $10. I’ll occasionally advocate for the protection of old school street vendors… but in a lot of ways, that’s just as selfish as the first thing.   That being said, I freakin’ love Jamie Oliver.  Watching his shows and using his cookbooks over the past ten years has taught me a lot about how to cook for my family (eating dinner at home most nights of the week is what keeps me pleasantly plump, as opposed to morbidly obese).  So when I heard he was coming to L.A. to film the second season of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, and the public would be invited to meet him in Westwood I (sheepishly) headed down to check it out.

I was really just going to be in the same room as a personal hero, but a lot of what he said to the crowd got me a little fired up.  I have a 2 year old, and we actually moved to Culver City just so we wouldn’t have to put him in LAUSD (we heard a lot of bad things.)  And regardless of whether you hate reality TV, or Jamie Oliver, or activists who tell you what you should and shouldn’t do (they can be kind of annoying) I don’t see how anybody could be in favor of serving kids garbage “food” in school.  But here’s the real reason I’m writing about this (lord knows this has nothing to do with finding delicious lunch near where you work.)  Jamie told the crowd that the owner of Chipotle had given him one million dollars because he believed in the work Jamie was doing.

Urgh.  Could this actually make me like Chipotle?

Read more »

If you haven’t been to the Brentwood Country Mart to try Sweet Rose Creamery, the ice cream shop from the owners of Rustic Canyon and Huckleberry, you are really missing out. Seriously, it is absolutely amazing- and if you need further proof, here it is: even though I don’t live or work or find myself anywhere near Brentwood, ever, I have subjected myself to lunch in the hood a few times just to have an excuse to stop by Sweet Rose. Brentwood is not exactly an under $10 lunch paradise (some of the stuff at the newly opened FarmShop is laugh out loud expensive) but most of the options at the Country Mart “food court” come in at under $10, and the one that gets recommended the most is Reddi Chick.

I had first heard about Reddi Chick a few months ago from the site Savory Hunter. Rotisserie chicken and fried stuff for under $10? In an upscale neighborhood shopping area? It sounded positively charming!

Read more »

Man, I really love Greek food.  Don’t get me wrong… I wouldn’t turn down a tasty shawarma sandwich, and Israeli, Lebanese and Persian food have a special place in my heart.  But there is something so simple and satisfying about Greek food that probably dates back to Greek festivals my parents used to take me to when I was a kid.  Unadulterated gyro meat, cut off the spit and topped with tomato, onions and tzatziki, rolled up in a pillowy piece of pita bread.  It can’t be beat.  But that’s something you can find at any Greek restaurant- my favorite part of the festivals were the loukamades, fried doughnut holes topped with honey, nuts and cinnamon (what can I say, I’m a fat adult- I was a fat kid.)

To this day I don’t think I’ve ever really seen these things anywhere but at a festival, so when I found out that there was a Greek food truck in L.A. called Louks to Go I was pretty psyched.  Oh- and they serve gyros, and souvlaki and french fries too?  Awesome… because… uh… I wasn’t going to just eat loukamades for lunch.  That would be crazy!  I… uh… would never have done that.  Glad they serve some savory stuff too.

Read more »

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 David, a traveling salesman who loves buffets but hates carbs? Only in L.A.!

Name: David

Age: 31

Occupation: Sales Contractor

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Travel daily anywhere in LA or Ventura County

Favorite Kind of Food: Protein

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Carbs

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: I’m a buffet man: Tequillas for Mexican in N. Hollywood (4310 W Magnolia Blvd.), Mogs Mongolian BBQ in Sherman Oaks (4454 Van Nuys Blvd), Village Tandoor Indian buffet in Northridge (18530 Devonshire St).

Read more »

Ask anybody who works Downtown where to get the best Korean food in the area and they’ll likely tell you to put your lazy ass into a car and drive to K-Town.  On a good day, it’s less than 10 minutes away. But not everybody has the luxury of time (or a car, for that matter), so for those people I’d say- Have you been to It’s a Wrap?  That’s right.  You wouldn’t necessarily know it by the name or the outside signage, but It’s a Wrap (on 7th btw. Flower & Fig) serves cheap, decent Korean food, in Downtown L.A.

I first heard about this place thanks to Profiled Lunch’er “Shauna” (aka The Minty) who recommended their spicy tofu soup.  Soondubu from a place called It’s a Wrap?!  I was instantly excited. Korean food hidden inside generic sounding delis is completely normal in Midtown Manhattan, so hearing about this place triggered an immediate (and all too familiar) craving.

Read more »

Samosa House & Samosa House East are cheap, vegetarian *and* good

• NEWS Here’s a great map to cheap vegetarian options in L.A. [LAist]
• CULVER CITY A fond farewell to Tokyo 7-7 [Eat Drink & Be Merry]
• DTLA Suehiro Cafe is the Guru’s favorite Little Tokyo lunch [Squid Ink]
• H’WOOD Roubo’s Place looks like it could be a winner [Squid Ink]
• MID CITY Red Medicine is open for lunch. Too bad everything is $10+ [Eater]
• WEHO Vito’s makes a better calzone than Damiano’s [Squid Ink]
• NEWS Umami Burger is devloping a cheaper fast casual concept! [NRN]