Midtown Lunch

Back in April of last year, I had a dream.  A dream that one day the Animal/Cart For a Cause fried chicken sandwich would return as a regular item on the menu of Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s new restaurant.  Well… it looks like dreams do come true!  Details about their new restaurant, Sun of a Gun, have been flooding out this week, including a sample menu which includes- wait for it… wait for it… “fried chicken inspired by Chick-fil-A and Bakesale Betty”. There is no mention of the word sandwich, and it doesn’t sound like they are going to be open for lunch on weekdays, but that’s ok. Beggars can’t be choosers.

Related:
Leftover Fried Chicken Sandwiches (From Animal!) Are An Embarrassment to Us All

What is there to really say about Papa Cristo’s that hasn’t already been said?  Situated across from St. Sophia’s (home of the gigantic annual L.A. Greek Fest), it’s pretty much the consensus best Greek lunch in L.A. Squid Ink called it the best gyro in town,  Jonathan Gold (aka The Guru) has mentioned their roast chicken a number of times over the years, and Los Angeles Magazine called their lamb sandwich one of the best in the city.  Hell, even the Food Network’s Meat & Potatoes has been there!  (But mostly those other three things.)   With everything I had heard, expectations were pretty high, and yet none of that prepared me for the excitement I felt when I saw this…

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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven through the intersection of Hollywood and La Brea, home to the gigantic Raffallo’s Pizza sign (you know it, even if you don’t know it.)  Never once did I think to myself, “gee, I wonder if there’s some good food tucked away behind that sign.”  I’m sure I’ve looked into the strip mall as I headed south on La Brea from my old apartment on Franklin (how could I not, right?)  But it clearly didn’t register… because even though I’ve probably driven by Roubo’s Place a trillion times, the first time my brain actually saw or heard about Roubo’s Place was in this Squid Ink food fight, which had their borscht beating out a tom yum soup from Yai in Thai town.

Cheap Russian food?  In Hollywood?  With an under $10 lunch special?  Yes please.

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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 Himanshu, a tech support guy looking for some seafood in Santa Monica.

Name: Himanshu

Age: 32

Occupation: Tech Support Engineer

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Santa Monica

Favorite Kind of Food: Too many to name but would try almost anything

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Not a big fan of sweets, mayonnaise

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Again too many to name but a few of them are Tacomiendo (4502 Inglewood Blvd.), Simpang Asia (10433 National Blvd.), Sorrento’s Italian Deli (5518 Sepulveda Blvd), Hole in the Wall burgers (11058 Santa Monica Blvd), Chutney’s (2406 S Barrington Ave), Mitsuwa (3760 S Centinela Ave) etc. criteria being lunch < $10

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