Midtown Lunch

Today’s L.A. Times has a less than glowing look at the exploding food truck scene in L.A., and I have to say… it’s about time!  It’s not completely surprising that food trucks who have been around for a few years would not like an influx of competition, and it’s kind of unfair and strange to see Road Stoves, a company with 20 food truck clients on their website including ESPN and Camarena Tequila, talking about how other people are just prostituting the culture to make money. But all in the all the article touches on some important and interesting subjects, including big business trying to get in on the action (like Sizzler & Jack and the Box), copycat trucks, the influx of clueless entrepreneurs expecting to make a fortune, and how  real money is in catering  or deals with grocery stores, not selling food on the street.  I especially liked reading Roy Choi talk about street food as a community thing, although I disagree about food truck lots being a bad thing. Kogi has put a lot of time and thought into where they park, and that works for them, but hawker centers where street food vendors can come together are also a great thing, not just for vendors but for the community as well.

In the end it’s great to see more open discussion about the perils of running a food truck in such a major media outlet.  It’s a long time coming for an industry that is not only growing at an unsustainable rate, but has benefited from a massive amount of sugar coated media.

Related:
News Flash: New Street Vendors Are Finding It Difficult to Make Money
Manila Machine Should Tell the Truth: They’re Closing (Their Truck) Because Running a Food Truck Sucks

(Award Winning) baguette from Au Levain D’anton in Montmarte, Rabbit Terrine & Tongue Terrine (from La Grande Epicerie, Paris), and some random cheese

This was one of the memorable lunches I had this week… and not that it needs to be said, but I didn’t get in here in L.A.  Anybody know if there’s a place I can score a lunch like this between DTLA and Santa Monica? Because I have a feeling I’m going to be craving this again fairly soon. Feel free to suggest in the comments…

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 its Fred, a car-less (!?) animator who spends most of his time Downtown.

Name: Fred

Age: 30

Occupation: Freelance computer animator and Metro transit blogger for The Source

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Downtown L.A. (mostly South Park but sometimes Union Station adjacent)

Favorite Kind of Food: Burgers and fries

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Sushi and anything with chunks, slices and/or little tiny bits of tomato

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Sandwich Shop (531 W 6th St). The Pho French dip is probably the best sandwich I’ve ever had, but it only appears on the menu once in a blue moon. The Gogi Hoagie is my standard order and it’s fantastic. At Cabbage Patch (520 W 6th St) the Jidori chicken bowl is one of the rare overtly healthy dishes that I actually love. It’s vegetables, brown rice and grilled chicken but somehow it’s amazing. When it comes to Mediterranean food I’m split between my old fave Lula Kabob (952 S Broadway) and my new fave Flames (which offers tasty homemade potato chip things). I simply can’t forget Uncle John’s Cafe, I love getting their orange chicken or teriyaki/chasu combo to go for lunching at my desk. Also, Gills lunch buffet is hard to beat for a chicken tika fix.

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If you missed out on the 2011 Grilled Cheese Invitational two weekend ago, there are plenty of recaps for you to drool over.  But it doesn’t mean you can’t taste some of the winners.  Oaks Gourmet (who won a few prizes) has a Grilled Cheese night every Wednesday, and if you get lucky you just might happen upon the Grilled Cheese Truck’s fried chicken grilled cheese as a special.  But if you want one for during lunchtime for under $10 that’s guaranteed to be on the menu you’ll want to hit up Mendocino Farms this week for their Grilled Cheese Invitational champion pick: The Whole Enchildada by The Cheezy Nerds (a group of Firefighters from around the LA area).

It features roasted chicken breast smothered in house made enchilada sauce with cheddar and pepperjack fondue, pickled red onions, crema, and black olives on a rustic white bread with a side of smashed avocados for $9.25. Available at all Mendocino Farms locations from May 2nd-6th with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross to benefit victims of Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami.