Midtown Lunch

At the end of last month NYC institution place that sells hot dogs in New York, Papaya King, opened  on Hollywood Blvd. Funny billboards appeared all over town, and people started emailing me to ask if I was excited. (“Short fat Jew from NYC must love hot dogs!”)  The Guru weighed in last week with a reverent but kind of lukewarm endorsement that still managed to make us all want to rush over to Hollywood & Wilcox- as only he can do.  So when I found myself in Hollywood yesterday I couldn’t help but swing by (short fat Jewish man does love hot dogs.)

But before I made it to the familiar yellow counter I was stopped in my tracks by another opening that really solidified Hollywood & Wilcox as the place to go whenever I need a little taste of New York City…

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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 Daniel, a Jew who loves pork (aka a man I can relate to.)

Name: Daniel

Age: 38

Occupation: Director of Delivery Management (Interactive)

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Work at iCrossing LA – Culver City/Del Rey area. Live in Eagle Rock!

Favorite Kind of Food: Being Jewish, i gotta say anything pork! Pulled pork, roasted pork, steamed pork buns – i think you get the idea.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I really do not have a cuisine and or ethnic food dislike – However, if it has Bananas in it, you can pretty much count me out.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Culver City area = Tacomiendo (they are one step away from being a corner taco stand, amazing tacos), the Jasmine Cafe (incredible/cheap Burmese food – it’s all good).  Eagle Rock area = I have to give a huge shout out to Dave’s Chillin’ and Grillin’ on Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock (try the Meatball/Sausage sub and the Hummus and cheese sandwich)

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Chimu photo courtesy of The Minty

• DTLA The Counter is coming to 7th Street [Brigham Yen via Eater]
• DTLA Another look at Chimu, the new Peruvian place in Grand Central [The Minty]
• HWOOD The Guru weighs in on Papaya Dog [Squid Ink]
• HWOOD The stewed duck at Ruen Pair is good [The Minty]
• SAMO Gjelina is now doing takeaway! [Eater]
• VENICE LA Isla Bonita can compete with any taco stand in L.A. [The Eaten Path]
• WESTWOOD Isaac Toast is now closed [Eater]

My love of all you can eat buffets knows no boundaries, but sadly there aren’t too many of them between Downtown and Santa Monica (my primary lunching boundaries.)  Thankfully there is all you can eat Korean BBQ to fill the void, and I’ve been doing my best to sample as many of the $10 versions as I possibly can.  It’s no surprise that most $10 ayce Korean BBQ lunch specials are limited.  You usually only get pork belly and brisket, and the quality is less than spectacular.  Then again, what do you expect for only $10.  So when I discovered Choi Ga Neh, back in November, I was pretty excited.  For just $11 you not only get brisket and pork belly, but also seasoned beef, beef belly, tripe, and chawan mushi. And for an extra $1 they’ll give you naeng myun (cold noodles) as well.  Once again, the quality is not the best.  But for $11, it was hard to imagine a better lunchtime all you can eat deal in Koreatown.

That is until now.

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A few weeks ago Coly’s Stromboli opened up in Downtown L.A. (at 456 Hill) and I couldn’t help but be excited by the description posted on Blog Downtown: “Imagine a calzone, a slice of pizza and a burrito had a threesome and somehow made a baby named Strombol”.  For some reason that particular description caused me to ignore the fact that I’ve had access to stromboli all my life (they can usually be spotted getting stale behind the glass of mall food court pizzerias.)  But I’ve never seen a place that specializes in stromboli.  Perhaps they’ve unlocked some kind of  pizzazonerito magic that has previously been undiscovered!?

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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 Remil, an analyst who also wishes there was street meat in L.A.

Name: Remil

Age: 39

Occupation: Contract Administration Analyst

Where in L.A. do you Work?: 3rd Street & Beaudry Avenue in DTLA

Favorite Kind of Food: Wow! This is really a hard question. I’m Filipino so obviously Filipino food is my absolute favorite. But I also love a wide array of foods ranging from Chinese dim sum, to Korean BBQ, to Japanese ramen, to super spicy Thai, to Vietnamese pho and the occasional Texas BBQ. I often explore many different restaurants with my friends and my list of favorites just keeps getting longer and longer.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I try not to discriminate and I don’t really have a least favorite. But if I had to list just one, it would have to be a particular Chinese vegetarian restaurant in SGV. It wasn’t pretty.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: My favorite Filipino restaurant in L.A. is Salakot Sizzle and Grill (2122 Beverly Blvd). It’s not your typical steam table restaurant. Here you sit down, place your order and everything is cooked fresh. My “goto” selections are their Kare-Kare (oxtail stew), Crispy Pata (deep fried pork hock), Dinuguan (pork blood stew), Lechon Kawali (deep fried pork belly), Sizzling Sisig (chopped pork cheeks) and the Pork BBQ on a stick. Don’t forget to order the Halo-Halo (shaved ice) for dessert. For a quick Filipino lunch try Bahay Kubo Natin (2330 W Temple St), where they have a rotating daily menu. Just point to what you like on their steam table to match with either steamed rice or pancit (noodles) and you’re good to go. My favorites here are their Mung Bean stew, Pork BBQ, Fried Chicken Skins, Egg Plant Omelette and their Filipino-style Fried Chicken. In no particular order, here are just some of my other favorite places for lunch. Starry Kitchen on Grand for their green tofu balls, Eastside Market on Alpine for the D.A. special, Mien Nghia on Ord for their beef noodle soup, Mendocino Farms on Flower for any of their sandwiches, Langer’s Deli on Alvarado for an amazing pastrami sandwich, Daikokuya on First St. for their ramen, Yorkshire Grill on Sixth St. for their chopped liver, Fisherman’s Outlet on Central for their grilled sea bass and Jitlada on Sunset for their Southern Thai specialties.

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