Midtown Lunch

Last year I conducted a taco showdown on Culver Blvd. between Inglewood and Centinela that pitted three Westside goto taco places against each other.  Pepe’s Tacos fared well against Tacomiendo and Taqueria Sanchez, but there was something I had neglected to notice about this small (but pretty popular) lunchtime taco destination on Centinela:  they serve carne asada fries. Here’s where I admit that despite my public love for stuffing french fries in burritos, I have never actually eaten lunch in San Diego, a city that seems to be obsessed with combining their Mexican food with fried potatoes (hence, carne asada fries).

So when a friend told me that I could get a great version of this San Diego classic at Pepe’s Tacos I was pretty excited- despite having no idea what exactly carne asada fries are.  Spoiler Alert: There as great as they sound.

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Photo courtesy of Katie Robbins/Serious Eats

• BRENTWOOD A new branch of Lemonade is now open [Eater]
• DTLA JJ’s makes a mean chicken sandwich, and also serves teriyaki [Serious Eats]
• DTLA Banh Mi crawl yields mixed results [The Minty]
• HWOOD Another thumbs up for Ruen Pair [Gastronomy]
• SAMO Get the “Say What?” at Bru’s Wiffle [Squid Ink]
• SILVER LAKE Vinny Dotolo recommends El Cochinito [944 via Eater]
• WESTWOOD Lunch is the best meal to get at Shamshiri [Grub Street]
• BURGERS Bloggers share their favorite burgers in L.A. [HuffPo]

It’s overwhelming to think of how much amazing ethnic food there is in Los Angeles.  And while there are plenty of great modern day resources for exploring Koreatown or Thai Town or the SGV or South Bay or East L.A., there is something irresistible about asking somebody who lives in or grew up eating in one those neighborhoods for their favorites.  I know I do it.  “Oh, you’re Korean?  What’s your favorite place to eat on Vermont?”  “Oooh… your parents live in Monterrey Park?  Where’s the best place for Dim Sum?”  And most of the time people are more than happy to spout off lists of their favorite places to eat.  (Hell, musician Bill Esparza has practically made a second career for himself recommending Mexican places in the city and beyond.)

But ask somebody Filipino where to get the best Filipino food in Los Angeles and they always say the same thing:  “At my house.”  L.A. sports the largest Filipino population in the U.S. and there are plenty of places to eat Filipino food in the city, from Echo Park to K-Town to Arcadia (where I had some of the best fried pork I’ve ever had in my life.)  But ask a Filipino person which one is the best, and they’ll likely tell you the same thing…  “none of those places are as good as the food my mom makes.”  Sadly, my mom is not Filipino.  So if I want lumpia (fried egg rolls) or longanisa (sausage) or adobo or sisig (fried pig face) or kare kare (in all its peanut-y goodness) it’s off to a restaurant for me. Echo Park is the obvious choice, but there are actually plenty of places in the far more centralized Koreatown.

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Back in January I was pretty excited to read about a new Thai place Downtown called Esaan: A Taste of Thai.  From the sounds of the Squid Ink article (which I now realize I might have only skimmed) it sounded like Essan would be perfect for Downtown lunchers who didn’t want to make the trek up the 101 to Thai Town.  The name didn’t hurt either.  I’m no expert on the regional cuisines of Thailand but “Esaan” sounds pretty authentic- right?  Inclusion in Saveur’s 24 Hours of Thai Food in L.A. sealed the deal- I needed to check this place out.

Sadly, on my first visit I realized the truth.  There is no mistaking Essan for a real taste of Thailand (or even Thai Town.)  It’s a straight up fast casual sandwich and salad place that transforms Thai (and Vietnamese) dishes into yuppified lunches that would be deemed acceptable by the Downtown L.A. lunch crowd.   Case in point?  The “Pad Thai Salad”, a salad featuring “classic pad thai ingredients” tossed with spaghetti (yes, you read that right.)   It could easily be considered an abomination, except for one thing.  I kind of loved it.

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