Midtown Lunch

When I first moved to L.A. last year Monte Alban popped up on a bunch of “food suggestion” emails I got from friends. Opinions about the place vary, and it often gets overshadowed by the far more popular Guelagetza in Koreatown, but most people agree that if you want anything resembling Oaxacan food on the Westside it’s pretty much your only option. Mole and clayudas are their specialties, and the best part is you can order anything off the regular menu for just $7 and it comes with a soda (seafood dishes are excluded.)

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Over the weekend Adam Fleischman confirmed that Umami Burger would probably be expanding to NYC by 2012. But even more exciting is the news of what NYC might be sending back.  Xi’an Famous Foods (the NYC noodle shop famous for its lamb “burgers” and spicy noodle dishes) posed an L.A.-centric question on their Facebook page, causing Chowhound to wonder if they might considering an expansion into Los Angeles.  As pointed out by this rebuttal, it wouldn’t be a completely new thing for those familiar with the SGV- but if they opened somewhere between Downtown and Santa Monica it would be quite the godsend.

Related:
Xi’an Famous Foods Shows Us How It’s Done

Seafood pancake from Jun Won in Koreatown

• CULVER CITY 9021PHO is coming to Washington [Eater]
• DTLA Clifton’s Cafeteria is closed, but will reopen soon [Eater]
• HWOOD A new AYCE Chinese buffet has opened on Western [Eater]
• HWOOD LAMag says Arax is one of L.A.’s 10 best Armenian spots [Grub Street]
• KTOWN Jun Won is a comfort food lunchtime splurge [Mattatouille]
• MAR VISTA Check out this crepe pop up at Mitsuwa Market [Grub Street]
• MOBILE Ta Bom’s empanadas are great [Squid Ink]