Midtown Lunch

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 Mika, a foodie fashionista.

Name: Mika

Age: 30-something

Occupation: Enterpreneur/writer/blogger

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Home office in the Hollywood Hills. FashionBliss (e-commerce boutique) and Food Fashionista (blog/website)

Favorite Kind of Food: Spicy food, fresh seafood, Japanese, Korean, French, Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Sweets

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Highly-processed foods, mystery meat

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Since nothing is really walking distance from where I work, I’ll usually jump in the car and head over to the original Katsu-ya on Ventura Blvd (in Studio City). Their bento lunch box is an unbeatable deal ($12) and includes miso soup, steamed rice, green salad, miso black cod, sashimi, and assorted tempura. Marouch (4905 Santa Monica Blvd) in Hollywood is also a favorite. They have a wonderful Fattouch salad and a hearty, homemade lentil soup you’ll want to dip your pita bread into. Save room for the Knafeh (warm white cheese with rose water and honey) for dessert. When I’m craving burrata cheese, I’ll head over to Ca del Sole in Toluca Lake. For years, they’ve been serving a caprese with a generous portion of fresh burrata and organic heirloom tomatoes.

The “goto” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often? Closer to the weekend, it’s Ricky’s Fish Tacos or Hide on Sawtelle. At Ricky’s we’ve been known to order more fish and shrimp tacos per person than a group of three eats total. What can we say…we like our Baja style fish tacos. Hide also has great lunch specials including a beef or chicken teriyaki and tempura combo ($8.90). You can even request white or dark meat if you have a preference.

The farthest place you’ll drive for lunch on a normal day? It’s a trek from where I work, but I do get lunch cravings for Newport Seafood in San Gabriel. It usually takes about 45 minutes to get there, so I’ll make an afternoon of it and grab groceries at Mitsuwa across the street right afterwards.

Dream job location (anywhere in the world), purely for lunch purposes, and why? I’d love to live in Tokyo again. There are so many lunch spots within walking distance and so much variety. In train stations, basements of department stores, or in hidden alleys, you’ll find high-caliber cuisine in almost every neighborhood.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? What are some really tasty Chinese spots closer to where I am? A 20 minute drive in L.A. is close, so if you have suggestions, please send my way.

How do you feel about crappy all you can eat Chinese food buffets? Got an answer for Mika? Put it in the comments. And, as always, if you want to be next week’s Profiled: L.A. Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d want to nominate), email me- zach@midtownlunch.com.