Midtown Lunch

Most people will point to upscale cocktail bars, fancy pour over coffee shops, and hip gastro-pubs as the only proof you need that Downtown is experiencing a major resurgence.  But for the Midtown Lunch crowd, nothing says DTLA hotness like the rise of the Asian fast casual lunch spot. Starry Kitchen (which, at 18 months old, could be considered the old Grandpa of the trend) hit the scene to huge fanfare last year, and it looks as if others have taken notice. Spice Table started their under $10 banh mi lunch menu four months ago, Flying Pig Cafe followed a few months later, and last week Fat Spoon got into the fray (not to be confused with Wood Spoon, the great Brazilian place on 9th & Main.)

Fat Spoon features a menu of Japanese curry and Italian pastas, a unlikely sounding combo- until you find out that Italian style pastas are huge in Japan.  In some ways it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.  But unlike Flying Pig, which seemed to stumble a bit out of the gate, Fat Spoon seems ready to dominate on week one.

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Pork Cutlet Curry from Fat Spoon. Photo courtesy of Treasure LA

• DTLA Fat Spoon is now open in Little Tokyo… [LA Times]
• DTLA … and here’s your first look [Kevin Eats;Treasure LA]
• DTLA Freshii is now open on 7th & Grand, and here’s a freebie coupon [Eater]
• DTLA Not everybody likes the banh mi at Spice Table [Gastronomy]
• DTLA It’s too bad LAX-C doesn’t sell their pork leg during the week! [Food GPS]
• DTLA Add one more person to the I Love Chimu list [Savory Hunter]
• BEVERLY HILLS Bouchon Bakery is now open [Food GPS;Eater;CoC]
• CHINATOWN Yang Chow’s orange chicken > Panda Express [Squid Ink]
• CULVER CITY Gloria’s makes a good carne adobada [Squid Ink]
• PALMS Now that Indo Cafe is closed, you’ll have to go to Simpang Asia for nasi bungkus [Squid Ink]
• WEHO A look at ink.sack’s entire menu, with prettier pics than ours [Serious Eats]
• MOBILE The Westside Food Truck lot is temporarily closed [Squid Ink]

When the first photos of Ink.Sack, Michael Voltaggio’s new sandwich shop on Melrose, hit the twittersphere I jumped into cautious hysteria mode-  furiously clicking for any indication of whether or not this place would be cheap enough to qualify as a Midtown Lunch.  The best look I got was this blurry photo, where I could kind of make out a 5 next to each sandwich.  Shit.  Of course the sandwiches are $15 each. This guy is not just a freakin Top Chef, but probably the most famous Top Chef there is.  Oh well.  Fuck it.

And then the greatest, most shocking, news of all time hit the blogosphere.  I was imagining the 1.  The sandwiches were only $4-6.  Is this guy nuts?  What happened to cashing in on your success?  Rent on Melrose ain’t cheap buddy. Buuuuuuuut there was a catch (there always is).  The sandwiches are small.  And the debate, which will likely rage on for years to come, officially began.  Do you need 2 or 3 sandwiches to make a filling lunch?  2 would be fine to keep me under $10, but 3 would be too expensive.  So… how small are they really?  Most of the photos out there have been inconclusive. But let’s put it this way: if the guys-who-have-small-penises-drive-big-cars adage applies to sandwiches, Michael Voltaggio must have a gigantic penis.

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If you’re in K-Town and craving a Korean burger chances are you’re going to hit up Kalbi Burger. Need a Korean burrito fix? Hop on twitter and see where Kogi is. Both would be perfect choices if you’re looking for well made, interesting and in many ways refined Korean food, masquerading as a fast food staple. But what if you want something a bit dirtier. A bit greasier. A place that reminds you what burgers and burritos were before they were elevated to something “better”. For a return to burger as diner food grease-bomb land (with a slight Asian twist), you have to check out Olympic Hamburger.

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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 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.

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My quest to uncover and defeat every all you can eat buffet in the Greater L.A. area is going surprisingly well.  During my first stint in Los Angeles 7 years ago I was surprised at how few all you can eat buffets there were here, especially compared to Boston the city I moved here from.  But this second go around has been far more successful.  Indian lunch buffets are never tough to find, but there’s also been the Ethiopian buffet on Fairfax, the Thai buffet (also on Fairfax), the Vegas’ish Korean buffet on Olympic, the Brazilian pizza buffet, and the brand new Chinese super buffet I demolished a few weeks ago in Hollywood. And let’s not even talk about the all you eat Korean BBQ places (have you been to Don Day for lunch yet!?)

Japanese, however, has proved to be a bit more elusive.  I’m still waiting for the West L.A. branch of Hokkaido to open up, but in the meantime I was pretty excited when Profiled Luncher Cari recommended Oiwake’s $8.50 tempura and teriyaki buffet in Downtown L.A. last month.

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The bao ssam from Moko in Culver City. Photo courtesy of Grub Street

• CULVER CITY Get a beer and a bao for $10 at Moko during lunch [Grub Street]
• DTLA Aladdin Coffee Shop has a great Salvadorean buffet [The Minty]
• KTOWN More people are making it onto the jokbal train [Squid Ink]
• KTOWN The Guru professes his love once again for Mandarin House [Squid Ink]
• KTOWN Word is getting out about our favorite ayce KBBQ place [Gastronomy]
• MID CITY Who eats a salad at The Golden State!? [Amateur Gourmet]
• WEST LA Check out this great little hot dog cart behind Best Buy [Squid Ink]
• SANDWICHES 5 Questions with Mendocino Farms [Unemployed Eater]