Midtown Lunch

I’m in NYC stuffing my face with street meat today, so no lunch post today… but while we’re on the subject of Street Meat, I do have a quick question. (If you’re not familiar with NYC style “street meat”, this should answer all your questions). It just so happens one of my favorite street meat “chefs” (can they be called chefs? cooks… sidewalk street food slingers?) just moved to Los Angeles and is contemplating opening a food truck that serves NYC style street meat- or “Halal” food, as it’s known on countless carts in NYC. We have plenty of shawarma, and Middle Eastern platters of meat with tahini and/or hot sauce. But it is impossible to get a plate of chopped up chicken and “lamb” (aka gyro meat) over rice with “white sauce” and hot sauce (believe me I’ve tried.) If you’ve ever been to NYC you know exactly what I’m talking about. So the big question is, would L.A. support a food truck that served this very specific New York street food? I’m not one to recommend that anybody opens a food truck (it’s tough tough work, for very little money) but I would be really excited to be able to get street meat in L.A.

Am I the only one?

Related:
Why is There No “Street Meat” in L.A.?

Back in March The Find discovered that Krua Siri, a completely non-descript Thai food restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard, had a secret Thai food menu available only for the most probing of customers (who could also read Thai.) Of course the L.A. Times article- which naturally is now proudly framed on the wall- changed all that, and I’m happy to report that the “secret” Thai menu has now been integrated into their regular menu, in English, under a “recommended dishes” section. Strangely enough, though, the coverage in the Times wasn’t enough to convince them to get rid of the ridiculous non-Thai dishes (like orange chicken!?) and they seem to have even upped the ante with a lunchtime all you can eat shabu shabu deal for $9.99.

But don’t let that discourage you…

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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 Rebekah, a teacher who hates tomatoes but loves a good croque madame.

Name: Rebekah

Age: 35

Occupation: Teacher

Where in L.A. do you Work?: LAUSD, Griffith Middle School in East LA

Favorite Kind of Food: Mac & Cheese, especially when it’s done in a creative way

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Raw tomatoes

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: King Taco (4504 East 3rd Street). Love those tacos, especially carne asada

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There is not much to draw you into Habayit, a small Kosher restaurant tucked into the corner of a small strip mall on Pico near Bundy.  Their little rectangle of signage states, simply, “Kosher Restaurant 310-479-7173”; sharing space with other cleverly named establishments like “Coin Laundry” and “Food-Mart”.  I’d like to pretend that at some point I would have been lured in by the “FALAFEL” sign with an arrow hung high on a neighboring lightpost, but I was really there because back in May The Find got all gushy about the place– writing about their falafel as if it was the best that ever existed.

Truth be told, I love falafel but I’m not big on falafel platters.  For me falafel is meant to be eaten in sandwich form, and I was hoping Habayit would deliver.  Because you can have the greatest falafel in the world, and still have your falafel sandwich ruined by dry pita or poor layering.

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Shio tonkotsu ramen from Robata Jinya. Photo courtesy of Adam Roberts

• CULVER CITY JGold says don’t bother with the kara-age at Yamadaya [Squid Ink]
• HWOOD Ikemen Ramen is now open and serving tsukemen [Squid Ink;Daily Dish]
• HWOOD The boat noodles at Palm Thai aren’t terrible [The Minty]
• HWOOD Vegas’ Fukuburger is coming to L.A. [Grub Street]
• MID CITY Robata Jinya makes the best ramen Adam Roberts has ever had [Amateur Gourmet]
• SAMO Tender Greens is now open on Arizona [Squid Ink]
• WESTWOOD Yamadaya is opening a new location on Westwood Blvd. [Food GPS]

When The Spice Table (114 S. Central Ave., DTLA) first started serving lunch back in April, they limited their menu to just banh mi and a short list of side dishes and salads, converting the sit down dinner time restaurant into a fast casual sandwich spot. Now it looks like they’re ready to expand their lunch time options. Last week, they added rice bowls and this week they put their Spice Table cheeseburger on the lunch menu as well. Check out an early look after the jump…

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I still remember the very first time I read about the sandwich known as patacon Maracucho. Named for the city in Venezuela that it comes from (Maracaibo), I remember it because for somebody as committed to being fat as I am finding out about a sandwich that uses fried plantains in place of bread is something that sticks with you.  Yes, you heard that right.  There is a town in Venezuela where they take shredded meat and sandwich it between two large patties made up of fried plantains.  (KFC Double Down, eat your artery clogged heart out.)

In New York, this sandwich (and the popular Vendy Award nominated truck that serves it) became known as patacon pisao, literally flattened plantain, and the rest is history. The open faced version of the dish, known simply as patacon, can be found at any number of Columbian restaurants in L.A. (like Cafe Columbia in Burbank.)  But the Venezuelan sandwich version is a bit more rare. So you can imagine how excited I was to read that the newly launched Lidia’s Dominican Truck was serving up their own version of patacon pisao off a truck on Miracle Mile.

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