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 Grace, a student who can’t drink but loves lunching in DTLA.

Name: Grace

Age: 20

Occupation: Business student and the younger, still-not-legal-to-drink half of LA in Stilettos

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Just ended my internship in Downtown LA, but still a student at University of Southern California!

Favorite Kind of Food: Sandwiches, burgers and burritos. I also absolutely love anything with foie gras and truffles, but definitely not an “everyday” kind of thing to eat.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Mustard… I hate any kind of mustard – honey mustard, dijon mustard, yellow Frenchie’s mustard. I also don’t like sour cream. So I guess more condiments than anything else.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: This past summer I was working in Downtown at the 7th & Fig Plaza so Downtown has definitely become my new “lunch” spot. I love Bottega Louie (700 S. Grand Ave.). I usually just do takeout instead of sitting down for an actual meal. When I’m feeling something light, I get the Louie salad or proscuitto and seasonal fruit. The delicious portobello fries and aoili are, of course, a must for every meal! Nazo’s Bakery on 8th (btw. Flower & Fig) was always good for a quick sandwich, but if I was seriously craving a quality sandwich, I would walk all the way to Mendocino Farms to get my pork belly bahn mi, steak BLT, or the not-so-fried-chicken sandwich – which reminds me of the delicious sandwich from LudoTruck!

The “goto” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often? Definitely Lemonade on the USC campus at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. It’s great how I can split a portion at the marketplace, so I’ll usually get the avocado, cherry tomato, pine nuts, lime and the broccoli, ricotta, champagne vinaigrette. I also get one land + sea side, chicken breast or tuna.

Places you’ve discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch: Sadly I looked more into Midtown Lunch right before I left to study abroad in Korea until December. But I keep staring at the site making a long list of restaurants to try. I’m craving a quality burger so much, so I keep staring at The Escondite post.

The farthest place you’ll drive for lunch on a normal day? Probably to Ricky’s Fish Tacos! Those fish and shrimp tacos are absolutely addicting.

Dream job location (anywhere in the world), purely for lunch purposes, and why? At the moment, I’m studying abroad in Korea, so I’d love to move here for a little. Surprisingly there is so much good food here! I’d really like to be able to try them all before I go back to LA for good.

Anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers? Where can I get good yet healthy food near Downtown LA?

Healthy isn’t my thing, so I’m going to leave this to you guys. Got a recommendation for Grace? 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.