Archive for October 2011

Westside Food Truck Central Lot Returns!

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Those of us who like food trucks and live or work in and around Culver City were pretty bummed when the Westside Food Truck Central lot (on Overland and Washington) closed down a few months ago due to some permit issues.  Well, this week the lot has returned!  Just like before, lunch is being served Monday-Friday from 11am to 2:30pm, with dinner on Wednesdays nights only from 5-9pm.  Today Nom Nom, Naan Stop, Slammin Sliders, and the Temaki Truck are all scheduled to be there, and you can follow them on twitter or check their website for daily updates.

Two Former NYers Getting Gushy About L.A.: Curious how all this nonsense began? Adam Roberts (aka The Amateur Gourmet) invited me into his kitchen this week for a chat about the origins of Midtown Lunch, the Los Angeles food scene, and what kind of gay guy I would make. (Spoiler: A very fat one.)  Check out the video on his site...

Hwal Uh Kwang Jang Serves Up a Scary Cheap Korean Sushi Lunch Special

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Midtown Lunch has a long, storied history with ridiculously cheap sushi (sushi from a 99 cent store?  It happened.) One could easily argue that cheap sushi is the scariest thing I’ll eat in the name of this site.  After all, nowhere is the “you get what you pay for” adage more obviously on display than with raw, practically untouched, seafood.  So with a $10 ceiling on lunches, good sushi is usually a complete oxymoron.  But “good enough” sushi is something this cheap bastard is constantly on the hunt for.

In New York finding a Japanese restaurant that would give you three sushi rolls for $10 was the holy grail.  But here in Los Angeles, cheap sushi devotees will find that hwe dup bap might be the way to go… essentially, a Korean salad topped with cubes of raw fish. There’s an ok $9 version at Ssing Ssing in Koreatown, and Wow Bento & Roll Downtown has an even better version for $8 (masquerading as a “sashimi salad”.)  That’s gotta be as cheap as it gets right?  Any cheaper than that, and we’re likely swimming in completely unchartered waters.  And then last week, while driving up Western in Koreatown, I spotted a sign that would possibly change my life. A lunch special hwe dup bap for… wait for it… wait for it… $6.

How could I not?

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PROFILE: L.A. Lunch’er “Grace”

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!

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LA Weekly’s Best of LA 2011 Includes a Few Midtown Lunches

L.A. Weekly’s annual Best of L.A. issue is out, and while most of the delicious lunches listed require a special trip, I was excited to see a few Midtown Lunches on the list… like the amazing crispy catfish at Ganda, the pernil from Lidia’s Dominican Kitchen, the loco moco from Aloha Cafe, and the jokbal from Jang Choong Dong Wong Jokbal (seriously, if you like pork and haven’t been to this place you need to go, like, today.)  Also, have to give an honorable mention to the coffee ice cubes at Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. But the biggest surprise on the list might be the pastrami & chili from Big Time Harvey’s (on 12473 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City).  I’ve driven by this place so many times and never pulled the trigger (in fact, it’s across the street from Jacalito– that great little Oaxacan place I wrote about a few weeks ago.) Apparently it’s owned by the son of the guy who supplied chili, pastrami and corned beef to Pink’s, Langer’s, and Tommy Burger back in the day.  That’s gotta be worth something, right?  This one is getting added to the list right now.

Midtown Links: The “Our Best Suggestion to Date” Edition


Goat Biryani from Zam Zam Market. Photo courtesy of Food GPS

  • CULVER CITY Zam Zam Market is our “best suggestion to date” [Food GPS]
  • CULVER CITY Coolhaus’ brick and mortar will be open by Nov 1st [LAist]
  • CENTURY CITY The new branch of The Counter is now open [Toddrickallen]
  • HWOOD Your first look at Fukuburger [Eater]
  • HWOOD Another look at Ikemen, the new dip ramen place [E*starLA]
  • MID CITY Pizzeria Mozza’s new lunch special might be the best in town [Unemployed Eater]
  • WEHO The new Mendo Farms will have things not available at other locations [Eater]
  • MOBILE The Lobsta Truck’s $12 lobster roll is great [Gourmet Pigs]
  • RAMEN The best places for ramen in L.A. [LA Times]

Yamadaya CC Adds “Ramen Fried Rice” To Menu

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It appears as if the “soft opening” mode of the new Culver City branch of Ramen Yamadaya (11172 Washington Blvd.) has ended.  Official menus appear to be in place, and as a result there are some new dishes to be had… including takoyaki, agedashi tofu, and gyoza.  But the one new thing that caught my eye was the “Yamadaya Fried Rice”, which was described to me as a bowl of fried rice topped with all the things you’d find on a bowl of their ramen.  Yes please!  Clearly the two big hunks of kakuni pork belly are the biggest improvement over the standard fried rice, but I also liked the greens and the seasoned egg.  And if you told me they snuck a little ramen broth in there, for fat and flavor, I would totally believe you (which in the end is more important than whether or not they actually do it, right?)  At $8 or $9 it’s a bit expensive as a side dish, but considering the size of the ramen bowl it comes in it’s probably meant to be eaten as a stand alone lunch.  It also has solidified Yamadaya as my go-to Westside ramenya (sorry Santouka!)

Related:
Ramen Yamadaya Comes Between Santouka & I