Midtown Lunch

If you’ve been to Downtown L.A.’s Grand Central Market at all in the past month or two you’ve likely noticed some big changes happening inside the building at the base of Angels Flight.  You can still get a pupusa from Sarita’s, a carnitas taco from  Las Morelianas, or a bowl of wonton soup from China Cafe.  But some of the lesser known longtime vendors have been cleared out to make way for more gourmet options as the market looks to re-make itself as a tourist destination somewhere between Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market, and San Francisco’s Ferry Building. There’s talk of a heavily curated oyster bar, real deal Texas BBQ (in the old Chimu space), a branch of Valerie Confections, and G&B Coffee.

But the first new space to open and be selling food is Sticky Rice, a Thai “comfort food” lunch counter sporting organic ingredients and some real cooking pedigree.

Despite having chefs who have worked at places like Rivera, Sotto, and Momofuku in New York City, don’t expect another Night + Market.  The food is more home cooking than haute cuisine, but everything is really well done and super delicious. In other words, the perfect match for Grand Central.

Two of the dishes have been on the menu since their soft opening at the end of March. There’s a Thai grilled chicken, which comes with sticky rice and a tasty papaya salad for $9.

And a Thai version of Hainan chicken rice, which comes with a chicken soup and a very flavorful garlic rice, also for $9.

More recently they’ve added a sweet and spicy penang curry with tender hunks of stewed beef ($7).

And a very flavorful but not too spicy vegetable green curry, with asparagus, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and a big hunk of golden squash ($7). But this one is on the hand written chalkboard, so there’s no telling how long it will be on the menu.

Also on that chalkboard is an excellent Northern Thai sausage ($8) that is probably best ordered as an appetizer to be split by two people rather than a filling lunch for one.

And for dessert they’re now serving mango sticky rice, in half (as seen above for $4) or full orders ($7).  If you like your dessert less sweet you’ll love the light sheen of coconut milk sauce that covers the rice beneath the mango.  But fans of super sweet mango sticky rice, like the one served at Jitlada in Thai Town, might be disappointed.

That being said, if this is a preview of what lunch is going to be like at the new Grand Central Market then I’m looking forward to the new Grand Central Market.

Sticky Rice, 317 S Broadway. Stall C-4-5. 626-872-0353