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 its Rebecca, a photographer who will travel just about anywhere for good lunch- but has yet to find a good doner kebab.

Name: Rebecca

Age: 31

Occupation: Photographer

Where in L.A. do you Work?: All over! But when I’m not out shooting, mostly from home in Silverlake.

Favorite Kind of Food: As a native Californian, I’ve been spoiled by fresh food all year round, so I love clean, bright flavors and anything at the height of its season. I also love tangy foods so Mexican, Lebanese, Thai, and Vietnamese are all favorites (anything where I get my own lime wedge gets big points).

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Not a big fan of anything heavily sauced, extremely rich, or overly sweet.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: If meeting a client for lunch near my house, Forage, because of its fancy-hipster vibe and its pork belly sammy (although their veggie version is just as good). If I’m heading up to my parents in Carpinteria, I’ll hit up Brent’s (the Westlake one) for matzo ball soup and half a tuna sammy on toasted rye. If en route to the beach via the 101, we’ll pick up turkey or veggie wraps from Tarzana Armenian Deli (11288 Ventura Blvd)–perfect picnic food. Any time I’m dropping off or picking up at my lab on La Brea is an excuse to go to M Cafe (7119 Melrose Ave)–their tuna burger is a thing of beauty and I’m still trying to figure out how to make that kale salad. When I’m running around doing errands in the neighborhood and need something fast I’ll go to Zankou (5065 W Sunset Blvd) and grab a chicken tarna wrap and stuff it with extra pickles, or Vietnamese Soy Cafe (1997 Hyperion Ave), when it’s open, for the tofu banh mi and their fresh, amazing soy milk. On a rainy day, Sanamluang for their wonderfully tangy tom kha gai which I like to eat over rice, or Good Girl Dinette (110 N Ave 56) for their grandpa’s porridge (congee w/ chicken and cabbage). And if it’s more of a breakfast-for-lunch kind of day I will indulge in Local’s BBQ pork hash and eggs (2943 W Sunset Blvd), which is abominably good.

“Go-To” Lunch Place You and Your Coworkers Eat at Too Often? In Silverlake: Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada (1650 Hillhurst Ave)–it’s cheap and easy. When I’m working in Hollywood, the default is Tender Greens (6290 Sunset Blvd), which I am now officially sick of, although I love what they’re doing in principle. In terms of health, we probably have late lunches/early happy hours at Umami Burger in Los Feliz a little too often, but the $5 burger and $4 beer combo will not be denied! And of course this list would not be complete without In N Out. Wherever I am, there it is.

Place you discovered thanks to Midtown Lunch? I don’t remember the names, but when I lived in New York I found a German food cart and a halal cart through you that I would stop at before going to the MoMA. Good stuff!

The farthest place you’ll drive for lunch on a normal day? Pretty damn far–I would definitely go to Westminster for good Vietnamese on a Tuesday! On a more regular basis, we will trek to North Hollywood’s Sri Siam for a steaming bowl of khao soi and their unbelievable crispy rice salad, to Van Nuys and Pho So 1 for their crunchy cha gio, to Little Tokyo for a small sushi lunch at Hama, to Santouka on Centinela for ramen, and of course San Gabriel for just about anything–beef roll at 101 Noodle Express being the prime mover in that equation, although soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung are a close second.

If you could work anywhere (just because of the lunch) where would it be and why? Probably Chiang Mai, Thailand, where I could ride my bike to 5 different khao soi joints in an afternoon and top it off with freshly made kanom krok.

Is there anything you’d like to ask the Midtown Lunch readers in L.A.? Has anyone discovered a great doner kabob in the greater LA area? I mean a really great one. I don’t think it exists.

Got an answer for Rebecca? 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.