Midtown Lunch

I try to be positive here on Midtown Lunch… and I freakin’ love this city.  The food is amazing, and there’s no better place to be a “Midtown Lunch’er”.    But as much as I love most of the food in L.A. (and will defend it to the death against any outsiders, or natives with an inferiority complex) there are some things about lunching in this town that really annoy me.  Here are 7 of them, LAist style, for your enjoyment…

 The Beef Roll from 101 Noodle Express in the Fox Hills Mall

1. You’re not allowed to complain about there being no good chinese food on the westside unless you eat at 101 Noodle Express in the Fox Hills Mall Westfield Culver City at least once a month. Your indifference already killed Kyochon. Please don’t let it happen again. Oh- and don’t give me this “It’s not as good as the one in SGV!” bullshit.  This is why we can never have nice things, westside.

2. Speaking of the westside… I know it was you Chego.  You broke my heart.  You broke my heart.

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I try to be positive here on Midtown Lunch… and I freakin’ love this city.  The food is amazing, and there’s no better place to be a “Midtown Lunch’er”.    But as much as I love most of the food in L.A. (and will defend it to the death against any outsiders, or natives with an inferiority complex) there are some things about lunching in this town that really annoy me.  Here are 7 of them, LAist style, for your enjoyment…

In a terrible blow to Food Court fans and Westside Korean fried chicken lovers, the Kyochon in the Fox Hills Mall Food Court has closed.  As a food court fanatic and Korean fried chicken fan who lives on the westside, it’s a double blow.  It’s hard to believe that, with all the complaining people do about the lack of authentic Asian food on the Westside, Kyochon couldn’t survive.  What’s even more upsetting is the realization that if Kyochon couldn’t make it, what chance does 101 Noodle Express have.  And, really, what chance does any great food court in L.A. have.  Fox Hills Mall was supposed to be that beacon of light, showing the path to other crappy mall food courts (I’m looking at you Beverly Center.)  It’s enough to set a guy off…

6 more things I hate about L.A. right now, are after the jump.

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I try to be positive here on Midtown Lunch… and I freakin’ love this city.  The food is amazing, and there’s no better place to be a “Midtown Lunch’er”.    But as much as I love much of the food in L.A. (and will defend it to the death against any outsiders, ornatives with an inferiority complex) there are some things about lunching in this town that really annoy me.  Here are 7 of them, LAist style, for your enjoyment…

Chinese Chicken Salad, topped w/ “Rotisserie Chicken”

1. If you remove the skin, can you still call something rotisserie chicken on your menu? I say, definitively no. I mean, what’s next? Icing-less birthday cake?  You know what, forget I said that Los Angeles.

2. For some reason Bottega Louie decided not make pumpkin macarons this fall.  First monkey bread, now this.  Is there some unwritten rule at BL to get rid of everybody’s favorite pastries?

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I try to be positive here on Midtown Lunch… and I freakin’ love this city.  The food is amazing, and there’s no better place to be a “Midtown Lunch’er”.    But as much as I love much of the food in L.A. (and will defend it to the death against any outsiders, ornatives with an inferiority complex) there are some things about lunching in this town that really annoy me.  Here are 7 of them, LAist style, for your enjoyment…

1. First bagel pizza, now this. You’re not fooling anybody Abbot’s.  The saddest thing is, if I was going to eat a salad I would want it to be served on top of cheese covered baked dough.  Does that make this genius?  I don’t even want to think about it…

2.  If nobody is allowed to serve a $14 pastrami sandwich within 2 miles of Langer’s, than fair is fair.  Nobody is allowed to open a ramen/tsukemen combo within two miles of Tsujita.

3. Ink.sack has a bread-less sandwich option!?  Et tu, Michael Voltaggio?

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I try to be positive here on Midtown Lunch… and I freakin’ love this city.  The food is amazing, and there’s no better place to be a “Midtown Lunch’er”.    But as much as I love much of the food in L.A. (and will defend it to the death against any outsiders, ornatives with an inferiority complex) there are some things about lunching in this town that really annoy me.  Here are 7 of them, LAist style, for your enjoyment…

1.  Alright Mendocino Farms… we gave you a bit of leeway when you called your admittedly delicious pork belly sandwich a banh mi.  But a cuban sandwich should probably not be on the same bread as your shrimp po’boy, or at the very least it should be pressed.  You have a panini press, use it.  That being said, adding plantain chips on top of the sandwich is genius.  Oh, we can’t stay at mad you Mendocino Farms!

2. Prediction: When the Los Angeles branch of Eataly finally opens, bloggers who get to eat there for free will love it.  Those who have to pay will be slightly less enthusiastic.

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I try to be positive here on Midtown Lunch… and I freakin’ love this city.  The food is amazing, and there’s no better place to be a “Midtown Lunch’er”.    But as much as I love much of the food in L.A. (and will defend it to the death against any outsiders, ornatives with an inferiority complex) there are some things about lunching in this town that really annoy me.  Here are 7 of them, LAist style, for your enjoyment…

1.  Man, I really wish Momed was cheaper.  Duck shawarma sandwich? Sooooo good!  Why can’t you be $10 little friend?

2. Why does anybody bother serving pastrami sandwiches within a 5 mile radius of Langer’s?  Especially one that costs $14 and looks like this. Really, what’s the point? Also, in a related story: dividing your menu into 3 sections and having cute little open prep stations doesn’t make you a food court.  You’re just a regular old restaurant with waiters, and a menu that happens to feature good burgers, hipster deli food, and meat curated by a kick ass chef from San Francisco. Please tell the press to stop describing you as a mini version of Eataly West.

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I try to be positive here on Midtown Lunch… and I freakin’ love this city.  The food is amazing, and there’s no better place to be a “Midtown Lunch’er”.    But as much as I love most of the food in L.A. (and will defend it to the death against any outsiders, or natives with an inferiority complex) there are some things about lunching in this town that really annoy me.  Here are 7 of them, LAist style, for your enjoyment…

1. So your orange peel chicken and honey glazed shrimp (aka slippery shrimp) are the best of all time?  Ok… you’ve got my attention.  They’re $14 and $15 respectively?  Uh… ok… but how much is the lunch special version?  THERE ISN’T A LUNCH SPECIAL VERSION!?!?  I’ve never heard of such a thing. You are a Chinese food restaurant, right?   There must be some sort of General Tso’s chicken treaty that this violates…

2. Speaking of “Chinese” food, New York is getting a branch of Mission Chinese Food before we do?  That is beyond f’d up.  These people know that L.A. is only 400 miles away from S.F. right?  So much for the whole”local” thing.

$13 street food, inexplicably popular sandwiches, Sunny Spot, and more feel my wrath after the jump…

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