Midtown Lunch

Get 30% off Fat Spoon: If you haven't been to Fat Spoon yet, the great Japanese curry and spaghetti spot in Little Tokyo from the owners of Lazy Ox, this should help you stop procrastinating...  Today's Blackboard Eats deal gets you 30% off Fat Spoon, and the best part is it's good for lunch or dinner!

Ruen Pair Gets Robbed!: We normally love Squid Ink's food fight series- after all, who doesn't love a good dish on dish battle to the death. But we've gotta call BS on their latest entry, in which Ruen Pair's stir fried morning glory was defeated by its next door neighbor's morning glory with crispy pork. Not only is crispy pork an obvious advantage, but even though it isn't on the menu Ruen Pair will gladly serve its crispy pork with stir fried morning glory if you ask. We demand a do-over!

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...

Two For One at Honey’s Kettle: If you're a fan of Honey's Kettle Fried Chicken, you'll want to check out today's Groupon Deal.  Get two fried chicken lunches with coleslaw and pickles ($20) for the price of one ($10), and it's good at both of their locations.

Voltaggio’s ink.sack Opens Today and Everything is Under $6!?:

Photo courtesy of Food GPS

In possibly the biggest L.A. lunch news of the year... Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio is opening a sandwich shop today on Melrose called ink.sack.  The even bigger news?  If this menu posted by Thrillist is to be believed, all the sandwiches are $4-6!? Initially I thought this must be a misprint, but from the looks of this photo on Food GPS, you'll need to order at least 2 to be full.  Even so it's still a killer deal compared to what some other new sandwich shops around the city have been charging.  The shop is open from 11am until 5pm or "until they run out", which we're guessing is going to be pretty early every day. ink.sack, 8360 Melrose Avenue

There Are Surprising Similarities Between NYC & L.A. Food Truck Situations: Today's New York Times has an op-ed I wrote about the current food truck crack down happening in Midtown Manhattan. Much of it is not applicable to Los Angeles, but it is interesting to note the similarities in how traditional street food vendors (like loncheros and halal trucks) have managed to exist for years despite a hostile civic climate, and how the newer food trucks have clearly thrown a bit of a wrench into the balance of things.

Mendocino Farms’ Pick of the Week Sounds Awesome: The Porchetta... slow braised pork with roasted garlic whole grain mustard aioli, Fresh housemade spicy giardiniera and cilantro on a Fresh Dolce Forno Roll ($8.95).  Yes please!  Available at all Mendocino Farms locations through the end of the week.