Midtown Lunch

A bunch of lunch news for the people who work Downtown… first off, the bad.  The Original Texas Barbecue King (on 7th btw. Grand & Olive) has closed down.  It wasn’t the greatest BBQ of all time, but it was all we had in the area!  They are trying to find another location to relocate to in the Downtown Area.

And that’s not all the area lost over the holidays.  Because of construction on the new Target opening Downtown next year, the entire food court in the 7th & Fig complex has been closed down. But don’t get too upset, there’s a silver lining to this part of the story…

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Daikokuya in Mr. Ramen’s Shadow? We’re pretty sure it’s the other way around.

Finding ramen in Downtown L.A. is not a difficult task. Orochon has become famous for their burn your face off bowls of soup, and Chin Ma Ya is a great spot for those looking to top their ramen with fried chicken and Sichuan style ground pork; but for straight up pork ramen Daikokuya is the consensus best ramenya in DTLA (and all of Los Angeles, according to some.) The only problem with the last option is it’s a complete madhouse during lunch, and if you don’t have more than an hour you might be SOL. So, what do most people do on those days when the wait at Daikokuya isn’t worth it? Head over to Mr. Ramen!

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Spotted this brand new lunch spot on 7th between Broadway & Spring right after my gut busting pre Thanksgiving lunch at Clifton’s Cafeteria. It’s called Flames Mediterranean Grill and while the menu looks fairly standard (falafel, shawarma, shish kebab, schnitzel) their delicious looking rotating spit sports the unusual combo of turkey and lamb. They also have something called a shawarma fajita which could be interesting. According to this shill post on Yelp the restaurant sports the same owners as the Falafel King in Westwood. Flames, you are now on my list. Early adopters, let us know how it is in the comments.

Flames Mediterranean Grill, 225 W. 7th St., 213-622-3033

I’m not sure what it is about old school cafeterias that cause me to so willingly give up quality, but they do. I will gladly accept dry turkey, meatloaf of an unknown provenance, congealed cheese covered mac and cheese, and terrible pies and pudding provided that the method of ordering doesn’t involve menus or waiters, but simply requires moving said items from a counter onto a tray.  Of course the food has to be cheap- otherwise a fat guy like me will end up spending a fortune, and that is no good.

So when I heard that Downtown L.A. was home to one of these such places, I knew I had to go.  And when I heard that their gravy topped roast turkey and stuffing was a winner, I knew I had to go before Thanksgiving!

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If you work Downtown or on the west side you are probably well aware of how amazing Mendocino Farms is.  What you may not be aware of is that every month they have a different off-the-menu “secret sandwich” that you only find out about if you sign up to receive their emails.  I got on this train months ago, but there hasn’t been a special sandwich yet that sounded good enough to unseat my go to order: the pork belly banh mi.  That is until this month…

Meet “Andrea’s Beef Bourguignon Dip”: Marsala braised short ribs with roasted fall mushrooms, parsnip puree, balsamic onions, sauteed greens, and arugula on toasted ciabatta in jus, served with a horseradish crema.

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When Grub Street reported a few months ago that the Schnitzel Wagon would be hitting the streets of our city, my interest was probably piqued more than than the average Angeleno.  After all schnitzel is not really as hype inducing as, say, Filipino food.  Or red velvet pancakes.  Or dim sum and hipster fried chicken.  Part of it was because I miss New York’s ultra popular Schnitzel & Things Truck, and part of it was because I was super curious to find out why they completely ripped off the Street Sweets’ truck design! (Also a popular New York truck.)

But mostly I was just using these reasons as an excuse to go eat deep fried cutlets of meat and fish off a truck in Downtown L.A.  (As if I needed an excuse!)

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