Midtown Lunch

Been waiting awhile to announce this big news… super excited to be a part of HOWL, the new premium audio content service from the folks behind Earwolf & Wolfpop.  The service, which launches today, features access to old Earwolf, Wolfpop, and Marc Maron’s WTF podcasts plus new original shows from Paul F. Tomkins, Lauren Lapkus, Jermaine Clement, Joel Stein, Comedy Central, AV club, and little old us!  Jason Stewart (aka DJ Themjeans) and I turned that Lucky Peach dumpling crawl of the SGV from a few months back into a fun show about dumplings that doubles as an audio guide that you can use as you do the crawl.  It features writers Lucas Peterson and Clarissa Wei, plus a mini episode of “Yo, Is This Racist” w/ Andrew Ti.

The service costs $4.99 a month, but use the promo code CRAWL and you can get one month free. Download the HOWL App on iTunes or sign up here to listen online>>

This morning I’m making the annual trek out to Indio for the craziness that is Coachella. Not for the music, the fashion, or the pool parties (lord knows I’m too fat and uncool for all of that) but for the eats.  The festival has really outdone itself food wise this year, supplementing the corn dogs, crab fries and spicy pie with restaurant pop ups from famous L.A. chefs, fancy Outstanding in the Field dinners, and more casual stands from some of the best restaurants in L.A. (think: Eggslut, Kazunori, & Beer Belly).

As part of Tumblr’s Creatrs project, you can follow my Coachella food diary all weekend long over on Food is the New Rock while listening to our recent episodes of the podcast with Jonathan Gold, David Chang, and Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio.

If you haven’t heard about it yet… super excited to be involved in the Eastside Food Festival November 9th at Mack Sennett Studios to benefit PATH. Admittedly our definition of east side might be a little broader than most, but when else are you going to be able to drink micheladas from Guelaguetza, and eat food from Carnitas el Momo, Pine & Crane, Alimento, and Starry Kitchen all in one place.  We not only helped to curate the 20+ restaurants that will be serving food at the event, but there will also be a Food is the New Rock stage with demos and panels featuring chefs, musicians, and artists from the neighborhood.  Evan Kleiman (from KCRW) will be moderating a restauranteurs panel that includes Jessica Koslow from Sqirl, Craig Thornton from Wolvesmouth, Ari Taymor from Alma, and Terri Wahl from Auntie Em’s Kitchen.  And I’ll be moderating an artists panel featuring comedian Eric Wareheim, and musicians Morgan Kibby from M83, Stella Mozgawa from Warpaint, and Mark Trombino from Donut Friend, which will be recorded and released as a podcast.  There will also be an oyster shucking demo featuring Spencer from L&E and Matt from Bar Covell that’s hosted by Jason Stewart (aka DJ Themjeans) and Skylight Books will have a booth featuring book signings throughout the event.

Get more info and tickets here>>

If you went to L.A. Times’ The Taste this weekend, or just want to live vicariously through us, the episode of Food is the New Rock we recorded at the opening night party is now up on iTunes!  Matt Mira (Nerdist, @Midnight) and singer Michelle Branch joined us as impromptu guest hosts as we talked to a stream of L.A. food, music and comedy personalities like Andy Milonakis, Ray Suen (from Childish Gambino’s band), Chefs David Levefre and Bruce Kalman, and L.A. Times Food Editor Russ Parsons- who stole the show with his stories about Muddy Waters and Buddy Holly’s mom.  You can stream it here now, or download it for free on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Just because nothing has been posted here doesn’t mean I’m eating any less these days.  You can always follow my lunch adventures (and by adventures I mean “fat guy using sporadically updated lunch blog as an excuse to get fatter”) on Instagram or Twitter.   This past weekend I was at Outside Lands with my podcast Food is the New Rock, eating tons of loud food for makemusicsocial.com and feeding grilled cheese sandwiches to bands like Capital Cities, Local Natives and The Kooks.  And if for some reason you prefer audio content to visual content, Thrillist’s Jeff Miller and I podcasted too w/ Grouplove, Stella from Warpaint, and chefs Naomi Pomeroy and Kris Morningstar.

Of course none of that helps you get any fatter.  For that you’ll have to check out this Top 10 Places to Get Eggs for Lunch piece I did for DiscoverLA.  And finally, if you’re in the mood for one of our “7 Reasons to Hate L.A. Lunching” posts this 8 Most Overrated L.A. Food Icons thing I did for Zagat kind of reads like one of those.  Speaking truth to power, or me just being a dick for no reason?  You decide.  (Spoiler: I’d be shocked if something you love isn’t on that list.  It brought me no joy to call out some of those places, but I stand behind everything I wrote.)

Enjoy!

If you’re a fan of Korean food in L.A., you’ll want to listen to this week’s episode of the Food is the New Rock podcast w/ Joe Hahn from Linkin Park. Matt Rodbard from Food Republic is my guest host (he has a cookbook coming out next year called Koreatown USA) and Joe tells both of us about his favorite places to eat in Koreatown. I also brought him food from two of my favorite places- sliced pig’s feet from Jang Choong Dong Jokbal, and kimbap from Gaju Naengmyeon. Download the episode for free from iTunes or stream it here.

Plus we’re giving away a copy of Taste of Korea’s Korean Restaurant Guide to L.A., signed by Joe himself.  To enter to win just sign up for the Food is the New Rock newsletter.  A winner will be chosen at random from all of our subscribers.  Good luck!