Midtown Lunch

Ever since Profiled Lunch’er Sara recommended La Cevicheria back in August of last year it’s been on my list of places to hit up.  It took me a year to finally do so because for some reason I had gotten it into my head that despite its Mid City location (on Pico just East of Crenshaw) lunch at this Guatemalan ceviche specialist was going to end up costing more than $10, my self imposed lunchtime limit (what can I say, I’m a cheap bastard.)  And sure enough the specialty of the house, which features blood clams highly recommended by The Guru himself, is a whopping $15.   But it is actually far easier than I expected to get a lunch for under $10, without sacrificing the best dishes La Cevicheria has to offer.

Read more »

When I first moved to L.A. last year Monte Alban popped up on a bunch of “food suggestion” emails I got from friends. Opinions about the place vary, and it often gets overshadowed by the far more popular Guelagetza in Koreatown, but most people agree that if you want anything resembling Oaxacan food on the Westside it’s pretty much your only option. Mole and clayudas are their specialties, and the best part is you can order anything off the regular menu for just $7 and it comes with a soda (seafood dishes are excluded.)

Read more »

Last year I conducted a taco showdown on Culver Blvd. between Inglewood and Centinela that pitted three Westside goto taco places against each other.  Pepe’s Tacos fared well against Tacomiendo and Taqueria Sanchez, but there was something I had neglected to notice about this small (but pretty popular) lunchtime taco destination on Centinela:  they serve carne asada fries. Here’s where I admit that despite my public love for stuffing french fries in burritos, I have never actually eaten lunch in San Diego, a city that seems to be obsessed with combining their Mexican food with fried potatoes (hence, carne asada fries).

So when a friend told me that I could get a great version of this San Diego classic at Pepe’s Tacos I was pretty excited- despite having no idea what exactly carne asada fries are.  Spoiler Alert: There as great as they sound.

Read more »

If you live and/or work in Culver City you’ve likely noticed the new Westside Food Truck Central lot on Washington and Culver.  In fact it’s become such a popular lunchtime destination that they’ve extended their lunchtime schedule to 5 days a week, 11am to 2:30pm (they also have trucks out there for dinner on Mondays and Wednesdays.)   I’m a huge fan, and whenever I’m in the mood for some gourmet food truck action, near where I live, I now know where to go without even checking twitter (although they do have a twitter account to let you know their daily schedule.)  But that’s not the only place for a truck lunch in the area, and if old school loncheros is more your thing  it turns out one of the best trucks in the city parks on Venice and Jasmine (right in front of Smart & Final.)

Read more »

Over the weekend LA Taco’s 3rd Annual Taco Madness came to a close, and in the closest vote of all time Mexicali Taco & Co (in Westlake) was crowned the champ of Los Angeles tacos.  Only one problem for this lunch hunter…  they’re only open at night!  In fact, sometimes it seems like most of the great taco trucks are only open late at night (Leo, I’m looking at you.)  So when I saw that the Taco Madness Runner Up, Mariscos Jalisco was *only* open for lunch I got pretty excited.  Add to that the fact that they’re pretty close to Downtown, and dispatched (the amazing) Ricky’s Fish Tacos (1400 Virgil, Hollywood) in the semi finals, and I couldn’t resist heading over Monday to check it out.

Read more »

Gloria’s Salvadorean Special ($9)

If you’re looking for Salvadorean food on the westside, most people will send you to the homey and satisfying Gloria’s Cafe.  Known for their pupusas, green corn tamales, and carnitas, Gloria’s has actually been closed for the past two weeks for renovations to their kitchen.  Well… they re-opened yesterday and will be offering a menu of specials this weekend only- Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Most of them are over $10, but if you work on the westside and are looking for a small splurge, this should be your lunch tomorrow (especially if you’ve never been.)

Check out the menu after the jump…

Read more »

The recent trials and tribulations of Mariscos Chente, the westside Sinoloan seafood specialist, have been well documented on the interwebs.  At the beginning of 2009 the spot was elevated to prominence by Mexican food guru Bill Esparza, for serving the best Pescado Zarandeado (whole charcoal grilled fish) outside of Nayarit.  And at the beginning of 2010 a conga line of bloggers followed suit with their praise.  I was particularly excited, not just because I had just moved here from a city that has absolutely nothing even remotely like Sinoloan food, but also because I live in Culver City- a five minute drive away from this seafood heaven.

Then, disaster struck (for me anyway).  It was reported that the grill master responsible for the zarandeado, Sergio Panuelas, had moved to Mariscos Chentes (note the “s” at the end) on Inglewood Ave. near the airport, a branch of the restaurant owned by a different member of the family.  And the message was clear:  Mariscos Chente is dead.  Long live Mariscos Chentes!  But how could this be?  So much of grilling has to do with a well seasoned grill, and Mariscos Chente was still using the same grill, right?  And didn’t Sergio’s co-workers learn anything from watching the master?  There’s no way he could have been manning the grill every single day of the week.  Is it crazy to think that the zarandeado could still possibly be good?  Well, despite hearing some not so great things, I finally managed to take the plunge and return to Mariscos Chente.

And here is what I found…

Read more »