Midtown Lunch

As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Dylan, an art director with some great recs for DTLA and the South Bay.

Name: Dylan

Age: 33

Occupation: Art director/photographer

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Self-employed/freelance

Favorite Kind of Food: Noodles!

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything that employs ranch dressing, chain-restaurants and bastardized Chinese food

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: When I was working in South Bay, I frequented Mottanai‘s shoyu ramen, Spoonhouse‘s uni spaghetti, Otafuku‘s fishcake tempura soba and Shin Sen Gumi‘s horumon motsunabe (intestine hot pot). In Downtown LA, it would’ve been Chimu (RIP), Chichen Itza and Yang Ban‘s korean beef rib soup (Fashion District). In Silver Lake/Glendale area Ricky’s Fish Tacos, cheeseburger and cochinita pibil combo at Yuca’s and Mini Kabob (mom & pop shop with only 12 seats). Finally, Koreatown area I like Myung Dong Kyoja (knife-cut noodles with ground meat/dumplings) and Soo Won Galbi‘s korean beef rib soup. My latest food fling has involved La Cevicheria in Mid-city (3 times in 2 weeks!).

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As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Brandon, a downtown luncher who hates Starry Kitchen!?

Name: Brandon

Age: You mean kara-age?

Occupation: I work in fashion and music. Wow..that was such an LA thing to say. I’m such a hipster.

Where in L.A. do you Work?: McManus Studios. DTLA.

Favorite Kind of Food: Japanese. There are way too many options within this cuisine for it not to be my favorite.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Starry Kitchen? Am I allowed to say that?

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Sashimi lunch at Sushi-Gen (422 E 2nd St). The Nozawa at Sugarfish (600 W. 7th St.) Banh Mi at Spice Table (114 S. Central Ave.) Ceviche and arroz con pollo at Mo-Chica. Any sandwich off the special menu at Mendocino Farms.

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As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Stacey, a professional eater who wishes she lived in Japan.

Name: Stacey

Age: Even though I’m Asian – and you can never tell how old we are – a girl never reveals her age.

Occupation: Director, dineLA. I eat out for a living. Occasionally, I make Little Cup Ice Cream.

Where in L.A. do you Work?: dineLA offices are located in Downtown LA.

Favorite Kind of Food: Anything from the Motherland, especially things in the soup-noodle form – ramen, pho, duck noodle soup thai-town style and wonton mien. I also can eat NY-style pizza: Joe’s in Santa Monica (111 Broadway) and Valentino’s in Manhattan Beach (975 N Aviation Blvd) are my faves. Cheeseburgers: Pasadena’s Pie ‘n Burger (913 E California Blvd) and In ‘n’ Out are the clear winners here.  Sushi: Echigo in West LA (12217 Santa Monica Blvd) and foie gras any day.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I have never liked ginger (this kills my mother because she likes to put ginger in everything), and I’m not a fan of bell peppers.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: My favorite lunch spot within walking distance from work is Chimu (324 South Hill Street). I’ve never had a bad dish there. The quality of food and attention-to-detail are insane especially at the price point. They have an amazing dish there called Estofado de Lengua (yes, tongue) that has been stewed for hours in a tomato-like sauce. Added bonus: it’s served with a really good quinoa salad. (Too bad it’s closed now!) If I’m looking for a quick option, I’ll go to Mendocino Farms (444 South Flower Street). Since I’m a creature of habit, I never veer and always get the Pork Belly Bahn Mi. Time saving tip: call-in your order ahead of time to avoid the huge line.

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As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Kelly, a cubical designer who loves pizza.

Name: Kelly

Age: 31

Occupation: Cubical Designer, Pizza reviewer for Slice and writer for my own blog, The Vegetarian Foodie

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Mostly Culver City, but currently spending lots of lunches in El Segundo

Favorite Kind of Food: Pizza! But I also love Summer Rolls drenched in peanut sauce, and pretty much anything that involves cheese.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Again, probably obvious: meat. It’s not that I hate meat, I just don’t eat it. I’m also not a fan of mushrooms, but I seem to eat them all the time anyways.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: In Culver City I’m often at Versailles on Venice for Moro (rice and beans coked together) and Sweet plantains. I also love the Chinese Chicken salad -but I get it with tofu- at Green Peas (4437 Sepulveda Blvd), plus they have free wifi and couches to “freelance” on. In El Segundo I’ve been loving the Pizza Bread from Little Gourmet (117 Main St) and the Lunch Special at Sushi Avenue (130 E Grand Ave) – $4.99 for a hardy vegetable tempura roll with miso and salad!

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As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Sofia, a talent coordinator who has seemingly eaten at every single lunch spot in all of Downtown L.A.!

Name: Sofia

Age: 25

Occupation: Talent Coordinator & Office Wrangler

Where in L.A. do you Work?: The Groop in DTLA

Favorite Kind of Food: I like carbs and I like cheese. I’m very much into ramen and huge salads that are bigger than your face, as of late. My holy trinity would be pizza, burritos and cheeseburgers.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I hate peas and salmon. I hear they’re good for you though.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Mendocino Farms rules the coop when it comes to sandwiches – whether you’re vegan or want some pork belly (drool), they’ve got it. I love their pulled pork sandwich which is sweet and tangy but not sloppy, the farm club with fresh, moist turkey, thick cut applewood bacon and herb aioli and the proscuitto chicken with almonds on ciabatta. What makes me love MF even more is that they have Boylan’s soda on tap. Brilliant. The also have a pretty robust deli case, which they hand out samples for very liberally. I like their chimichurri pasta, black lentils and potato salad. They have 2 locations in DTLA – 4th/Flower & 3rd/Grand. I prefer the 4th/Flower location simply because then I won’t have to make the tough choice between MF v. Starry Kitchen.

Pizzanista! is an amazing pizza shop on 7th and Mateo. It’s run by the same guys who operated Toddy G’s in a new incarnation. They’re on the pricey side, but worth it. The pizzas are decadent, delicious but not greasy. They’ve got the standard pizzas, which are delicious. I’d vote against the salads because they’re too simple, don’t offer protein and aren’t worth the price. They’re a pizza place though, and they deliver – big time! The stars are the mac and cheese pizza (yes, combined) and the meat jesus pizza. The mac and cheese pizza is only available on Sundays, but with one bite, you almost forget and stop resenting the fact that you’re working on a Sunday because the pizza is that good. The Meat Jesus – aside from being so cleverly name – is the holy trinity of meat toppings on pizza – pepperoni, sausage and bacon. It’s rich, meaty perfection.

Café Nine is a cute little café hidden above DTLA and unknown by most. It’s at 453 S. Spring St. located on the 9th floor, which gives you an amazing view of LA while sitting in a super cozy, chic café. It’s relatively cheap, which is awesome. I like the turkey sliders, which are adorable sliders with cheddar, mixed greens and herb aioli. They’ve got a great Pulley’s Pork, which is a pulled pork sandwich on Hawaiian bread with coleslaw… yum. Breakfast and coffee is also served. This is a gem in DTLA.

But wait… there’s more. Way more.

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As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Grace, a student who can’t drink but loves lunching in DTLA.

Name: Grace

Age: 20

Occupation: Business student and the younger, still-not-legal-to-drink half of LA in Stilettos

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Just ended my internship in Downtown LA, but still a student at University of Southern California!

Favorite Kind of Food: Sandwiches, burgers and burritos. I also absolutely love anything with foie gras and truffles, but definitely not an “everyday” kind of thing to eat.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Mustard… I hate any kind of mustard – honey mustard, dijon mustard, yellow Frenchie’s mustard. I also don’t like sour cream. So I guess more condiments than anything else.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: This past summer I was working in Downtown at the 7th & Fig Plaza so Downtown has definitely become my new “lunch” spot. I love Bottega Louie (700 S. Grand Ave.). I usually just do takeout instead of sitting down for an actual meal. When I’m feeling something light, I get the Louie salad or proscuitto and seasonal fruit. The delicious portobello fries and aoili are, of course, a must for every meal! Nazo’s Bakery on 8th (btw. Flower & Fig) was always good for a quick sandwich, but if I was seriously craving a quality sandwich, I would walk all the way to Mendocino Farms to get my pork belly bahn mi, steak BLT, or the not-so-fried-chicken sandwich – which reminds me of the delicious sandwich from LudoTruck!

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As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Steve, a finance dude looking for some good eats around Santa Monica and Sepulveda.

Name: Steve

Age: 37

Occupation: Finance

Where in L.A. do you Work?: LoanCore Capital, LLC at Santa Monica & Sepulveda.

Favorite Kind of Food: French; anchovy-laded dishes

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Ashkenazi Jewish, ever immutable and always brown unless prepared at 422 Detroit Street in Ann Arbor

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Directly across from the corporate compound, Zankou (1716 South Sepulveda Blvd) and its unsatisfying plate of dark meat, insipid hummus and the by-product that is its garlic paste, remains superior to ghastly O Sushi and Salad Farm. The immediate area is bereft of edible food.

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