Midtown Lunch

If you have ever been into a Japanese grocery store, or a semi-authentic take-out sushi/bento spot, than you have probably seen omusubi (or onigiri) before. They are those triangular shaped things, covered in seaweed, and wrapped in plastic (some of which require an instructional video for opening.) Traditionally, the standard pre-packaged versions usually come stuffed with cooked salmon, cod roe, or pickled plums, but just as popular are the less traditional fillings like shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, and spam (by way of Hawaii.) They are perfect for a snack on the go, but for rice obsessed lunch’ers they act as a perfect add on to any Japanese lunch. The best is when you find a omusubi specialist… and that’s when things can get fun. In NYC there was a place called Oms/b, that I loved, where you could get a lunch made up entirely of rice balls topped and filled with all sorts of fun stuff (think shrimp tempura with green sea salt, and bbq eel.)

So, when I heard that Sunny Blue had opened on Main Street in Santa Monica specializing in omusubi (exciting!) and froyo (less exciting) I had to go check it out.

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Santa Monica lunchers can not live off of Bay Cities alone, so when I heard that Sham- an Arabic restaurant on Lincoln and Santa Monica, known for their shish kebab and tabouleh- was now serving “Arabic Pizza” I was completely intrigued.  When I heard you could get 2 for 1 Arabic Pizzas for takeout or delivery, I headed right over!

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Yesterday it was reported on the Midtown NYC section of Midtown Lunch that The Counter would be expanding to Times Square this October. The Counter’s “build your own burger”  craziness is old hat here in L.A., and some New Yorkers with connections to the West Coast were pretty excited by the news.  But most people in NYC are unfamiliar- so yesterday, at the request of a few lunchers, I headed over to Santa Monica to scarf down a burger and fries at The Counter… you know, for my old friends in Midtown.

See the sacrifices I make for you people?

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After reading Bon Appetit’s list of the 10 best plates of fried chicken in the country, I couldn’t help but head to Huckleberry on Friday. Sadly for me, I wasn’t the only one! I called that morning to see what time they normally sell out of their $14.50, Friday only, Jidori fried chicken special, and was told (much to my surprise) that they never sell out. Showed up at 1pm, and guess what they were sold out of? The fried chicken.

According to their twitter account, they weren’t prepared for the BA article- and since the chicken soaks in buttermilk for 2 days there was pretty much nothing they could do at that point. Already there, we decided to try the only two sandwiches that qualify as a true Midtown Lunch (aka under $10.) See, I’ll splurge for the best fried chicken in the country… fancy sandwiches? I like to keep that under $10. (Unless the sandwich has fried chicken, of course!)

Breakfast sandwich for lunch, and a better than average grilled cheese are after the jump…

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Over the weekend I had these words thrown at me by a good friend: “You’re a foodie a you haven’t been to Bay Cities yet!” First of all, don’t ever call me the F word. And if you ever hear me using the F word to describe myself, feel free to tell me to shut up.  (Unless I’m calling myself fat.  Because that is true.)  Second of all… uh… no.  I haven’t been to Bay Cities yes.  Is that bad? Is this is a challenge?  Do I need to fix this right away by scarfing a giant Italian sub with the works while sitting on a sidewalk in Santa Monica?  Yes, yes I do.

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