Midtown Lunch

I love me some dim sum, and had every intention of checking out  the newish Bao Dim Sum House on Beverly yesterday for lunch. But naturally I ended up being drawn to the dingy little Chinese take out spot next door.  China Catering is not unlike most of the typical cheap takeout Chinese food places in L.A.  $6 lunch specials, assorted meins (lo, chow, etc.), and deep fried meats covered in a sticky sweet sauce that is supposed to resemble any one of a number of different citrus fruits.  Standard in pretty much every way- until I saw these words under the chicken section:

General Tso Chicken (New York Style or Chinese Style)…………………… $7.50

“Chinese style” General Tso’s Chicken? Who knew such a thing even existed! Now you have to understand I have an unhealthy obsession with general tso’s chicken.  And I don’t mean unhealthy in that cutesy “I’m a fat food blogger, and I love to eat pork belly!” kind of way.  I mean, unhealthy- it sent me to the hospital back in college- unhealthy obsession.  So… clearly I needed to try both versions of China Catering’s general tso’s (you know, for science.)

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There seems to be no shortage of newish, fancy pants, $10 sandwich shops in the Beverly Center/Melrose area of Mid City West, and all of them seem to have chosen a non-sandwich item to distinguish themselves from the fray.  Potato Chips is an ok option (although I wish they made their own potato chips), and I’ve always been intrigued by the steak bomb at Soda Pop’s.  But the latest entry into the “are these sandwiches really worth the money” sweepstakes has completely upped the ante.  In fact, they may have won the game by virtue of their name alone: Simplethings Sandwich and Pie Shop.  Because, quite frankly, how can soda or chips compete with pie.  Answer: they don’t.

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I have to admit there was a bit of eye rolling when I first heard about All About the Bread, the sandwich shop on Melrose near La Brea.  Calling yourself “All About the Bread” is a bold move, potentially opening yourself up to all sorts of ridicule if your bread doesn’t end up kicking some major ass.  (Kind of like if you named your place Potato Chips, but didn’t make your own potato chips!)   When I stopped in months ago I was completely unexcited by the menu (boar’s head?  No thanks. Pastrami shipped in “from the East Coast”?  Sorry, that’s not a selling point!)   Then I saw this blog post by this week’s Profiled Lunch’er “Lynn”.   A burrata sandwich with pesto for under $10?  Honey lime chicken with cilantro salsa verde and avocado?  I don’t support blogger freebies, but damn those sandwiches look good. Let’s see if they’re as good on a regular day, ordered by a regular customer.

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If you were to create a ramen compass of Los Angeles it would be fairly simple… any of the places in Torrance to the South, Santouka to the West, Daikokuya to the East (in Downtown), and the new’ish Ramen Jinya to the North (Studio City). For most people the decision over where to ramen is one of proximity, but what about those who are smack dab in the middle? That problem seemed to be solved thanks to the news that Ramen Jinya would be opening a new spot, Robata Jinya, on 3rd Ave. and Crescent Heights. And when I read yesterday that they were now open for lunch and serving up ramen, I rushed right over to check it out.

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I remember my very first experience with Lemonade… not the drink, obviously, but the popular picnic themed (?) lunch spot with four locations around Los Angeles (Venice, WeHo, & 2 locations Downtown). I was walking on Abbott Kinney with a buddy, who pointed out their Venice location to me and suggested we poke our heads in. At least I thought he was a buddy. What’s with the salads, friend-o? You know I’m not into the whole “I live in L.A. and love to eat quinoa” bullsh- wait a second. What’s that to the left of the salads? Are those dutch ovens? Filled with various meats that have been tendered up slowly so that the fat actually remains in the dish? And not just one, but 6 different stews?! Alright trendy salad and lemonade place. You have got my attention.

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Back in March I was shocked to discover how not terrible Pitfire Pizza was.  With branches on the west side and Downtown, it comforted me to know that after 5 years of NYC plentitude, decent pizza would not be something that was super hard to track down here in L.A.  But Pitfire is more like a poor man’s Mozza, not a go-to lunchtime slice joint… so my quest for a great lunchtime slice was nowhere close to being over. (And by “quest” I mean “excuse to travel around L.A. trying out slices of pizza”.) Lunch’er Wutzizname said in the comments that Vito’s vs. Joe’s was the classic  comparison, and Slice included them both in their favorite pizzas in L.A. list, so when Profiled Lunch’er “Patricia” recommended the white pie at Vito’s last week as her goto lunchtime slice- I was kind of sold.

And despite what Wutzizname said, I’m not so sure the winner is “abundantly clear”.

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