Midtown Lunch

When news broke last week that Murakami Sushi had reopened in their new location on Melrose, I rushed over to see if the menu was still the same.  You know… for you- the Midtown Lunch reader.  I can assure you this was not a case of me using the news as an excuse to go eat the best cheap sushi Chirashi bowl in the city. It was strictly for you- the reader.   And you’ll be happy to know that the menu at Murakami has made the transition from Hollywood to Melrose almost entirely intact.  The only difference? Everything is now $1 more expensive (understandable considering that the rent is probably more.)

Well, as long as I was there I might as try one of the bowls right?  You know, for you.

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This Murakami chirashi bowl cost $11 at their old location

• FAIRFAX Your first look at the new Plan Check [LAMag]
• KTOWN Insadong Galbi Noodle is now open and looks pretty good [Squid Ink]
• KTOWN Bori Chon is a good homestyle lunch place [Squid Ink]
• MELROSE Murakami Sushi has found a new location! [@dearclarissa]
• MID CITY Hollywood Pies is back open but not for lunch [Squid Ink]
• PICO Nick’s Coffee Shop & Deli is the best diner in town [Squid Ink]
• SHERMAN OAKS Ramen by Omae looks worth traveling to the Valley for [Squid Ink]
• VENICE Komodo’s new location opening Dec 16th [Eater]
• WESTWOOD Shophouse’s 3rd branch is now open on Broxton [Eater]
• LISTS The guide to the best BBQ in L.A. [Eater]

It know it’s hard to believe, but a lot of people are starting to come around to the idea that Los Angeles’ Koreatown might have better food than Korea itself.  All you can eat barbecue places, which Koreans will tell you are as Korean as sushi is Japanese, act as a magnet for meat lovers all over the city, but it’s the spaces in between that make K-Town truly special. Combine the highest population density in the city with a culture that likes going out to eat its own food, and the result is a seemingly endless wishlist of quality lunches waiting to be explored.

The most recent development in K-Town’s ongoing evolution is that it’s not even enough to just have a speciality anymore. You’ve got to do your specialty well enough (or some sort of gimmick) to attract people away from the other 5 places that specialize in the same thing. Take seolleongtang, the cloudy ox bone noodle soup that comes to the table bland, and requires the diner to add salt and scallions to taste. Hat Bat has long been considered the go to place of choice, but Young Dong has carved out their own fan base from those looking for a cleaner, less murky broth.  Technically they serve the same dish, but it be impossible to say which is better. Both are great in their own way, both are extremely popular.

So how does a new place like Sun Nong Dan make headway against these two established soup specialists?  Funny enough, with head, actually. And feet. And a surprisingly spectacular version of braised Korean short ribs.

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Stars aligned?  Cycles converged? Hell, maybe the restaurants peed in the same fountain (sorry, bad “The Change Up” reference.)  Not sure what sort of cosmic event has caused this, but Hannosuke, the excellent tempura spot in West LA’s Mitsuwa market food court, and Ichimiann, the totally-worth-drive-to-Torrance soba specialist, have made mirror image changes to their menu.

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Despite its name Egg Slut has made it anything but easy to find them since they popped up over two years ago, especially for those of us who are fans of breakfast for lunch.  For awhile they spent mornings in front of Commissary Coffee on Fairfax, weekends at Handsome Coffee Roasters, and there was word of a stint at The Hart & the Hunter (although it was never clear if their truck was parked in front of the Palihotel or they were cooking out of the kitchen.)  But getting to try their delicious sounding egg sandwiches after Noon proved to be difficult, a policy that continued when they opened their first brick and mortar last week inside the Grand Central Market in Downtown L.A.  Excitement was high, lines were long, and for their first week they were only open until Noon.

But week two goes to the lunchers!

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I don’t know what you think you mean when you say the word burrito, but I know what I think of. I think of a tightly packed nugget of perfection. One that is wrapped in paper and/or tin foil and will stand up on its own. I think of something that will never be touched by a fork or a knife, and doesn’t have a “wet” option (if anything, the more dry the better.) I think of something that has more rice than beans, and those beans will be black or pinto, not refried. And don’t talk to me about Chipotle. If I’m in San Diego, you can replace those rice and beans with french fries and I won’t complain. Sour cream and/or guacamole?  Yes please.  And the meat is there to add fat and some textural contrast, not as a vehicle for heavy spices or some kind of chile sauce.  That flavor gets added at the end when you choose which salsa you want to put on your burrito… ideally bite by delicious bite.  Call it a San Francisco burrito, use the word “mission” if you want, but I just call it a burrito when I say I have never had a good burrito in Los Angeles.

That is until yesterday, when I had the burrito at Taco Love- a grossly misnamed new shop on Sunset near Crescent Heights.  Because it’s not the tacos you’ll love at this place. It’s all about the burrito.

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I try to be positive here on Midtown Lunch… and I love this city.  The food is amazing, and there’s no better place to be a “Midtown Lunch’er”.    But as much as I love most of the food in L.A. (and will defend it to the death against any outsiders, or natives with an inferiority complex) there are some things about lunching in this town that really annoy me.  Here are 7 of them, LAist style, for your enjoyment…

1. If two slices of your cheese pizza and a fountain soda costs $9 at lunchtime you are never allowed to be compared to New York pizza in a favorable way. Sorry Vito’s, but it’s time for a lunch special.

2. I’m all for the explosion of gourmet coffee shops in Los Angeles, but can we return ice coffee to where it belongs?  In a plastic cup with a lid and a straw. I shouldn’t need a funnel to add milk to my ice coffee.

But wait… there’s more.  (5 more, to be exact.)

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