Midtown Lunch

The stories of this sandwich’s greatness have not been exaggerated. Back in December Chef Evan Funke, formerly of Rustic Canyon and Milo & Olive, launched a Porchetta Truck to hold us over until Bucato opens- his forthcoming Italian restaurant inside Helms Bakery.  The truck launched on a First Friday in Venice and initially felt more like a night time thing; less lunch truck, more gourmet chef pop up.  Early word was pretty great from all fronts, and the price was right ($5), but then the holidays hit and the idea of trying to chase down a porchetta truck for lunch didn’t seem as urgent as it might have 2 years ago.

Fast forward a few weeks, and the porchetta truck has become a lunchtime staple for anybody who works near the food truck alley on Pennsylvania and 26th in Santa Monica.  It still roams around to various locations at night, and you’ll still want to check twitter for exact locations, but at lunchtime you can count on finding them on Pennsylvania and 26th at least 3 days a week.  And find them people have… with some reports of people eating lunch at the truck 2 or 3 times in a single week.

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Back in May I posted a taco crawl for out of towners and locals alike; a perfect way to enjoy 5 of the best tacos L.A. has to offer, all in 2 hours. The journey starts in Los Feliz with a Baja style fish taco, and ends in Boyle Heights with a fried shrimp taco from Jalisco.  In the middle?  The best guisados, vampiro, and carnitas L.A. has to offer.  It wasn’t so much a recommendation as a glimpse into my demented eating habits.  The way I like to eat my tacos… because after eating at one, I find it hard not to crawl on to the next- each taco so cheap, and so close to the one that precedes it on the list.  The crawl is still the best way to enjoy these tacos, but two of the places have now opened 2nd locations- neither of which are too far from the original (much to the disappointment of westsiders.)

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The popular Colorado burger chain Smashburger has invaded Los Angeles, generating the requisite amount of excitement from this burger obsessed city.  And while there are some who may have enjoyed a BBQ, bacon and cheddar burger on a trip to Denver, the chain is mostly foreign to these parts.  So when a new location popped up in my home neighborhood of Culver City (on Venice and Overland) I entered with a completely open mind, and a hungry stomach.

When your walk in, your eye is naturally drawn to the “Our Favorites” menu, which contains what one would assume are the most popular or recommended menu items.  But here’s the thing. The first two items on that menu (the “Classic Smashburger” and the “All American Bacon Cheeseburger”) are for total idiots. After two visits and some serious menu studying, I believe I have discovered some pretty large menu loopholes. Now, mind you, I’m not saying Smashburger is bad.  On the contrary, it’s actually pretty great. They get a great crust on the burgers by (you guessed it) smashing them on the griddle and their menu features the kind of toppings that have made Five Guys and Fatburger so popular.  But I’ve checked and double checked the numbers, run the stats through various ordering models and come to the conclusion that ordering one of those two burgers might be the dumbest move at Smashburger (despite being recommended as a “favorite” by the menu.)

Here’s why.

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The L.A. Smashburger. Photo courtesy of A Hamburger Today

• CULVER CITY Your first look at Smashburger [AHT]
• DTLA Mariscos Jalisco has a 2nd truck now on 9th [LA Taco]
• DTLA Get 3 things for $11 at Kagura for lunch [The Minty]
• MID CITY Lemonade is coming to Larchmont… [Eater]
• MID CITY … and so is Pinches Tacos [LarchmontLA]
• MID CITY Plan Check is opening a 2nd location on Fairfax [Eater]
• SAMO Hole in the Wall Burger has moved to a new location [Unemployed Eater]
• WEHO Shoop’s European Deli has opened a 2nd location [Grub St.]
• MOBILE Wood fired pizza from a truck!? [Unemployed Eater]
• TACOS The 25 Best Tacos in L.A. right now [Food Republic]

Anybody who has eaten at Chin Ma Ya in Little Tokyo in the past year probably won’t be surprised by this news… they will be closing on January 20th.  2 1/2 years ago it may have been the best place in Downtown L.A. to get kara-age and tan tan mien, but it has been slowly going downhill ever since.  Part of me feels a little bit saddened by the news, but if it’s being replaced by Ikemen that feeling won’t last long. Goodbye old friend.

Back in August, when word broke that Hummus Bar & Grill in Tarzana was opening an “express” location on the 3rd Street Promenade, I wondered just how excited Santa Monica should really be.  After all, there was no guarantee that some of the best parts of the original (the fresh baked laffa, the all you can eat salads, the french fries in the sandwiches) would be making the journey down the 405.  Well, last month Hummus Bar Express opened on 3rd between Arizona and Santa Monica and the answer is a resounding very excited.  Santa Monica should be absolutely pickled tink. (See what I did there? Because, you know, there are a lot of pickles in Israeli food… and people say “tickled pink”, so I just took the first letter of… oh nevermind.)

As expected, there is no all you can eat salad option.  But there is enough of the original in this express location to immediately make this one of if not THE best lunch option on or around the Promenade.

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