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 Lindsay, a bartender who doesn’t like Chinese food (what!?!?) but loves La Cevicheria (minor redemption!)

Name: Lindsay

Age: 27

Occupation: Bartender, Writer

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Pour Vous in Hollywood; thenader.com; Los Angeles Magazine “Hey Barkeep” column

Favorite Kind of Food: Veggies and Fish

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Chinese

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Pho Cafe (aka hipster pho) in Silverlake. I always order the no.14, which is a vegetarian pho. I douse it heavily with fish sauce and sriracha.

Read more »

I was once told that when attempting to judge the greatness of a hamburger the only acceptable toppings are cheese and maybe ketchup.  Being a fat man who loves throwing shit on top of stuff or stuffing stuff in other shit, I kind of scoffed.  But since then I’ve come to appreciate the burger in its most simple form.  Lettuce and tomato is rabbit food.  Bacon is so 2009.  And a runny fried egg?!  Actually, don’t fuck with the fried egg.  A fried egg makes everything better.  And so does grilled onions, and onion rings, and blue cheese.  Even pastrami. Oh, who am I kidding, I love burgers with tons of stuff on them.  And while at one time topping a burger with any one of those things might have been unique, now burger chefs have to get a little bit crazier with their ideas to really get noticed. Here are my 5 favorite, most crazily genius, individual burger toppings in Los Angeles…

KETCHUP LEATHER – PLAN CHECK

Pay no attention to the stuff on top, the real genius is underneath.

Did you seriously think that the chef who helped to build Umami Burger would open a restaurant in West L.A. specializing in hamburgers, and *not* have some crazy trick up his sleeve? It looks like a fruit roll up. It feels like a fruit roll up. But it tastes like ketchup, and as you eat the thing the gooey sweetness starts to melt into the burger.  It’s almost like the chef came up with this while working at UB, and thought “hmmm… I think I’m going to keep this one for myself.” Genius. Will it cause Heinz apologists to suddenly embrace the idea of house made ketchups?  Probably not.  But fruit roll up enthusiasts now have a burger topping to get super excited about. 1800 Sawtelle Boulevard. 310-288-6500

Read more »

Coconut beef from Park’s Finest BBQ. Photo by Anne Fishbein/LAW

• DTLA Park’s Finest BBQ is now open for Thurs & Friday lunch! [Squid Ink]
• DTLA 7th & Fig is getting a Loteria, Lamill & Park’s BBQ [Eater;LAT]
• DTLA Spice Table makes a perfectly fine cheeseburger [AHT]
• MARINA DEL REY Jersey Mike’s is opening on Lincoln [Grub Street]
• MID CITY Pitfire Pizza is now open on Fairfax [Eater]
• WESTWOOD A mini Umamiburger called U-Mini is coming soon [LAT;GS]
• WEST LA Spaghetti by Orris is on the market [Eater]
• WEST LA Your first look at Miyata Menji’s ramen [The Minty]
• DEALS Get 50% off Kogi, Buttermilk Truck, Frysmith, Grilled Cheese Truck & Grill ’em All [Google Offers]

I’ve been spending way too much time in Little Osaka these days. I can’t help it. The tsukemen from Tsujita is enough to make me consider a trip to Sawtelle at least once a week, but once you throw in all the new lunch options that seem to be popping up one after another, the pull is just too much for me to resist. Gottsui just started serving a surprisingly tasty lunchtime ramen, a new Korean soondubu place just opened in the same strip mall, and apparently another ramen place is on the way!  There’s also the newly converted Spaghetti by Orris (although word is that place is up for sale) and if you haven’t tried the ketchup leather topped burger at Plan Check, I’d highly recommend it.  And of course there’s Miyata Menji, which opens today- although I’m going to give them a little time to get settled in.  (Plus, word is the famous-in-Japan comedian who owns the place is supposed to be there today, and I don’t want none of that.)

And yet in the midst of all this craziness, last week I found myself sidling up to the counter at Robata Ya- a 4 year old yakitori place that is solid if uninspiring.  The reason?  My buddy Dylan had told me that they do a bento box with salad, soup, rice, tempura (including one piece of shrimp!), gyoza, half a spicy tuna roll, and 3 pieces of yakitori.  All that food for just $10?!  How could I not.

Read more »

According to the L.A. Times tomorrow is the big day for Miyata Menji, the new ramen/tsukemen spot opening on Sawtelle in the old Gr/eats space.  Being a tsukemen addict (and lover of all things ramen) I’ve been cautiously excited about this opening, but the more and more I read and see the more wacky this place sounds.

From the LAT:

Japanese comedian Tetsuji Miyata brings his Miyata Menji concept to L.A. from Osaka, where noodles dubbed TG2-D and KK100 are served in ramen and tsukemen. On the menu are just two items: tonkotsu ramen with pork broth, teriyaki beef, shallots and fried tomatoes, and tsukemen with steamed noodles, anchovy cabbage, grated cheese (optional), minced pork, vegetable potage, tomato and croutons.

Teriyaki beef!? Tomatoes? Grated cheese and croutons? Well that explains the menu photos I spotted last week…

Read more »

As soon as JGold discovered Palsaik Samgyupsal, the pork belly specialist that opened in Koreatown last summer, I did what I do with most places “The Guru” writes about: looked for a lunch menu! Like most places in K-Town, Palsaik has a lunch menu featuring various soups and stews for under $10. There’s a $10 galbi tang (short rib soup), a $10 soybean paste stew with seafood, and a $9 kimchi jigae. You can also order pork belly lunch special for $12, as long as you have at least two people- or else they don’t think it’s worth it to fire up the table top grill. The lunch specials come with two strips of pork belly, plus grilled bean sprouts.

But Palsaik’s main draw is their namesake 8 flavors of pork, featuring a long wooden board with jelly roll looking servings of pork belly in a rainbow of colors. It was $40 when I had it a few weeks ago and I had been planning on writing about how it makes the perfect lunch for four (in addition to two pieces of pork belly per person, and a seafood stew, they also make a fried rice for you on the grill at the end of the meal.)  It may not be the biggest $10 lunch K-Town has to offer, and most of my Korean friends could probably polish off the dish themselves with a little help from a friend or girlfriend.   But as a way to enjoy a quality pork belly lunch with friends, it was a totally sensible lunch for $10 a person.  Sadly, though, Palsaik revamped their menu last week and the 8 flavors of pork is now $50!  Total bummer for cheap bastards Midtown Lunchers like myself, looking to eat their signature dish during lunch.  Whether or not it’s still worth it for dinner, I’ll leave to others to decide…

Check out the new menu after the jump…

Read more »

I wonder if El Compita is as good during the day as at night! Photo by Farley Elliott

• DTLA The banh mi ramen at Sai Sai Noodle Bar is pretty good [Tasting Table]
• CULVER CITY EK Valley is good homestyle Oaxacan food [Squid Ink]
• HWOOD The sour ribs at Krua Siri are tasty [Food GPS]
• MID CITY El Compita makes some great al pastor tacos [Serious Eats]
• VALLEY Looks like the trek to Pita Kitchen is worth it [Unemployed Eater]
• WESTWOOD Five Guys is now open! [Eater]
• LIST A guide to L.A.’s best coffee shops [Eater]
• LIST Taco Madness has begun!  Vote for your favorites now… [LA TAco]