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 we’re pretty excited to welcome Lunch’er “Bigmouth”, a lawyer who goes by the name of Andrew when he’s not commenting on Midtown Lunch.

Name: Andrew

Age: 38

Occupation: Attorney/Writer

Where in L.A. do you Work?: At home by the Santa Monica/WLA border.

Favorite Kind of Food: Mission-style burritos, Israeli-style falafel.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Cucumbers or mayo.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Fundamental (1303 Westwood Blvd) for… everything; Milo & Olive (2723 Wilshire Blvd) for sausage pizza and quiche; Le Saigon (11611 Santa Monica Blvd) for bun and eggrolls; Nook (11628 Santa Monica Blvd) for the club sandwich; Chutney’s (2406 S Barrington Ave) for dahi chicken and beef samosas; Tacomiendo (11462 Gateway Blvd) for the soft taco plate; Habayit (11921 W Pico Blvd) for falafel; Angelica truck (10113 Venice Blvd) for cemitas; Umami Burger (500 Broadway) for the Greenbird.

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If you haven’t tried out Pizzanista, the newish pizza joint on the outskirts of Downtown L.A., today might be a good day for a first visit. Normally their slices range in price from $2.75 to $4, but on Tuesdays you can get a slice of cheese, pepperoni, or vegan cheese for just $2. Their New York style pizza isn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it’s totally solid. And if I was in Downtown and in the mood for a slice (instead of the neapolitan’ish pies you get at places like Bottega Louie, Pitfire or Urbano) this would be my go-to spot. Plus they deliver.

Check out the cheese slice after the jump…

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Bento box from Bento Man. Photo by Garrett Snyder

• CULVER CITY JNJ is one of the 5 best BBQ places in L.A. [Squid Ink]
• DTLA Mr. Pizza’s 2nd location is now open… [Brigham Yen]
• DTLA … and here’s your first look [Squid Ink]
• DTLA Mo Chica on 7th is opening in the next two weeks [Eater]
• KTOWN The 14 best places to eat in Koreatown [Eater]
• KTOWN The hokaben at Bento Man look pretty tasty! [Squid Ink]
• WEST LA Sushi Stop opens New Japan on Santa Monica [Grub Street]
• MOBILE The Go Chew Truck features a NOMA vet? [Grub Street]
• MOBILE How America became a food truck nation [Smithsonian]

When most people in L.A. talk about loving Korean food, they’re usually talking about Korean BBQ.  And even more specifically than that, all you can eat Korean BBQ.  But not all ayce Korean BBQ lovers are created equal, and opinions can range from the wildly enthusiastic (“I am a fatso… let’s do it!”) to the mildly exuberant (“You know all you can eat Korean BBQ isn’t even that popular in Korea.  It’s totally an American thing.”  “So you don’t want to go?”  “What are you talking about!?  Of course I want to go!”) to the reluctantly excited (“I’ll go… but I’m totally not going to eat that much.”) And within that group there is even a smaller subsect of ayce Korean BBQ lovers who will only eat at $9.99 all you can eat Korean BBQ places for lunch. And that’s where you’ll find me.  After all, why pay $16-25 for something you can get during lunch for just $10.  Added bonus?  You have the rest of the day to recover.

My journey to find the best $10 all you can eat Korean BBQ restaurant has taken me through many body sacrificing lunches… from Tahoe Galbi (which now features Brazilian BBQ!?), to the always reliable Choi Gah Neh, which were both blown away by newcomer Don Day, which I raved about back in June.  But after a return visit to Don Day last month left me a bit disappointed, my search for the best $10 ayce Korean BBQ lunch deal began again.  So when I read that a new Korean BBQ place had opened on Ardmore and 8th called Bud Namu, and they were offering a $10 all you can eat lunch option for a limited time only, it wasn’t long before I made it over there to stuff my face.

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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 John, a media strategist in West L.A. who loves bacon, and delis hidden in gas stations.

Name: John

Age: 25

Occupation: Media Strategist

Where in L.A. do you Work?: MBMG, West LA

Favorite Kind of Food: Bacon (if that’s unacceptable, anything with bacon on it: bacon pizza, bacon wrapped hot dogs, bacon bacon)

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Soup (what’s the point? If I wanted to drink a meal, I’d have a Guinness)

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Corner Deli (1660 South Sepulveda Boulevard) which is a deli inside a gas station. Weird I know, but fantastic. I love the classic chicken breast sandwich and the ultimate breakfast burrito is great in the morning , but the truly great thing about Corner Deli is that the food is consistent. I think that’s an important factor for any restaurant. Don’t be a Michelin 3 star on Monday but then KFC on Tuesday. Also, Chutney’s (2406 South Barrington Avenue) for their great chicken tikka masala lunch special, 800 Degrees (10889 Lindbrook Drive, Westwood), and Eduardo’s (1830 Westwood Boulevard), which has the best nachos.

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I try to be positive here on Midtown Lunch… and I freakin’ 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. So your orange peel chicken and honey glazed shrimp (aka slippery shrimp) are the best of all time?  Ok… you’ve got my attention.  They’re $14 and $15 respectively?  Uh… ok… but how much is the lunch special version?  THERE ISN’T A LUNCH SPECIAL VERSION!?!?  I’ve never heard of such a thing. You are a Chinese food restaurant, right?   There must be some sort of General Tso’s chicken treaty that this violates…

2. Speaking of “Chinese” food, New York is getting a branch of Mission Chinese Food before we do?  That is beyond f’d up.  These people know that L.A. is only 400 miles away from S.F. right?  So much for the whole”local” thing.

$13 street food, inexplicably popular sandwiches, Sunny Spot, and more feel my wrath after the jump…

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