Midtown Lunch

One of the best things I’ve eaten this year, but is it the best “sandwich”?
Photo courtesy of Guzzle and Nosh/Squid Ink.

• LISTS Top 10 Sandwiches in Los Angeles [Squid Ink]
• DTLA A Look at the food at Sai Sai Noodle Bar [Grub Street]
• KTOWN Gatten Sushi is coming soon to Wilshire [Grub Street]
• WEHO Pitfire Pizza is coming soon to Fairfax [Eater]
• WEST LA Plan Check’s burger is only $10? Good to know. [Eating L.A.]
• WESTWOOD 800 Degrees is good pizza at a great price [Darin Dines]
• LISTS Zam Zam Market and ink.sack are 2 places to visit right now [Treasure LA]
• LISTS My picks for weekend eating with the kids [Taster Tots LA]

Mexican smoothies, shakes, and paletas might be ubiquitous in some parts of Los Angeles, but in Culver City if you want a mamey shake, watermelon liquida, or mezcal & walnut ice cream there’s only one place you’ll ever need to go: Mateo’s Ice Cream & Fruit Bars.  Nestled in the corner of a strip mall on Sepulveda between Jefferson and Culver, Mateo’s is well known for their fruit juices, Mexican popsicles, milk shakes, and ice cream.  (And apparently their coffee ice cream is especially good.) But did you know they also serve sandwiches?

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I don’t know if it’s because I moved here from New York, but I had to do a double take the first time I read about Shaka Shack– a new burger joint that just opened on Ocean Park Blvd. in Santa Monica.  Change one letter and you’ve got, arguably, the most popular burger place in New York City.  A chain that has not only expanded to Miami, Washington DC and Dubai, but was also big enough to get one star in the New York Times yesterday. What were these Shaka Shack people thinking!?  Could this be west coast payback for the overt In N Out Burger rip off that opened in Manhattan two years ago?  And how did they expect to get away with this? At least McDowell’s was owned by a guy with the last name McDowell.

The answer?  Shaka Shack is nothing like the Shake Shack.  It’s a tiki bar’esque, surfer themed hangout, with a beach bum owner who could argue that he had never heard of the New York chain and you just might believe them (even though his ex wife used to work for Wolfgang Puck and they appeared  on the NBC show Chopping block together).

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If you’re anything like me (fat and getting fatter) than you probably don’t like to see any holidays go to waste. I mean, I’m not Catholic. Nor do I live in New Orleans. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Fat Tuesday come and go without using it as an excuse to stuff my face. I could go the normal route, and find some mediocre po’boy, or pathetic excuse for jamabalaya. But I think this year I might go a different route. All you can eat meat! Don’t people give up meat for lent? Only on Fridays? Whatever. That’s good enough for me.

For all you can eat meat, Korean BBQ is obviously the way to go.  If you want to keep it around $10, Choi Ga Neh and Don Day are my two cheap standbys.  Although I’m hearing that newly open Bud Namu is very good, and is doing a $10 lunchtime ayce for a limited time only.   Not in the mood for Korean BBQ?  There’s always Libra in Culver City for some all you can eat Brazilian meat. Of course you’ll want to get there before Noon to score the $15 special lunch price.

Mac & Cheese from Bay Cities. Photo courtesy of Emma Courtland/Squid Ink

• SAMO Bay Cities makes the best mac and cheese in L.A. [Squid Ink]
• DTLA It doesn’t matter what you call it, Mendo Farms’ banh mi is a winner [Squid Ink]
• DTLA Sai Sai is becoming a fast casual noodle bar [Grub Street;Eater]
• DTLA Your first look at the new Mo Chica on 7th [Grub Street]
• DTLA Your first look at Umamicatessen [Eater]
• MID CITY Gish Bac‘s salsa de chorizo is great [Food GPS]
• MID CITY Five Guys Burgers & Fries is now open on Wilshire [Eater]
• SAMO Shaka Shack makes a worthwhile burger [Squid Ink]

Last year Mexicali Taco & Co. shocked the world by defeating Mariscos Jalisco in the finals of LA Taco’s Taco Madness 2011.  Ok, maybe “shock the world” is a bit of an overstatement.  But the shrimp taco dorado from the Mariscos Jalisco truck is one of the single greatest tacos I have ever eaten. And the whole thing is deep fried.  Could a simple carne asada taco (even one covered in garlic and cheese that’s been melted quesadilla style) compete with a taco that was good enough to dispatch Ricky’s Fish Tacos in the semi finals!? Sadly, Mexicali Taco wasn’t open for lunch. And tracking down their makeshift, late night, outdoor set up on 1st & Beaudry was just not realistic for those of us who do our DTLA food exploring during the day.

So when I heard that they were finally opening a brick and mortar location, and that location would have regular business hours (aka open for lunch!) I got pretty excited. In fact, for fans of lunch, yesterday’s grand opening could be the biggest of 2012.

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There is something happening on Sawtelle these days. Empty spaces are being filled, tons of coming soon signs are going up, and for the first time in awhile Little Osaka doesn’t feel like a tired, second rate alternative to the South Bay (third rate if you include Little Tokyo.)  There’s still a long way to go, but signs are pointing in the right direction. With the opening of Tusjita, West L.A. can legitimately lay claim to serving the best ramen and tsukemen in L.A., and Ramen Jinya is also on the way (presumably to capitalize on the lunchtime overflow and give people a dinner time ramen option?) Plan Check is opening Feb. 22nd. Blockheads Shavery is now open on Mississippi, for all those people looking to try the hot-right-now Taiwanese shaved snow phenomenom. And coffee snobs now have Balconi and Cafe Tomo.  Gr/eats, which closed on Monday, is supposedly going to become another tsukemen place.  And the empty space next to Tsujita is going to be a new Vietnamese cafe called Nong L.A.  Even food trucks are getting in on the action.  Signage recently went up for a brick and mortar location of the Slice Truck.  (Huzzah?)

And if you like Japanese pasta we were excited to find last week courtesy of Lunch’er Dylan that Orris, the French/Japanese restaurant owned by Chef Shiro (of Restaurant Shiro in Pasadena), has become Spaghetti House.

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