Midtown Lunch

Shhhhh… please don’t tell, but there’s a new “secret” burger place in Downtown L.A.  You would think that opening a burger speakeasy would be impossible in a city that treats every bit of Umami news like it’s a presidential address, but there it is off of San Pedro Street between 3rd and 4th, nestled in the no-mans land between Little Tokyo and Industrial Street’s restaurant row.  The building is completely unmarked, and according to the owners they plan to keep it that way (Escondite literally means hiding place.) But a restaurant that is truly serious about remaining completely hidden is a restaurant run by idiots, so in place of a full scale PR onslaught they have subtly taken to Yelp, Facebook, and Twitter, in the hopes that word of mouth would slowly bring the crowds.

Last week, they got their first hit of press- a blog post by L.A. Food God, which was quickly picked up by Grub Street.  And while it sounds like this place will be more nighttime bar hang out than daytime lunch spot, their menu was cheap enough for me.  And once I heard they were topping burgers with fried eggs and hash browns, I didn’t need to hear anything more.

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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 Susie, an importer/exporter who hates American food, and needs a good Jamaican rec.

Name: Susie

Age: 26

Occupation: Fashion entrepreneur: Stylist, Merchandise Coordinator, blogger, buyer, creative director, & Brand strategy consultant. My full time job is Executive Merchandise Coordinator of Imports and Exports (Japan)

Where in L.A. do you Work?: COC Downtown Los Angeles, Fashion District

Favorite Kind of Food: Thai & Spanish Caribbean

Least Favorite Kind of Food: American. E.g., Turkey and Gravy or Stew (eww)

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Orochon Ramen (123 Astronaut E. S. Onizuka Street) for Mild Miso pork Soup. Blossom (426 S. Main St.) for Bun and Cha Gio. Sandwich Shop (531 W 6th St) for their Curry Chicken Sandwich. Teno Sushi (207 S Central Ave) for the combination lunch special and their salad. Officially the most affordable and fresh sushi in LA. TOT‘s (345 E 2nd St) avocado tuna salad (awesome lunch special also). And Spice Table‘s laksa (Spicy noodle soup).

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The Captain Kangaroo Burger from The Escondite. Photo by LA Food God

• DTLA The Escondite looks like a tasty burger speakeasy [LA Food God via GS]
• DTLA The seafood curry at Fat Spoon is also good [The Minty]
• DTLA Flying Pig Cafe is still disappointing [Darin Dines]
• FAIRFAX Currywurst is now open [Eater]
• INGLEWOOD Is Mariscos Chente’s changing its name? [Grub Street]
• KTOWN A new Oaxacan restaurant has taken the Pal Cabron space [Eater]
• MID CITY Five Guys is coming to Miracle Mile [I Love LA But… via Eater]
• WEHO Soda Pop’s makes the best chicken sandwich in L.A. [Unemployed Eater]
• WEHO The Guru weighs in on ink.sack [LAW]
• WEST L.A. Kabab Mahaleh has great koobideh, and fresh sangak [Squid Ink]
• MOBILE Ludo and Roscoe’s make some of the best fried chx in L.A. [LAT]

My dearest Santouka,

We had a nice run, but I’ve met somebody else.

Love,
This Fat Guy.

After months of construction, and weeks of countdown signs with questionable math, Ramen Yamadaya finally opened their doors on Washington & Sepulveda on Saturday. A Torrance transplant, with the highest endorsement there is in the ramen world, the excitement for Yamadaya has been pretty intense- even though the westside is not the ramen deprived wasteland of, say, the pre-Jinya valley.  After all, while some ramen snobs get positively burger’ish about the best bowl noodles in Southern California, most people choose their ramen spots by location.  If you’re Downtown, and have a lot of time on your hands, you go to Daikokuya. Mid City? Robata Jinya.  The Valley? Ramen Jinya. Westside has always been owned by Santouka. And if you live in Torrence you go to- oh, who am I kidding. If you live in Torrence, you’re not reading what a short fat Jewish guy thinks about pork bone ramen.

In other words, I’m not here to proclaim Yamadaya the greatest bowl of ramen in the entire universe. Better than this. Better than that. (I’ll leave that to the experts.) But, as a resident of Culver City, and a lover of tonkotsu ramen, I can safely say that it was good enough on day 4 to (easily) be in consideration for go-to ramen king of the Westside.

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My cheap bastard-ness knows no boundaries… but I will admit something to you, provided you never mention it again.  Once, I had lunch at Gjelina.  *Cue shriek, followed by breaking glass.*  It was my cousin’s birthday, and you can’t get all cheap with birthdays, lord knows I’ve tried. (“Hey sweetheart… what do you say we go to In N Out for your birthday! There’s a free hat and stickers in it for you…”)  Plus, as much as I love Poke Poke and Lemonade, sometimes you want a nice sit down lunch in Venice.  So where else are you going to go?  Cha Cha Chicken?  Uh… thanks, but no thanks.

Long story short, the lunch was great.  So when I heard they were opening Gjelina Take Away, a breakfast and lunchtime annex, I got pretty excited.  Surely the prices would come down a little.  After all there’s no seating, unless you count milk crates in the alley alongside the restaurant.  That’s got to be worth a small discount, right!?

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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 Darin, a banker by day/food blogger by night looking for some fried chicken in DTLA.

Name: Darin

Age: 26

Occupation: Union Bank

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Downtown L.A.

Favorite Kind of Food: Asian noodles (both stir-fried and in soup) and dumplings, anything based around meat (especially beef, duck, lamb) and potatoes, fried chicken, whole-cooked fish, Italian fresh pastas

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Yogurt, vinegar, overcooked meat, stinky cheeses, salad

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Lately, I’ve been really into Mendocino Farms. My favorite sandwich on the menu is the banh mi but I love the “create-your-own” option. Basically, you have all of MF’s ingredients to play with and can create something unique and personal. Try getting steak with caramelized onions, fresh mozzarella, pesto, and arugula – panini grilled. So good. Cabbage Patch (520 W 6th St) is also in the regular rotation. The rotisserie half-chicken is a steal at $6 (dark-meat only, $9 for white & dark). The seasonal sides are generous and quite good at $2 each (try the Brussels sprouts and French fries). They have a pretty good burger too.

When I have a little more time, Octopus (729 W 7th St) has some solid Japanese food. A 3-item bento box is under $10 with enough food for two meals. You can choose from about a dozen items; my favorites are the sesame chicken and salmon teriyaki. The sushi is half-off during lunch… and it’s better than it sounds.

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Considering how hot it has been, a lunchtime post about Chil Bo Myun Ok is pretty predictable.  When summertime hits, so do the obligatory posts about naengmyun- a Korean cold noodle dish that it’s safe to say is only really craved by Koreans who grew up eating the stuff.  And the version at Chil Bo Myun Ok is considered one of the best you can get in K-Town, so of course that’s where I ended up on Friday.  But if I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t there for the naengmyeon.  I had read somewhere that Chil Bo Myun Ok served spicy galbi jim (stewed short ribs) sauteed with rice cakes, and had hoped that by some miracle of all miracles they sold a lunchtime version of the dish for under $10.  I say “miracle of all miracles” because not only is galbi jim one of the more expensive dishes you’ll find in Koreatown, but Chil Bo Myun Ok is one of the more expensive places in K-Town- even for naengmyeon.

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