Midtown Lunch

A few weeks ago Coly’s Stromboli opened up in Downtown L.A. (at 456 Hill) and I couldn’t help but be excited by the description posted on Blog Downtown: “Imagine a calzone, a slice of pizza and a burrito had a threesome and somehow made a baby named Strombol”.  For some reason that particular description caused me to ignore the fact that I’ve had access to stromboli all my life (they can usually be spotted getting stale behind the glass of mall food court pizzerias.)  But I’ve never seen a place that specializes in stromboli.  Perhaps they’ve unlocked some kind of  pizzazonerito magic that has previously been undiscovered!?

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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 Remil, an analyst who also wishes there was street meat in L.A.

Name: Remil

Age: 39

Occupation: Contract Administration Analyst

Where in L.A. do you Work?: 3rd Street & Beaudry Avenue in DTLA

Favorite Kind of Food: Wow! This is really a hard question. I’m Filipino so obviously Filipino food is my absolute favorite. But I also love a wide array of foods ranging from Chinese dim sum, to Korean BBQ, to Japanese ramen, to super spicy Thai, to Vietnamese pho and the occasional Texas BBQ. I often explore many different restaurants with my friends and my list of favorites just keeps getting longer and longer.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I try not to discriminate and I don’t really have a least favorite. But if I had to list just one, it would have to be a particular Chinese vegetarian restaurant in SGV. It wasn’t pretty.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: My favorite Filipino restaurant in L.A. is Salakot Sizzle and Grill (2122 Beverly Blvd). It’s not your typical steam table restaurant. Here you sit down, place your order and everything is cooked fresh. My “goto” selections are their Kare-Kare (oxtail stew), Crispy Pata (deep fried pork hock), Dinuguan (pork blood stew), Lechon Kawali (deep fried pork belly), Sizzling Sisig (chopped pork cheeks) and the Pork BBQ on a stick. Don’t forget to order the Halo-Halo (shaved ice) for dessert. For a quick Filipino lunch try Bahay Kubo Natin (2330 W Temple St), where they have a rotating daily menu. Just point to what you like on their steam table to match with either steamed rice or pancit (noodles) and you’re good to go. My favorites here are their Mung Bean stew, Pork BBQ, Fried Chicken Skins, Egg Plant Omelette and their Filipino-style Fried Chicken. In no particular order, here are just some of my other favorite places for lunch. Starry Kitchen on Grand for their green tofu balls, Eastside Market on Alpine for the D.A. special, Mien Nghia on Ord for their beef noodle soup, Mendocino Farms on Flower for any of their sandwiches, Langer’s Deli on Alvarado for an amazing pastrami sandwich, Daikokuya on First St. for their ramen, Yorkshire Grill on Sixth St. for their chopped liver, Fisherman’s Outlet on Central for their grilled sea bass and Jitlada on Sunset for their Southern Thai specialties.

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Last year I conducted a taco showdown on Culver Blvd. between Inglewood and Centinela that pitted three Westside goto taco places against each other.  Pepe’s Tacos fared well against Tacomiendo and Taqueria Sanchez, but there was something I had neglected to notice about this small (but pretty popular) lunchtime taco destination on Centinela:  they serve carne asada fries. Here’s where I admit that despite my public love for stuffing french fries in burritos, I have never actually eaten lunch in San Diego, a city that seems to be obsessed with combining their Mexican food with fried potatoes (hence, carne asada fries).

So when a friend told me that I could get a great version of this San Diego classic at Pepe’s Tacos I was pretty excited- despite having no idea what exactly carne asada fries are.  Spoiler Alert: There as great as they sound.

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Photo courtesy of Katie Robbins/Serious Eats

• BRENTWOOD A new branch of Lemonade is now open [Eater]
• DTLA JJ’s makes a mean chicken sandwich, and also serves teriyaki [Serious Eats]
• DTLA Banh Mi crawl yields mixed results [The Minty]
• HWOOD Another thumbs up for Ruen Pair [Gastronomy]
• SAMO Get the “Say What?” at Bru’s Wiffle [Squid Ink]
• SILVER LAKE Vinny Dotolo recommends El Cochinito [944 via Eater]
• WESTWOOD Lunch is the best meal to get at Shamshiri [Grub Street]
• BURGERS Bloggers share their favorite burgers in L.A. [HuffPo]

It’s overwhelming to think of how much amazing ethnic food there is in Los Angeles.  And while there are plenty of great modern day resources for exploring Koreatown or Thai Town or the SGV or South Bay or East L.A., there is something irresistible about asking somebody who lives in or grew up eating in one those neighborhoods for their favorites.  I know I do it.  “Oh, you’re Korean?  What’s your favorite place to eat on Vermont?”  “Oooh… your parents live in Monterrey Park?  Where’s the best place for Dim Sum?”  And most of the time people are more than happy to spout off lists of their favorite places to eat.  (Hell, musician Bill Esparza has practically made a second career for himself recommending Mexican places in the city and beyond.)

But ask somebody Filipino where to get the best Filipino food in Los Angeles and they always say the same thing:  “At my house.”  L.A. sports the largest Filipino population in the U.S. and there are plenty of places to eat Filipino food in the city, from Echo Park to K-Town to Arcadia (where I had some of the best fried pork I’ve ever had in my life.)  But ask a Filipino person which one is the best, and they’ll likely tell you the same thing…  “none of those places are as good as the food my mom makes.”  Sadly, my mom is not Filipino.  So if I want lumpia (fried egg rolls) or longanisa (sausage) or adobo or sisig (fried pig face) or kare kare (in all its peanut-y goodness) it’s off to a restaurant for me. Echo Park is the obvious choice, but there are actually plenty of places in the far more centralized Koreatown.

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Back in January I was pretty excited to read about a new Thai place Downtown called Esaan: A Taste of Thai.  From the sounds of the Squid Ink article (which I now realize I might have only skimmed) it sounded like Essan would be perfect for Downtown lunchers who didn’t want to make the trek up the 101 to Thai Town.  The name didn’t hurt either.  I’m no expert on the regional cuisines of Thailand but “Esaan” sounds pretty authentic- right?  Inclusion in Saveur’s 24 Hours of Thai Food in L.A. sealed the deal- I needed to check this place out.

Sadly, on my first visit I realized the truth.  There is no mistaking Essan for a real taste of Thailand (or even Thai Town.)  It’s a straight up fast casual sandwich and salad place that transforms Thai (and Vietnamese) dishes into yuppified lunches that would be deemed acceptable by the Downtown L.A. lunch crowd.   Case in point?  The “Pad Thai Salad”, a salad featuring “classic pad thai ingredients” tossed with spaghetti (yes, you read that right.)   It could easily be considered an abomination, except for one thing.  I kind of loved it.

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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 Doah, a law student who wants to brainstorm ways to get the Famous Halal Cart from NYC to come to Los Angeles.

Name: Doah

Age: 27

Occupation: Law student and recreational food-blogger

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Little Tokyo and Pasadena

Favorite Kind of Food: I hate this question mainly ’cause it’s impossible to give a straight and simple answer… but in a nutshell: Korean, Mexican (but not really Korean-Mexican), Japanese, Mediterranean, and Thai (in that order).

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything overly sweet, raw onions, and egg yolk w/ an exception for excellent Eggs Benedict.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Little Tokyo/ DTLA: Chirashi bowl from Sushi Gen (422 E 2nd St); ramen and shredded pork bowl from Daikokuya (327 E 1st St ); carne asada tacos from Tacos Tumbras a Tomas (in Grand Central Market). Pasadena: “The Sandwich” from Roma Italian Deli (918 N Lake Ave); beef & lamb kebabs from Mediterranean Cafe (273 Shoppers Ln); and the Angus Burger from Green Street Tavern (69 W Green St).

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