Midtown Lunch

For lunch purposes I have a love hate relationship with sushi.  On one hand I don’t feel like anybody should ever have to spend more than $10 for lunch.  On the other hand, oftentimes (though not always) you get what you pay for- and that tenet is never more true than it is with sushi.  It is practically impossible to get a filling sushi lunch for under $10 (the keyword is filling), and when we do find one- it’s usually the kind of place that makes people cringe.  (Like New York City sushi from a drugstore.  Or a 99 Cent Store.)

So, naturally, when I moved to Los Angeles fans of the site (here and in NYC) wanted me to continue the Midtown Lunch tradition of sushi “bravery”.  And here that means eating sushi from a truck!

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Photo courtesy of Nomsnotbombs

• DOWNTOWN The Pad Thai at Thai Corner is actually good [NomsNotBombs]
• DOWNTOWN Charcoal Grill is the Pitfire of Mexican food [Daily Dish]
• MID CITY Poquito Mas vet just opened a great new taco joint [Eat: LA]
• MID CITY Hello $9 all you can eat Ethiopian buffet! [Exile Kiss]
• MARINA DEL RAY Mendocino Farms is opening on Thursday! [Eater]
• CULVER CITY Skratch has been replaced by the decent Choppe Choppe [E*star LA]
• MOBILE The parade of new truck openings continues [Grub Street]

I was pretty excited to read about the downtown Chinese-food-over-eggs breakfast/lunch staple Uncle John’s Ham & Eggs (and the soon to open Uncle John’s Cafe) on Dig Lounge last week.  Sadly, when I headed over yesterday to try their infamous Chinese roast pork over eggs I was greeted by a shuttered gate and this incredibly disappointing sign.  (Cue overhead shot with me yelling “Nooooooooooooooo!”)  I guess the saving grace is that Uncle John’s Cafe will (supposedly) be opening a week from Monday on S. Grand btw. 8+9th.

In the meantime you can head around the corner to the terrible (but oh so loveable) Chu’s Chinese Kitchen, or do what we did… get in your car and drive to Starry Kitchen in the water court (validated parking in the lot on Olive btw. 3+4th).  Today is the last day for their crunchy egg roll wrapper stuffed nom nom pork wrap.  (Yes, you read that right.)

I found it hard to mask my disappointment when I tried the Reggae Jerk Chicken truck for the first time last month.  I was hoping for some real, down home Jamaican food from a truck (think: oxtails, stew peas, curry goat, and jerk chicken on the bone).  Instead, I was treated to a mall food court version Carribean food; boneless chicken chunks, covered in some sort of sweet sauce, served atop a white rice and black bean mixture.  I salvaged the meal by stuffing plantains into a jerk chicken burrito, but my quest for real Jamaican food from a truck was not satisfied… until yesterday, when I stumbled upon the one week old Kassava Truck on Miracle Mile.

That’s right!  A… new… truck.  (Actually, trucks. There are two of them.) What a shocker.  But before you roll your eyes and exclaim to the heavens “will this insanity ever end?!”, let me just say this: I stuffed my face at this truck yesterday (as a regular customer, not at some kind of “blogger preview”), and it was hands down one of the best meals from a truck I’ve had since moving to L.A. (especially if you like oxtail and goat.)

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When I first read about Deli Bar on Thrillist a few weeks ago, I was mildly intrigued.  I’m not usually down with “hip” new lunch spots, that do a “new” take on grilled chicken sandwiches and salads topped with grilled chicken… but Deli Bar arose out of the Fairfax/Mid-City ashes of a high end Moroccan restaurant (Chameau) and sounded interesting enough for a looksee.

My terrible first taste, and how a french fry stuffed sandwich came to the rescue… is after the jump.

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