Midtown Lunch

Rice Cakes and Blood Sausage from Jang Tou Bossam. Photo by Food GPS

• DTLA Congrats to Spice Table on their 1 year anniversary… [Squid Ink]
• DTLA … hope they won’t have to move! [LADN via Grub Street]
• HWOOD Fukuburger has added a falafel burger to the menu [Eater]
• KTOWN Jang Tou Bossam has a $10 dukkboki/soodae combo [Food GPS]
• KTOWN This goat stew looks worth the splurge! [Gastronomy]
• LIST Vietnamese Food Flowchart: Where to go for Pho & Banh Mi [Squid Ink]

I don’t hate chicken, but I do reserve the right to hate L.A.’s obsession with chicken. I’ve never met so many people who love chicken, or (the horror) will only eat chicken. Fat man cannot live on chicken alone (unless it’s deep fried, covered in garlic sauce, or sauteed with french fries.) Ok, so maybe hate is a strong word.  I don’t hate chickenterians, some of my best friends are chickentarians. I just like to make fun of them for missing out on all the joys of beef, lamb, seafood, goat (yes goat!), and of course pork.  So if the future me had told the past me that I would end up eating at a place called Chicken Lady Cafe, a catering specialist in the shadow of the Beverly Center, and love it, the old me would have proactively punched the new me in the face.

Chicken Lady Cafe?  Catering?  The Beverly Center?  How did this happen?  I’ll tell you how it happened.  Chicken. Fingers.

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Since I moved here from NYC two years ago I’ve been on the hunt for a replacement for my beloved Jamaican Dutchy, the Midtown cart that introduced me to the wonders of jerk chicken, curry goat, and most importantly stew peas.  The Kassava Truck was good while it lasted (it’s gone now), but I still can’t bring myself to go to their restaurant- mostly because it’s too expensive for ML purposes, but also because a little part of me is sure that great Jamaican food is not going to be found in the shadow of the Beverly Center.  Nope- for that your best bet is to head to Mid City where Carribbean restaurants dot Washington and Pico in a way that makes you wonder when the “Little Kingston” sign is going up.

Natraliart is the go to favorite in the neighborhood, but I was a bit underwhelmed on my one visit.  And it’s a bit too expensive.  So when Lunch’er Garrett pointed out this quick little mention of Kaboom on the blog Food GPS I was intrigued.  When I saw their prices, I was downright excited.

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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 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]