Midtown Lunch

If you are a big fan of lunch (and if you’re reading this site, we can only assume you are) you’ll want to listen to Good Food w/ Evan Kleiman on KCRW this weekend.  The episode is all about lunch, featuring segments about white bread, bento boxes, school lunches and street food.  Plus The Guru talks about a dim sum place in Alhambra, and I give these four recommendations for lunches around town…

• WEHO Talesai [read more]
• WEST LA Tatsu Ramen [read more]
• BEVERLY HILLS U-Sushi [read more]
• NORTH HOLLYWOOD Joe’s Falafel [read more]

The episode airs on Saturday morning at 11am on KCRW (89.9 FM) or you can download the podcast after it airs on the Good Food website.

I don’t know how you feel, but hearing that a place called “Hummus Bar Express” is coming soon to the 3rd Street Promenade does not cause me to automatically celebrate.  We are talking about the Promenade after all, home to such wonderful Mediterranean cuisine as Falafel King.  And Greek Cuisine Stop N Cafe.  I’m not saying the Promenade couldn’t use an excellent Middle Eastern option (only a crazy person would say that!) but I do question what kind of Middle Eastern options the Promenade attracts.  Of course once you add the words “from Tarzana” to the end of the Hummus Bar Express, that changes everything. Tarzana?  That’s in the Valley.  And the Valley has pretty awesome Middle Eastern food.  Santa Monica could sure use some of that.

The question is, how excited should we be for Hummus Bar Express?  Well that depends on how much of the original Hummus Bar & Grill is going to make it down the 405?  They did call it “Express”, which means not everything is going to make the trip.  But here’s what we should be hoping for…

Read more »

Singer/Songwriter Meiko is this week’s guest on Food is the New Rock the weekly podcast I do with Chuck P from KCRW, where we talk to musicians about food and chefs about music. You can download or stream the podcast for free from iTunes, but we also had her share her favorite places to eat lunch in Los Angeles…

Name: Meiko

Occupation: Singer/Songwriter

Favorite Kind of Food: Japanese

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Food that sucks

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Hama Sushi and Daikokuya Ramen in Downtown LA.

The “goto” lunch place you eat at too often? Tomato Pie in Silverlake

Place You Heard of Thanks to Midtown Lunch: Hurry Curry of Tokyo

The farthest place you’ll drive for lunch on a normal day? The Boiling Crab in Alhambra, CA

Dream job location (anywhere in the world), purely for lunch purposes, and why? Japan for the amazing food and people, of course! If anybody knows the best places for sushi in Tokyo, let me know…

Got a rec for Meiko? Put it in the comments. Her album The Bright Side is out now, and she’ll be doing a tour of the west coast in September. And, as always, if you want to be next week’s Profiled: L.A. Lunch’er (or know somebody you’d want to nominate), email me- zach@midtownlunch.com.

Meatball sub from Bay Cities. Photo courtesy of Rachael Narins/Squid Ink

• LISTS Bay Cities and Sorrento’s make 2 of the 10 best meatballs in L.A. [Squid Ink]
• CENTURY CITY Joe’s Pizza is coming to the Westfield Mall (and a food truck) [Grub Street]
• LA BREA A new gourmet taco place called Mondo has opened [Eater;Grub Street]
• LA BREA The Guru explains why we should like Sycamore Kitchen, as only he can [LAT]
• SAMO Tarzana’s Hummus Bar & Grill is coming to the Promenade [TRA]
• WEST LA Clusi Batusi custom pizza should open this week [Eater]

Do you think a person can get eyeball fatigue from rolling their eyes too much?  Because if you can, then I think I do.  And if I had to guess what one thing contributed most to giving me this horrible affliction, it’d have to be food trucks. Of all the things that annoy me about lunching in L.A. (and there are a lot) food trucks reign supreme. It’s not that I hate food trucks, in fact it’s quite the opposite. If I hated them I could just stop going. Problem solved. The issue is I kind of love them, and as the revolving door of bad business decisions food trucks continues to turn round and round I just can’t stop from trying every new one that hits the scene.

My eyes started twitching at the very first site of this new truck.  Pig’s Feet Under?!  Really?  Just what we need, ANOTHER pork-centric food truck.  And if the name wasn’t enough, their website sent my face balls into full rotation:

The Pig’s Feet Under truck was an “oink” of an idea that came about at a food truck festival, of all places! The lack of pork on many of these trucks drove one particular chef nuts- well, more than he usually is anyways. So, he decided to devote a truck to the animal he loves eating so dearly.

Are you kidding with this shit? Flying Pig. Lardon. Bacon Mania.  Somebody needs to tell these guys that the pork wars have already been fought in L.A. and chicken won. This idea isn’t new.  But whatever. Forget about the pork, or the dumb name, or the pork. Also, forget about the dumb name. All you have to know about this truck is that they wrap everything in scallion pancakes…

Read more »

An arepa from Amazonas. Photo by Garrett Snyder/Squid Ink

• KTOWN You can get arepas and patacon at Amazonas Restaurant [Squid Ink]
• KTOWN Rinconcito Guatamalteco looks great [Feed the Monster]
• KTOWN Word is getting out about the Yuk Hwe at Oo Kook [Squid Ink]
• KTOWN Jeon Ju is closed for renovations [Squid Ink]
• SANTA MONICA Abbott’s is now Grey Block Pizza [Unemployed Eater]
• MOBILE Pig’s Feet Under wraps everything in scallion pancakes [Squid Ink]

If you are a fan of ten-don but haven’t been to Hannosuke, the new tempura specialist in the Mar Vista Mitsuwa, what the hell is wrong with you!?  Seriously.  You need to go ASAP.  And if your excuse was “I don’t really like eel or fish” or “I’m a vegetarian”, that’s not going to hold water anymore either because Hannosuke has added two more ten-don bowls to their menu.  One replaces the fish with extra shrimp for $8.95, and one is all vegetables.

Check out the new vegetarian bowl after the jump…

Read more »