Midtown Lunch

Photo courtesy of Blondie & Brownie

You may or may not have heard that one of New York’s more famous food trucks is paying a visit to L.A. next week, and you’d be forgiven for shrugging your shoulders and wondering whether or not you should care. After all the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck admits to serving just “plain old soft serve” that happens to be topped with fancy pants toppings (like olive oil and sriracha.) When they first launched in NYC, I didn’t initially buy into the hype… that is, until I tried their “Salty Pimp”, a chocolate dipped sea salt sprinkled cone with dulce de leche piped into the vanilla soft serve. One bite and I realized why these guys are a favorite of Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern and pretty much all of New York. And next week we get a chance to check it out, presumably as they test the waters for a possible west coast branch of Big Gay Ice Cream. Should you go check out the BGICT? Definitely.

Want to hit them up during your lunch break?  We’ve posted their schedule after the jump, along with some lunch suggestions within walking distance of each spot…

10/23 TUESDAY

Where They’ll Be: 2:00-5:00pm Duff’s Cake Mix (8302 Melrose Avenue @ N. Sweetzer Ave, LA CA)
Where to Eat: Ink.Sack

If somebody says, “I’m going to be on Melrose between La Cienega and Crescent Heights, where should I get lunch” there is only one acceptable answer.  Urth Caffe.  I KID! I KID!  How can you not stop by Michael Voltaggio’s amazing sandwich annex? Not just because the sandwiches are delicious, but the prices are decidedly non-gougetastic.  And they have some great cold brew ice coffee that will go real nice with a Big Gay Ice Cream cone.

10/24 WEDNESDAY

Photo courtesy of Ultraclay

Where They’ll Be: 11:30am-2:30pm Yahoo! Center (Broadway & 26th St, Santa Monica CA)
Where to Eat: KOGI Truck

Well this is an easy one.  BGICT will be teaming up with KOGI for some of their stops, the first of which will be lunchtime on Wednesday.  Korean spicy pork taco followed by a choinkwich?  It’s a pork lovers dream lunch.

10/25 THURSDAY

Where They’ll Be: 12:00-4:00pm World of Wonder Productions (6650 Hollywood Blvd @ N. Cherokee Ave, Hollywood)
Where To Eat: Urban Masala

This newish Indian steam table joint doesn’t serve the great saag paneer you’ve ever eaten, but their fresh baked naan (which you can watch cook up in the window) makes anything you order worthwhile, like their naan rolls.

10/26 FRIDAY

Where They’ll Be: 2:00-5:00pm Duff’s Cake Mix (8302 Melrose Avenue @ N. Sweetzer Ave, LA CA)
Where To Eat: Vito’s

Ink.Sack again?  It’s tempting… and probably where I’d end up.  (Any excuse.)  But if you’re looking to switch things up a bit on your second visit to this neighborhood for the BGICT, and trust me… if you work in the area you’ll be back, you could make it an all NYC lunch with some pizza at Vito’s.  It’s a little bit farther than Ink.Sack, requiring you to drive a bit extra or stop on your way to Cakemix, but that white pie is totally worth it.

For the Big Gay Ice Cream truck’s night and weekend schedule, check their website: http://biggayicecream.com/