Midtown Lunch

Little Osaka is dead! Long live Sawtelle Japantown, the new City Council approved designation of the ramen and sushi filled strip of West L.A. between Olympic and Santa Monica.  But while the name Japantown is a great homage to the roots of the neighborhood, it doesn’t really do justice to the geographic variety of foodstuff that’s popped up in the past few years.  We’re talking soup dumplings (ROC), pho (Nong La), Korean flavored sausages and rice balls (Seoul Sausage), pizza (Slice Truck), burgers (Plan Check, Bachi Burger), and Korean tofu stew (Seoul House), all of which will make you think twice about waiting on that line for Tsujita.  Even prepared foods chain Lemonade has a branch opening on the street this week.

But the most exiting new arrival is Kitchen Story, a Korean street snack specialist that took over the old Hong Kong Cafe space.

Chose between fried chicken, soups, Korean sushi rolls (kimbap), and kimchi fried rice.  Or don’t.  Practically everything on the menu is under $10, making it easy to mix and match or share a bunch of stuff with a small group.

There’s also Korean oden (skewered gigantic flaps of fish cake served in broth) and the sweet and spicy Korean rice cakes known as dukkboki.  There’s also the packaged Shin ramen that is a staple at Korean spots like this.  You say you like the cold Korean noodle salad japchae?  You’ll be pretty excited by the selection of banchan.  Most importantly, all of it is as good as any of the versions of the same food you’ll get in Koreatown for the same price.  Will the line ever get to Tsujita length?  Let’s hope not.

Kitchen Story, 2129 Sawtelle Blvd. 310-444-9955