Midtown Lunch

Back in July the Westside was cautiously optimistic extremely excited about the opening of 101 Noodle Express in the Fox Hills Mall (sic). The original branch has been on JGold’s essential restaurants list for 5 of the past 6 years, and to be able to get their beef rolls without driving to the SGV is good news for those of us who live and work west of La Cienega. Of course excitement quickly turned to indifference when the branch turned out to be less than essential. The beef rolls are there, and pretty delicious (if you’ve never had the original) but too much other food court nonsense (and a menu in obvious flux) kept anybody from declaring it a worthy replacement of the original.

Well, I was back at the mall again last week doing some holiday shopping and it looks like they have finally settled on a menu, and are offering 15% off to celebrate their official “Grand Opening”. The changes are shocking but inevitable in equal measure… and let’s just say, there’s good news, bad news and more good news.

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When the craving for Thai food hits, those who aren’t satisfied by pad thai and yellow curry alone will usually make the trek into Thai Town for the real deal.  Boat noodles at Pa Ord, jade noodles from Sapp, crispy catfish from Ganda, khao soi from Spicy BBQ or Pailin, and crispy pork w/ morning glory from Ruen Pair are the kinds of things that aren’t as easily found west of Highland.  But what happens if you live or work on the Westside, and those cravings hit at a time when you can’t make the 30 minute drive East?  There are plenty of Thai restaurants to choose from, dotting the landscape along Venice, Robertson, and Lincoln.  And a few of those places might make your favorite prik king.  Or massaman curry.  Or pad thai.  But when Natalee Thai is the best Thai food in your neighborhood, there might be a little room for improvement.

Enter the newly open Moo Moo Thai Cafe on Sepulveda and Venice.

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Last month’s lunch at the Bill Esparza approved Gish Bac on Washington near Crenshaw gave me a serious craving for mole.  Ordering mole in L.A. is always a crapshoot, but Gish Bac’s red and black versions are everything you hope for when you go all in on a new place.  Thick, complex, fragrant… it’s the kind of sauce that sticks with you for awhile, giving you hope that greatness might, just might, be found in any old Oaxacan place in any part of the city.  And it was that optimism that brought me into El Jacalito, a tiny little joint on Washington near Centinela in Culver City.

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People ask me all the time why Midtown Lunch is limited to under $10 lunches.  The answer I usually give is this: because the original goal for this site was to be a resource for people looking for something a bit more interesting out of their everyday lunches.  Not business lunches with the boss.  Not birthday party lunches for your spouse or co-workers. But a cheap lunch that could replace those cop-out meals that tons of people rely on daily- from Chipotle, California Pizza Kitchen, and {insert boring salad place here} every single day.

Sure I’ll make the occasional exception for the $11 all you can eat buffet, and once you add tax and tip a ton of the lunches I love come out to more than $10. But the rule speaks more to the heart and soul of a place than to a hard $$$ amount.  I guess what I’m saying is I will make exceptions for the extraordinary deal.  One that hits you instantly in the gut, while your brain simultaneously tries to figure out how a restaurant can stay in business and still charge these prices. Libra- a Churrascaria in Culver City- is one of those places, offering a meal which would cost $25-35+ anywhere else in L.A., for just $15.  And did I mention it’s all you can eat?

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If you live or work in the Culver City/Palms area (or spend as much time at Scoops Westside as I do) finding lunch around Overland and Venice has become a constant mission. After all, one cannot live off ice cream and Intelligentsia coffee alone (although a few people I know are certainly trying).  If you’re in the mood for Indian, there are a ton of options.  Mexican?  It’s Angelica’s Cemita truck FTW. Indonesian?  Simpang Asia is right around the corner. And I’ll be very excited when the Westside Food Truck Central lot opens back up.

But what about Japanese food?  Yamadaya just opened on Sepulveda and Washington, but what about sushi?  Finding decent sushi for under $10 is practically impossible, but when paired up with some cheaper items in lunchtime bento box form it becomes a bit easier. And when I heard that Sushi Central (on Overland & Palms) does exactly that, for only $9.95 I got pretty excited.

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My dearest Santouka,

We had a nice run, but I’ve met somebody else.

Love,
This Fat Guy.

After months of construction, and weeks of countdown signs with questionable math, Ramen Yamadaya finally opened their doors on Washington & Sepulveda on Saturday. A Torrance transplant, with the highest endorsement there is in the ramen world, the excitement for Yamadaya has been pretty intense- even though the westside is not the ramen deprived wasteland of, say, the pre-Jinya valley.  After all, while some ramen snobs get positively burger’ish about the best bowl noodles in Southern California, most people choose their ramen spots by location.  If you’re Downtown, and have a lot of time on your hands, you go to Daikokuya. Mid City? Robata Jinya.  The Valley? Ramen Jinya. Westside has always been owned by Santouka. And if you live in Torrence you go to- oh, who am I kidding. If you live in Torrence, you’re not reading what a short fat Jewish guy thinks about pork bone ramen.

In other words, I’m not here to proclaim Yamadaya the greatest bowl of ramen in the entire universe. Better than this. Better than that. (I’ll leave that to the experts.) But, as a resident of Culver City, and a lover of tonkotsu ramen, I can safely say that it was good enough on day 4 to (easily) be in consideration for go-to ramen king of the Westside.

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When Grub Street reported back in September that a place called Thai Market had opened on Venice and Sepulveda, I got pretty pumped.  Not only was the place going to be an actual Thai market, where dry and fresh Thai ingredients could be purchased, but it was also going to feature a “selection of very low-cost traditional dishes made in the kitchen and left heated at a counter up front”.  Because as much as I love Thai Town, how could I not be excited by the possibility of having decent (read: authentic) Thai food on the westside.  (Sorry Natalee Thai… you just don’t cut it.)

Sadly the Department of Health made it over there before I did, and they were forced to close down and renovate the space before they could serve hot food.  (I’m guessing hoping it was just a permit issue?)  Anyway, after months of waiting it appears as if they finally have the hot food bar back up and running and-brace yourself- it’s 3 items for just $5.

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