Midtown Lunch

If there is a better work day lunchtime set up than the mall food court, I haven’t seen it.  What other place can you go with your co-workers (or family for that matter) and everybody be able to get what they want.  You’re in the mood for a turkey sandwich but I want shitty Chinese food?  Food court can make it happen.  You want a salad, but I’m in the mood for- oh who am I kidding.  I always want the shitty Chinese food.  Point is, food courts have got something for everybody.

Recently food courts have taken to looking outside the standard fast food joint model that has dominated the scene for decades.  The Westfield mall in Century City is well known for their upscale food court, which features a number of interesting and kind of upscale options.  And I’ve explored the hidden mysteries of the Santa Monica Place food court.  But nothing could adequately prepare me for the announcement that 101 Noodle Express, the San Gabriel Valley institution famous for their beef rolls, was now open in the Fox Hills Mall Westfield Mall Culver City.  Could this be the Chinese food savior the westside has been praying for?

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Last year I conducted a taco showdown on Culver Blvd. between Inglewood and Centinela that pitted three Westside goto taco places against each other.  Pepe’s Tacos fared well against Tacomiendo and Taqueria Sanchez, but there was something I had neglected to notice about this small (but pretty popular) lunchtime taco destination on Centinela:  they serve carne asada fries. Here’s where I admit that despite my public love for stuffing french fries in burritos, I have never actually eaten lunch in San Diego, a city that seems to be obsessed with combining their Mexican food with fried potatoes (hence, carne asada fries).

So when a friend told me that I could get a great version of this San Diego classic at Pepe’s Tacos I was pretty excited- despite having no idea what exactly carne asada fries are.  Spoiler Alert: There as great as they sound.

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So many great food neighborhoods in Los Angeles have become better known by the food they sell, than anything else. You’ve got Chinatown, Thai Town, Koreatown, Little Tokyo… I could keep going. And I’m starting to think that we should lobby to have the stretch of Venice and Washington between the 405 and Sepulveda renamed Little Kashmir. Seriously, if you love amazing Indian or Pakistani food, you’re vegetarian (or not) there is no better place to go in all of Southern California. Bawarchi, with it’s intensely proud chef, edges out the always solid Samosa House, Samosa House East and India Sweets and Spices for vegetarian steam table supremacy. The completely off the beaten path, open during weird times, Zam Zam Market makes the best biryani and tandoori chicken I have ever tasted. And all you can eat buffets? Mayura has you covered with a decent $10 buffet that rocks a good mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

But after trying Annapurna’s lunchtime buffet (a few blocks east on Venice), Mayura will likely be relegated to a dinner time only spot.

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If you live and/or work in Culver City you’ve likely noticed the new Westside Food Truck Central lot on Washington and Culver.  In fact it’s become such a popular lunchtime destination that they’ve extended their lunchtime schedule to 5 days a week, 11am to 2:30pm (they also have trucks out there for dinner on Mondays and Wednesdays.)   I’m a huge fan, and whenever I’m in the mood for some gourmet food truck action, near where I live, I now know where to go without even checking twitter (although they do have a twitter account to let you know their daily schedule.)  But that’s not the only place for a truck lunch in the area, and if old school loncheros is more your thing  it turns out one of the best trucks in the city parks on Venice and Jasmine (right in front of Smart & Final.)

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Ever since moving to Culver City a year ago, I’ve been working my way up the South Asian food totem pole.  I started at India Sweets and Spices, which I thought was pretty amazing- that is until I tried Samosa House and Samosa House East, which were even better.  I followed that up with a visit to Mayura’s all you can eat lunch buffet (for those who want meat) and ended up at what I think is the absolute best Indian food steam table on the westside: Bawarchi (and its infamous chef).  Regardless of which place is your personal favorite, one thing is now undeniable… the Culver City/Palms area has the best Indian food in all of Los Angeles.  And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I found out about Zam Zam Market.

Located on Washington Blvd in Culver City, just East of where Washington splits into two different streets, it would be wrong to call Zam Zam a “hidden” gem.  I live right around the corner from the place and had seen it a ton of times.  The giant “HALAL” sign in the window was particularly intriguing to me (for reasons that should be obvious to anybody who has seen a street food cart in NYC), but the place is never open.  And even if it was, looking in the window didn’t exactly inspire confidence.  It’s not so much a market as just a giant space with a few half empty shelves, a makeshift cooking area behind a counter, half empty drink fridges in the back, and a few tables that always seem to have chairs stacked on top of them. I’d sooner believe it was a front for the Pakistani mafia, or a place for heroin addicts to crash before I would consider it a viable place to get lunch.  That is until Profiled Lunch’er Brandon mentioned that they made the best biryani, tandoori and kebabs “in existence.”  This can’t possibly be true.

And yet…

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Midtown Manhattan has got practically nothing on Los Angeles.  Go through my list of faves, and there is practically nothing I could get in NYC for lunch that I can’t get here. But there is plenty here you’d be hard pressed to find there (good Thai, good Mexican and great Persian food, just to name a few).  But there is one thing I do miss from working all those years in Midtown.  Street meat. Chicken and lamb over rice with white sauce and hot sauce is 100% New York City. The halal food street meat plate was invented on the streets of NYC, and it doesn’t seem to have made it past the city line.

Until now?  While walking through the Westfield Mall in Culver City the other day I couldn’t help but notice somebody eating a styrofoam tray of food that looked suspiciously like street meat!  Could this be the breakthrough we’ve been looking for?  Only one way to find out…

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Gloria’s Salvadorean Special ($9)

If you’re looking for Salvadorean food on the westside, most people will send you to the homey and satisfying Gloria’s Cafe.  Known for their pupusas, green corn tamales, and carnitas, Gloria’s has actually been closed for the past two weeks for renovations to their kitchen.  Well… they re-opened yesterday and will be offering a menu of specials this weekend only- Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Most of them are over $10, but if you work on the westside and are looking for a small splurge, this should be your lunch tomorrow (especially if you’ve never been.)

Check out the menu after the jump…

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