Midtown Lunch

As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Steven, an artist who claims he has eaten the best falafel in L.A. and it is in Santa Monica…

Name: Steven

Age: 34

Occupation: Artist

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Self employed in Santa Monica

Favorite Kind of Food: Good

Least Favorite Kind of Food: packaged in styrofoam

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Tacos Por Favor (1406 Olympic Blvd) for their cemita poblana (it’s like a torta, but way better) and their spinach burrito (which also features guacamole and black beans, and is surprisingly good and possibly healthy). Cha Cha Chicken (1906 Ocean Blvd) for their jerk chicken enchiladas and beach proximity. Bay Cities (1517 Lincoln Blvd.) when I’m really in the mood to stand on a line. (I know, I should order online, but I never do.) Hungry Pocket (1715 Pico Blvd) has the best falafel I’ve found in LA. And Border Grill (1445 4th St) has really good upscale Mexican-ish food, and some pretty good lunch specials. Finally, Chez Jay (1657 Ocean Ave.) for those days when lunch is best defined as a steak and a scotch in a dimly lit dive with peanut shells on the floor.

Read more »

As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week we’re excited to have Lindsay from LAist, who is presumably sitting on her couch in her PJs right now, hoping for a good reuben rec!

Name: Lindsay

Age: 33

Occupation: Co-Editor, LAist

Where in L.A. do you Work?: We have a virtual office, so I work wherever there’s a seat, my laptop, and the internet. Mostly that’s in my bunny slippers in my living room, which is in North Hollywood.

Favorite Kind of Food: Sushi, my Nana’s sandwiches, birthday cake, anything shared with friends or family, cheese, the Legendary Platter at The White Spot

Least Favorite Kind of Food: I’m working on overcoming an aversion to the boiled eggs that come in many Asian dishes. I also (don’t send hate mail) dislike tamales. I try to avoid restaurants where they don’t make the food on-site themselves mostly from scratch; if there’s a giant freight truck dropping off pallets of plastic-wrapped stuff or the word “Factory” is in the restaurant’s name, I’m running the other way.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: As the former (and currently de facto) food editor of LAist I’m so lucky that some days it’s my job to go to lunch! This also means, though, that I rarely go to the same place multiple times because I’m always trying something new. I love lunching at higher-end restaurants like Eva or Hatfiled’s where they offer beautiful and reasonably-priced three-course prix fixe lunches. My brain explodes during dineLA weeks because suddenly there are 3 course lunches everywhere. It’s a beautiful thing. Other faves: The burger and a cheese plate at Cube (615 N. La Brea, Mid City); tacos at Tinga (142 S. La Brea, Mid City); the seasonal pizza at Pitfire Pizza (Multiple Locations); anything Jazz brings me at Jitlada with a giant Thai iced coffee on the side to tame the spice; ham and cheese empanadas and the dulce de leche pastries my boyfriend gets us from an Argentinian market he loves; truffle fries from the Grill ‘Em All Truck; any sandwich from Auntie Em’s (4616 Eagle Rock Blvd, Eagle Rock); Quarter White Chicken plate with extra garlic sauce from Zankou (Multiple Locations); Butterscotch budino from Mozza (what, that’s not “lunch”?).

Read more »

As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Brandon, a new media talent agent in WeHo looking for some good Italian rice balls.

Name: Brandon

Age: 27

Occupation: New Media Talent Agent

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Abrams Artists Agency, Sunset Strip

Favorite Kind of Food: TACOS

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Not necessarily a food, but I HATE, no, ABHOR sauces: mustard, mayonaise, relish, and ketchup (the most foul thing on Earth).

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Bento Box B w/ Grilled Black Cod at Ajisai (809 Palm Ave), Ramen at Take Sushi (8866 W Sunset Blvd), Chicken Shawarma at Pi on Sunset (8828 Sunset Blvd), Slice of Pizza at Frankie & Johnnie’s (8947 W Sunset Blvd)

Read more »

As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Rachael, a chick with a knife looking for the best falafel in L.A.

Name: Rachael

Occupation: I’m ½ of Chicks with Knives – we do lots of things but are known for our roaming supper club. We’re also launching PERISHABLE: A Pop-Up Pickle Shop this week. The first incarnation will be on Sept. 12th at Starry Kitchen. We’ll be selling pickles and doing a pickling demonstration. We’re super excited. It’s gonna be fun!

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Mid City

Favorite Kind of Food: For a specific dish, it’s a three way tie: Falafel, Fish Tacos or Moules-Frites. More generally, I just like to eat fresh, seasonal food.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Potatoes baked in foil. Shudder.

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Ooh. Let’s see…I love the Moules-Frites at Comme Ca (8479 Melrose Ave, WeHo), Hungry Cat (1535 Vine St, Hollywood) and Café Stella (3932 W Sunset Blvd, Silver Lake). Fish tacos from Tacos Baja Ensenda (5385 Whittier Blvd, East L.A.), El Siete Mares (2729 E Cesar Chavez Ave, Boyle Heights), Cactus Mexican Food Number 2 (4370 Beverly Blvd, Hollywood) and of course Ricky’s Fish Tacos (1400 Virgil, Hollywood). (Though truth be told, Suzanne, the other “Chick” makes the best fish tacos imaginable.)

Read more »

As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Julie, a freelance writer who is looking for some good Asian food without having to drive to the SGV…

Name: Julie

Age: 42

Occupation: Freelance writer (Cool Hunting, Official Guide LA, IGN… and I am the Lifestyle Editor at LAist) and arts educator

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Home office, out and about covering stories, and I teach classes for the Virginia Avenue Project at the Police Activities League in Santa Monica

Favorite Kind of Food: Japanese

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Giant nondescript salads covered in bland chicken breast slices

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Falafel at Pita Bar & Grill (519 N Fairfax Ave), burgers at Golden State (426 N Fairfax Ave), shrimp tacos at Loteria (in the Farmer’s Market), simmered pork and shiba ebi at Ita-Cho (7311 Beverly Blvd), salads & soup at Cube (615 N La Brea Ave), salami and manchego sandwiches at Larchmont Village Wine (223 N Larchmont Blvd), pureed fennel soup at Cafe Midi (148 S La Brea Ave), Morning Glory salad at Jitlada (5233 W Sunset Blvd), and The Corner Place (2819 James M Wood Blvd, Koreatown) for BBQ and cold noodles. Some days for a splurge I go to Angelini Osteria (7313 Beverly Blvd) for nona’s lasagna and octopus salad or have pizza and sweets at Mozza (641 N Highland Ave). The days I have meetings downtown I love the Brazilian plate with fish at Wood Spoon (107 W 9th St), sushi at Sushi Gen (422 E 2nd St), and everything on the menu at Starry Kitchen (350 S. Grand). Lately my favorite ultimate splurge lunch spot is having crudo, pasta, and salads at Culina (300 South Doheny Drive) in Beverly Hills. For the days I work in Santa Monica, my classroom is across the street from a Tacos Por Favor (1406 Olympic Blvd).

Read more »

As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Betty, an L.A. Times food writer who wishes she worked in Tokyo… but has found a ton of amazing lunches in Little Tokyo.

Name: Betty

Age: 39

Occupation: Editor

Where in L.A. do you Work?: The Los Angeles Times, Downtown

Favorite Kind of Food: Japanese (sushi in particular), Chinese, Italian, Eastern Mediterranean, Mexican

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Bad bread

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: The Times building is at 2nd and Spring and if I go up the hill, I’ll take the Angel’s Flight funicular to Mendocino Farms for pork belly banh mi or a pork rib sandwich. Or to Starry Kitchen for any of its specials (Japanese meatball curry, “nom nom” pork, etc.) as a lunch plate with special rice (I like the coconut rice). If I walk to Little Tokyo, lately it’s for Koshiji (123 Onizuka St) for yakitori (the yakitori is juicy). Or Daikokuya for hiyashi-chuka (cold ramen salad), especially when it’s hot out (and if the line isn’t too long), or tsukemen (the broth comes separate from the noodles and you dip them into the bowl – I like the sort of DIY experience of it). Mr. Ramen (341 E 1st St) for the tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) bento with cold tofu (also, their chashu roast pork is really good). Izayoi (132 S Central Ave) is on my list of lunch spots too (croquettes, grilled eggplant, black cod, matsutake soup when it’s in season). Lazy Ox (241 S. San Pedro) for yellowtail with crushed avocado and crispy hash brown. If I have a craving for Hawaiian, then I’ll go to Aloha Café (410 E 2nd St) in Honda Plaza (which is conveniently located a couple doors down from my favorite Little Tokyo bakery, Frances). I like that the breakfast menu (corned beef hash, Hawaiian bread French toast) is served all day. South on Spring Street, the Gorbals used to serve lunch (Persian cucumbers with za’atar and chickpeas, bacon-wrapped matzoh balls) -– sadly, it isn’t open for lunch anymore. And for afternoon coffee, Spring for Coffee (548 S Spring St). On special occasions, Drago Centro to sit at the bar and have some of their fresh pasta, or Water Grill’s raw bar for oysters.

Read more »

As is customary on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a random reader to get their recommendations for the best spots to lunch near their work. This week it’s Heather, a video game archivist (hello dream job!!!) who hates fake food.

Name: Heather

Age: Really? I thought you were a gentleman.

Occupation: Creative Development Historian (Archivist)

Where in L.A. do you Work?: Activision, 31st & Ocean Park in Santa Monica

Favorite Kind of Food: Fresh. I can’t commit to any particular cuisine, but noted that most of my favorites are only edible when fresh. Caprese salad, Sushi, New England Clam Bake (lobsters, clams, corn on the cob- best if everything was in its natural habitat of field or sea when the sun rose that day), Grass fed burgers w garden tomatoes, Farm Fresh eggs in a crepe with ham & cheese.

Least Favorite Kind of Food: Anything that requires a loophole legal term gives me the creeps: “cheese product”, “juice drink” “chicken by-product” “frozen dairy desert”

Favorite Place(s) to Eat Lunch: Border Grill Food Truck (Check twitter for location): They don’t come by often enough! Cerviche from a truck?!?! I know…this is the only truck I trust for that & it is awesome. The tacos are divine. Mrs. Winston’s (3150 Ocean Park Blvd): I was blown away the first time I saw their salad bar- it is extensive, fresh and clean. This isn’t your NYC bodega salad bar (no ambrosia, no mayo carrot salad, no bugs). You pay for what you get however- even careful salad artists can easily spend $12-$15. It is nearly impossible to spend less than $7. Zabies (3003 Ocean Park Blvd): Steak salad, chicken chopped salad, homemade soups. Takeout is recommended- their service sometimes makes me angry. The Counter: Build-a-Burger with sweet potato and shoe string fries (fav burger: swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions on a bed of mixed greens.)

Read more »