Lunch All Over Downtown LA

This weekend was fantastic weather wise in Los Angeles. If it could be in the 60s and slightly overcast the majority of the time I would love it. Does such a place exist?

Speaking of weather, H and I were talking over lunch yesterday and tried to pinpoint our weather issues. We admit to smiling and smirking while we walked along the sidewalk without jackets in the middle of January, it’s pretty awesome. I think the thing getting to us is the stretch of 9 months straight were it’s sunny and hot everyday. From March until November there is little to no variation in the daily forecast and it remains an odd thing to those of us used to experiencing seasons.

In the last seven days we have ate everywhere suggested by LA Lola at the last dog walk we attended. I have to give some credit to our neighbors down the hall who also suggested some places recently but Lola was the first to spring a few places on us and we’ve been making the rounds.

Last Monday we had lunch at the Eastside Market Italian Deli. This was the first time in a long time the two of us were able to enjoy lunch for under $20 here in Los Angeles. Let me begin and end by saying the portions/sandwiches are HUGE. Apparently on Tuesday and Thursday they serve a pasta dish and I’d love to swing by and check it out.

Tuna Sandwich

Meatball Sandwich

Before running out to Target in Glendale on Saturday we stopped in at Ma Petit. Located in the lobby of the Douglas building, Ma Petit is another one of those places where you get great food at a price that isn’t going to kill your budget (although I get the feeling most people here don’t subscribe to such things). The place is very well decorated and quite large. On this particular Saturday there was maybe a half-dozen people in there not including us but the cashier said they are much busier during the weekdays with the business lunch crowd. The food was excellent and it’s definitely a place we will check out again. It’s too bad there isn’t much going on in the area though … the coffee shop next door isn’t open on weekends, there is a vacant lot across the street and foot traffic consisted mostly of the homeless. 

Yesterday we sat down for French dipped sandwiches at Philippe’s. Once again it was fun not to fork over $30 for lunch (this one was less than twenty) … Philippe’s is revered by most in Los Angeles and this fact was evident when we walked in to see the lines 10-12 deep. Everyone has been going on and on about the beef dipped sandwiches here so of course we had to try them, and it turns out they are pretty good. We didn’t have our camera but they take a french roll and throw some beef that’s been dunked in au jus. Our Midwest readers are immediately thinking this is simply an Italian beef and for all intensive purposes it is with a few exceptions: the bread is smaller, there is not nearly as much beef and the beef itself is not as flavorful. Having said that I really enjoyed lunch and would head back again in a heartbeat.

 It’s a change to find some lunch places that won’t cost you $30 or more a couple here in downtown Los Angeles. I like a nice lunch as much as the next guy but sometimes good food should be cheap and easy and in these three places we found recently you get just that.