The Lunch Rotation (October '26)

I’ve decided against counting delivery as a New Thing. One of the main goals of the 500 New Things Challenge is to get me out of the apartment so it doesn’t make sense to count something that I never leave home for. Still, I haven’t been writing and need some content so why not start building my lunch rotation for DTLA. I’ll add to this as time goes on but right now it seems to be:

AMBOY QUALITY MEATS (CHINATOWN)
Amboy is a great burger and fries spot and my favorite burger in the area.

PRIME PIZZA (LITTLE TOKYO)
There’s nothing that stands out to me about Prime Pizza but it’s a good slice and it’s pretty much down the street from me so it’s a quick and easy go to. It also helps that it might be my favorite slice in DTLA.

THE CHOW MEIN GUY (LITTLE TOKYO)
Having grown up on fake Chinese food aka East Coast “Szechuan” Chinese food (RIP CHINA BLOSSOM IN NORTH ANDOVER!), I still haven’t found a Chinese place that I love - Chi Dynasty in Los Feliz is probably my #1 but it’s too far to order from - so my go to has been a food truck that’s on 2nd street in between Central and San Pedro. For around 15 bucks (20 bucks if you add on shrimp), you get enough chow mein for a lunch and then breakfast the next day. I think the spicy option is almost a perfect level of heat for me - you can feel it but it’s not overpowering.

CALIFORNIA CHICKEN CAFE (DTLA)
The bachelor special - you get a full chicken and four pitas with mashed potatoes and you have lunch and leftovers that can cover you most of the next day.

CHICK-FIL-A (DTLA)
Ah, I just can’t quit you, you homophobic chicken, you! It’s a good spicy chicken sandwich!

FTW (GRAND CENTRAL MARKET)
A solid burger joint. I prefer Amboy but GCM is in walking distance of my apartment and it’s a good alternative.