Bento Man Is Here — Isn’t What Little Tokyo Needs a Place That Makes Bentos?

Little Tokyo has been deprived for decades of the one thing its traditionally Japanese clientele has craved . . . Japanese food for lunch. What a cruel twist of fate that in a place famous for sushi bars, Karaoke, and handmade mochi would not contain a single lacquered wood compartmentalized box that could hold rice, teriyaki, and/or tempura.

Well, wipe away those tears, Little Tokyo, because Bento Man is coming.

* UPDATE *

1) Bento Man is open.
2) Uh, this is embarrassing. I didn’t notice that this is taking the place of La Chicken. So, no more Lexus chicken. Hopefully, these bentos will taste like Lexus.
3) interior pictures below

TJFLR – Bibimbap Bowl – Fine If You’ve Never Had BBB

Trader Joe’s is admirably taking on the task of mass-marketing niche ethnic foods for the middle class market of captive desk lunchers. Unfortunately, they are doing so with a supply chain that does not seem to cross streams at all with the ethnic foods they are trying to mimic.

Mimic is probably the right word to describe TJ’s frozen Bibimbap Bowl. Ubiquitous at Korean restaurants, every family has their own spin on BBB since you can throw almost any veg in it. Correction: any KOREAN-seasoned veggies. TJ’s version tastes like someone had read about BBB in an old book, was trapped in a Midwest grocery store, and this was their best effort considering they had never tasted gochujang.

TJFLR – Stacked Eggplant Parmesan

For this week’s Trader Joe’s Frozen Lunch Review, we tackle the stacked eggplant parm. When you’re trapped at your desk under a pile of work (or hiding from your unfriendly coworkers) and you want a slice of old-school, red sauce Italian, maybe you’ll want to give the stacked parm a whirl.

I love the sprig of fresh rosemary and dusting of Parmesan cheese in the picture. See how true the picture is to real life after the jump.

Simply Salad – Let the Court Staff Eat Salad!

Simply Salad just opened its second location in downtown LA, bringing a quick, fast, light lunch to an area heavy on good food but light on this kind of thing. Across the street from Pete’s Bar and Grill, home of a decadent blue cheese mac and cheese and a frequent lunch spot for police chief Charlie Beck, and near Baco Mercat, Bar Ama, Blossom, and Big Man Bakes. There’s a lot of good stuff there, but not a lot for those still sticking out new year’s resolutions.

R.I.P. Curry House To Go

Farewell, Curry House To Go, farewell.

Regular old Curry House upstairs is still open.

Xlixe Pizza – Dumb Name, Pretty Good Pizza

Xlixe is the year-or-so-old pizzeria that brought actual pizza to Little Tokyo. Since we talked about Mr. Pizza yesterday, let’s talk about a Korean-American place that puts non-traditional stuff on their pies.

The Spice Table – a Eulogy for a Great Lunch

It’s now been a couple months since the Spice Table stopped it’s lunch service. Finally, my tears have dried enough for me put thumb to phone to write out this eulogy to a fallen hero – Spice Table’s bahn mi lunch.

Aloha Cafe – At Least This Greasy Spoon Is Cheap

A longtime staple of the Little Tokyo community, the Aloha Cafe is your only opportunity to relive your Hawaiian plate lunch dreams in downtown (other than pricey Roy’s). Could their lunch combo waft island breezes into my life?