Favourite lunch spots for Jury Duty downtown (by Disney Concert Hall)

[chimayo]

I know there are several places around the Criminal Justice Center, but was wondering if some of you have suggestions of places for lunch that will fit within time limits allowed. I haven't served at this courthouse before. Suggestions from others who have would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[LATrapp]

If you are up for a walk, you can make Philippe's:

http://www.philippes.com/

[wienermobile]

I second Philippe's French Dip. A true one of a kind LA classic.

[Jack Flash]

The DASH takes you directly from CCB (and CCH) to within a half-block of Philippe's in about 5 minutes if you're not up for the walk.

[taiwanesesmalleats]

To be specific, jump on the DASH B which goes to Chinatown. Lots of Chinese options if you don't want Philippe's. If you do, get the lamb, double dipped.

[LATrapp]

Agree with the lamb double dipped...and for me, add swiss.

[chimayo]

Thanks for these! I don't know Philippe's but will try it.

[taiwanesesmalleats]

Just be prepared for the shock of the long lines. They move fairly quickly and choose the lines towards the center, those are always shorter.

[HerbyN]

I had a 17 day case on jury duty last october so i pretty much tried everything in that area. Philippe's should be tried at least once, but i'm not a huge fan. more of a culiary "historical landmark" than it is a superior sandwich place in my opinion (but i find i'm in the minority). also, the lines can get long at lunchtime so you might not be able to get you meal, eat it and get back in time.

my suggestion. walk over to the grand central market. there are a variety of mexican places, a south american seafood place, some chinese... you can go there 5 days in a row and never eat at the same place (unless you want to).

also, chinatown is not too far away. just walk down broadway, new high, ord or alpine streets in chinatown and you are bound to find a place with a "lunch special" and you can get in and out pretty quickly. i'm not suggesting any one place in particular b/c i have never really found that one is that much superior to another in chinatown. pretty much the same level of food wherever you go.

you can also try the Olvera St. Market near union station. lots of people like this location for mexican food, but i found it to more pricey and not much better than you can get at one of the booths at the Grand Central Market.

hope this helps.

[chimayo]

Thanks! Great idea! I'm not too familiar with downtown during the day.

[perk]

I spent three weeks on jury duty last year. Here's what sustained me. Mendocino Farms has terrific sandwiches and salads...especially turkey with cranberry. (think the day after Thanksgiving with all the trimmings) There always a line, but it moves really quickly. And I also went to Patina on a regular basis. They have a business lunch....two courses...for a really reasonable price. (Or at least they used to.) It would be something like butternut squash soup and grilled salmon over lentils. And you could add a glass of wine they'd chosen to pair with it for $5. Very civilized way to spend the break...and not all that expensive.

[chimayo]

Thanks. Is Patina really open for lunch? I checked the website and saw only dinner hours.

[Bob Brooks]

In Chinatown, try JR Bistro for lunch. Great dishes at ridiculously low prices that include soup, rice and tea. It's on the bottom of the building that houses Ocean Seafood. I highly recommend the scrambled egg shrimp.

[chuck]

Spring Street Smokehouse has pretty good BBQ on the southern edge of Chinatown.
http://www.sssmokehouse.com/

[Jack Flash]

There are lots of threads on this subject, so you should do a "jury duty" search which may uncover additional options that don't make it into this particular thread. My suggestions always include Philippe's, Mendocino Farms, Grand Central Market. A new addition to the list is a place called Lemonade, which is at MOCA. It's on the lower level, just outside the entrance to the museum proper. It's invisible from the street; you need to know it's there. Kind of an interesting concept (n.b. - it's apparently closed until 11/15) http://www.lemonadela.com/locations/d...
On Wednesdays, there is a farmers' market on 5th street in front of the library. There are a few different food vendors there. On a nice day, a bacon-wrapped hot dog and a horchata, when consumed in the plaza in front of the library, can make for a tasty and pleasant respite. Again, DASH can get you there and back if you don't want to deal with the walk, which includes one short but very steep hill. If you really don't want to venture far, the cafe at the Disney Concert Hall makes decent salads & a daily hot entree. It's a tad pricey, on the surface, but they give a 15% discount when you show your juror badge. You can take it and sit on a bench or a table near the fountain in the plaza between the courthouse and the Hall of Admin.
Don't forget Little Tokyo. There's Daikokuya or Orochan Ramen. Once again, just a scant couple of minutes on the DASH if you don't feel like walking (doable; and once again, one short but steep hill).

[taiwanesesmalleats]

Get on the DASH A to get to Little Tokyo. If you want Japanese comfort food, such as tonkatsu, lunch plates and the like, check out Suehiro Cafe.

[chimayo]

Wow, thanks Jack for these suggestions! I very much appreciate the info (esp. about the farmers' market -- would never have known).

[nosh]

Two thoughts: First, be sure to always wear your juror ID badge in a very prominent location. CCB is full of hundreds of D.A.s, public defenders, other prosecutors and defense attorneys, and court personnel. More than one trial has been delayed or derailed because jurors heard or were overheard hearing something that discretion should have avoided.

Second, almost all lunch recesses are at least ninety minutes, from noon to one-thirty. This is not because government employees are granted such generous breaks, but because the whole court must retire so the bailiffs and sheriff personnel can move, secure, count, search, feed and process the in-custody defendants. This requires multiple personnel moving them from holding cells to lockups on adjacent floors, and transporting others to and from busses and larger holding areas down below. In addition, judges often need to schedule nonjury questions or other short matters between the end of lunch and the resumption of the trial.

The DASH vans are your best friends -- they go at frequent intervals in all directions: north to Chinatown, over to Little Tokyo, south into downtown.

[kevin]

what is CCB?

I always wondered about those hour and a half lunches.

[Jack Flash]

CCB = Criminal Courts Building. Now known as the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, technically, but it's really hard to undo decades of people referring to it as CCB. Its civil counterpart is CCH (Central Court House), now known as the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

The 90-minute lunches are not exclusive to criminal. The real reason (apart from the logistics issues identified by nosh) is that the courtrooms must be continuously open for the most part. This means that the court staff must also be present in the court room continuously, thereby depriving them of the two 15-minute breaks they are entitled to every 4 hours by labor laws. Thus, the morning and afternoon breaks are rolled into the lunch hour. This allows the courtrooms to be continuously open from 8-12 and then again from 1:30-4:30, while the employees get the same amount of break time as other employees who aren't tied to the courtrooms.

As an employee in one of the aforementioned buildings, I can assure you that you'll have enough time to get a decent lunch nearby. I also just thought of a couple of other options. There's a truck called Bool that parks on Grand Ave. near 3rd, selling Korean-style tacos, burritos & quesadillas. I've never been to Kogi, but I imagine that it's in a similar vein. It's tasty, pretty quick, and certainly different. There are a couple of other trucks on that block of Grand. One is a standard truck, serving up burgers, sandwiches, burritos, etc. It's quite decent. You can get a burger/fries/drink combo that's a heck of a lot better than McDonald's, and cheaper. Another truck called "Baby's Badass Burgers" also appears on the block from time to time. Not bad.

[sel]

And those food trucks and many others which sometimes work the downtown L.A. area 'tweet' their locations with frequent updates through out the day.

[The Chowhound Team]

Just a friendly reminder, Folks, this forum is about finding great food and drink, the arcana of jury duty is out of scope for this board.

Thanks.

[TomSwift]

Although it's a distance from the CCB, the downstairs cafeteria at the DWP building on the west side of the Music Center is excellent and pretty cheap. I don't know if DASH will get you there, as I always come form the civil courthouse on Grand.

[chimayo]

Thanks. This is one option I never would have thought of!