If it’s not for a sporting event or a concert, the excuses to NOT venture downtown pop up like any dude watching the Kate Upton Cat Daddy video. Take our advice- END THAT TREND.  Downtown is becoming a food lover’s mecca, in part thanks to the newly revamped Grand Central Market (GCM from now on, fyi). With this reboot comes two very simple, yet brilliant additions: one involving sluts eggs, and the other, deli meats.

eggslut:

The name enough should have you lacing up your shoes to go give it a try.  It was for us.  On any given weekend, expect to wait in line for at least 30 minutes just to place your order (we waited 45 on a Sunday).  While you wait, we highly encourage grabbing a juice or coffee from one of the other kiosks to keep up the energy- we wish we had as the hangover was real that AM.  Luckily, they call your name soon after you order and hopefully by now you’ve been able to snag a seat at the bar (we did – score!) or at one of the tables nearby. The hipster chefs and line-cooks are definitely not at fault for the long wait time as they did not stop moving, and moving fast; we just had a ton of  HANGRY people in front of us.

What we devoured (starving at this point):  

Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Sandwich ($6) – hardwood smoked bacon, over medium egg, cheddar cheese and chipotle ketchup in a warm brioche bun. Hangover cured. FYI this is MES-SY.  There is no way to look cute eating it (unless you’re that chick from the Carl’s Jr. commercial).  If you’re with your girls/bros or just over trying to look perfect in front of your beau, DEFINITELY order this.

Slut ($9) – a coddled egg on top of a smooth potato puree, poached in a glass jar and served with a demi baquette. This is one high-class (egg) slut.  Alie will be giving this slut another call whereas Alex dropped her like she was hot and will be sticking with other options.

Salad (($2.50) – arugula, red wine vinaigrette, manchego cheese. So simple. So much flavor. Why are we not making this at home? Oh ya, we barely eat at home. You’re welcome.

Cookie ($2.50)– put a chocolate chip cookie in front of us and we’ll order it every time.  And they top it with sea salt.  And they warm it up.  Done deal.

Food: 

Eggslut ↔ Menu

Wexler’s Deli:

This modern-traditional Jewish deli serves up all the classics with a new flare proving that opposites do, at times, attract.  While you wait in line, they blare old-school rap that anyone with even an ounce of badass-ness can’t resist bopping along to. “Old school deli soul food” is what they claim, and we can’t disagree. We got our sammies to go (we’re not superhuman after all) and while they were good, we’re still partial to some more classic towering takes served elsewhere.  Because we’ve heard differently we’re inclined to give them another shot and eat onsite while still warm (guess there’s a reason behind the saying ‘get it while it’s hot’).  And rumor has it they have a killer bagel and lox too.  Plus, doesn’t rap make everything better?

What we ate later:

The O.G. ($11) – pastrami, mustard, rye. Your classic Jewish deli sandwich, and there’s a reason why it’s a classic. The deliciousness clearly withstood some of the travel and delay minus the bread which got a little hard.

L.A. Bird ($10) – roast turkey, mustard, coleslaw, kaiser roll. Although we normally don’t make substitutions, we subbed rye instead of the roll. I mean, we live in LA so we had to give it a try — and it was delish (both for dinner and lunch the next day).

Housemade pickles, coleslaw, and potato salad added to any sandwich ($2) – OBVIOUSLY.  They advertise like it’s an option?  We’ve had better, but you can’t have this kind of sammie without the proper sides. If you’re going to do something, you gotta give it your all (who knew EDDR was handing out life lessons now??)

Food:  

Wexler’s ↔ Menu

It’s crazy to think GCM has been open since 1917. From obvious LA imports to homegrown Angelinos of all ages, and the diverse stations offering, no joke, every type of cuisine, this food emporium and retail market truly encapsulates the perfect blend of history and modern day.  You can go with a group and everyone can find something their stomach desires and then you can all enjoy together (just make sure your phones are charged so you can find each other).  And with vendors selling things from all over the map, you can pick up some Mexican candy (might’ve gotten a couple of pounds, ok not “might,” we did) and fresh local produce for the week.

Fortunately it’s easy to park in one of the big structures nearby at around $5 a pop. On a weekend, the place is packed so if you’re looking for a quiet, low-key brunch/lunch, this isn’t your spot. If you are however looking to venture East; make a stop at GCM, and be prepared to sleep well that night- while well worth it, it’s definitely an energy consuming adventure.  If anything, you can tell people you ate at a place called eggslut, but we’re pretty sure you’ll find something else to rave about.

If your stomachs are bigger than ours (2 girls can only eat so much in 4 hours) and you try more, we would love to hear about it below…