Christine Chiao

Pesto chicken sandwich at Rayhun

Place: Rayhun Gourmet Sandwiches & Salads in Glendale.

Vibe: Rayhun Gourmet Sandwiches & Salads is in a convenient location, across the way from the Americana and rows of offices alongside Brand Blvd. There are no shortage of options with Porto's and Carousel within close walking distance; then again it doesn't seem like there'd be a shortage of customers either. Given the hours and its proximity to Glendale's business district, the regulars arrive mostly around lunch.

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B. Mesirow

Lunch with a view at Neptune's Net

It is often the case that the good old days weren't nearly as good or even as old as they seem. In fact, those days were once the crappy, boring, degenerate present, and many relics of the supposed good old days became relics for good reason. Then again, there are plenty of habits from yesteryear that we fully support, perhaps the noblest of which is the three-martini lunch. Whether your idol is Draper or Lemon, Thompson or Artest, a nip or several in the middle of the day is often just the right balm for the wounds of the morning and the perfect way to round the afternoon's rough edges.

To further those worthy goals, and to encourage others to join us in the best kind of nostalgia, here are 5 Great Places to Drink at Lunch. Turn the page.

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Christine Chiao

Corned beef hash at Mike & Anne's

Place: Mike & Anne's in South Pasadena.

Vibe: The restaurant is a bit of a social hub in the neighborhood during noon and especially on the weekends. You'll find a mixed crowd: Stay-at-home moms, graduate students, retirees and office clerks who work down the street. The outdoor seating area is almost as big as the indoor and generally the preferred choice on nice days, making for a particularly lively atmosphere.

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Christine Chiao

Egg Gondola pizza at Big Mama's & Papa's

Place: There are 21 locations of Big Mama's & Papa's Pizzeria -- and counting -- so the newly renovated (just finished last month) Eagle Rock location on Colorado Blvd. is no mom-and-pop shop.

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Christine Chiao

Egg Slut Avo Burger

Place: Egg Slut Truck. (Note: At its current schedule, the truck can be found at Handsome Coffee Roasters Mondays through Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m.)

Atmosphere: Your best option is to pair your order with an espresso with milk from Handsome Coffee Roasters just a few steps away. The barista might jokingly give you permission to have your food inside as long as you share, which is understandable once you try the Fairfax. This is one of the better (scrambled) egg sandwiches in town.

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Christine Chiao

Pear BLT

Place: Sweetsalt in Toluca Lake.

Atmosphere: A manageable crowd at 1:40 p.m. with yogis, young studio execs, young moms and tattooed cyclists. Order at the front, at which point you're given a decal with a number; find a table and set up your decal.

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Eli's Cheesecake

Eli's in Chicago crafts a 500-lb. cheesecake for the Staff Inaugural Ball

President Obama is a firm advocate of universal healthcare. He cares about gun control. He's passionate about seizing moments together. He does not, however, seem to care about calorie-counting. And, despite her anti-obesity campaign and her hipster bangs, neither, apparently, does First Lady Michelle Obama.

As Fox News points out, today's Inaugural Luncheon menu weighs in at a hefty 3,027 calories, not including the wine, as calculated by the website DietsInReview. There isn't even a bacon milkshake involved. There is, however, lobster with clam chowder sauce and hickory-grilled bison with red potato horseradish cake. Dessert is, of course, apple pie with sour cream ice cream, topped with maple caramel sauce. And just to be really classy and Frenchified, the whole thing is topped off with an artisan cheese plate with fancy honey.

See the full menu, with links to recipes provided by the White House, plus details of the 500-lb. cheesecake being served tomorrow night and an epic Lincoln Second Inaugural feasting frenzy, after the jump.

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The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

You may have read about Rose Edelstein on this site last year. The creation of USC professor and noted author Aimee Bender, this fictitious 9-year-old, a supertaster if there ever was one, learns in Bender's novel The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, that -- magically, realistically -- she can taste the emotions and experiences of those who prepare the food she eats. Both burden and blessing, this goes for factory-farmed chicken nuggets as well as her mother's lemon-chocolate cake.

Fans of the book (and last year's Squid Ink interview with the author) will be happy to know Bender is appearing at a Friends of the USC Library Literary Luncheon on Thursday, Oct.18.

In last year's interview, Bender discusses being harangued by the "cake police," trying, with the help of therapist friends and family members, to "diagnose" Rosie, and enjoying kale chips. Presumably, she'll be able to comment on follow-up questions as well as brand-new ones.

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Rachael Narins

Styrofoam Sculpture at Thomas Starr King

For the past two years, 1,256 styrofoam school lunch trays -- much less than what most schools use in a day -- have hung suspended from an acacia tree in the garden located in the middle of a school campus, silently gathering grime. But most definitely not decaying. Strung up by and for the students of Thomas Starr King Middle School, they are there as a reminder of how much trash the trays generate every day. As of Aug. 23, with the announcement that the LAUSD has changed over to compostable boxes (still filled with their nutritionally questionable lunches), that art piece is instead a testament to the power of children to enact change.

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B. Rodell

As you enter the newish downtown restaurant Industriel [sic], two giant faces greet you at the door. The man and woman stare out at Grand Ave., the man wearing a kerchief and hat, the woman wearing her hardscrabble life with weary beauty. You know without having been told that these are dustbowl folks -- and indeed, the images were purchased from Getty: Closeup of Kansas Farmer, Circa 1939 by Margaret Bourke-White.

It's unclear what these photos are supposed to represent. Are they there to make us uncomfortable? To remind us that these are absolutely NOT the type of folks who would have eaten "faux gras gravy" (made with duck liver, just not the illegal kind) on their 16-oz market-price ribeye? Or to remind us that it's folks like these -- the Okies who settled here, the farmers who still toil in the sun -- that make our dining experience possible? (If that's the case, some close up pics of migrant workers might be a touch more relevant these days.)

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