Highland Park is a sandwich neighbourhood. That is not the reputation it has — the reputation involves coffee, vinyl and rent — but if you look at what is actually open at one o'clock on a weekday along York Boulevard and North Figueroa Street, an unusual proportion of it is bread with things in it, made by people who take it seriously. The density is the story: several genuinely good counters inside a walkable stretch, which is rare in a city built around driving between single destinations.
The good counters here are split across two roughly parallel streets, and choosing the wrong one costs you a ten-minute drive rather than a two-minute walk. Tell Karpo which street you are on and it will keep the list to that side.
The hidden one, which is the best one
Jeff's Table at 5900 North Figueroa Street operates behind a liquor store, which is exactly as unpromising and exactly as good as that sounds. The Jeff's Special is hot pastrami with sauerkraut and a parmesan crisp on rye. The Dirty Baby is turkey salad with chili crisp, smoked cheese and pickled onions, and is the one that converts people who thought they did not want a turkey sandwich. The Thai peanut mac salad on the side is spicy and creamy and worth ordering even though it makes no structural sense next to a pastrami sandwich.
This is the address to send someone to if they have one lunch in Highland Park and no other information.
York Boulevard's deli row
Belle's Delicatessen at 5022 York Boulevard has grown from a takeout window into a full-service deli. The hot pastrami on double-baked rye is the anchor, the scallion latkes are the side to add, and there is a bagel sandwich with pastrami-spiced lox for anyone who wants the two traditions at once. It also does a pickle martini, which is a lunch decision rather than a lunch requirement.
Ggiata Delicatessen at 5025 York Boulevard sits almost directly opposite and runs 9am to 8pm Monday through Thursday and 9am to 9pm Friday through Sunday — the longest hours on this list by a distance, which makes it the answer when your lunch has drifted to four in the afternoon. Maciel's Plant-Based Butcher & Deli at 5933 York Boulevard makes its own plant-based meats in house; the Classic Italian with meat-free salami and pastrami, pepperoncini and cherry pepper spread runs around fifteen dollars and is the best vegan sandwich in this part of the city.
Not a sandwich
Joy On York at 5100 York Boulevard is order-at-the-counter Taiwanese from the Pine & Crane team, with almost everything under fifteen dollars and a typical turnaround of well under half an hour. The Chiayi chicken rice is the order. The scallion sesame bread sandwiches are, admittedly, a sandwich, but a completely different one from anything else on this street.
El Huarache Azteca at 5225 York Boulevard has been there for decades and does huaraches — sandal-sized fried masa loaded with beans, cheese, crema and meat, available super-style with extra salsa verde or roja. Villa's Tacos at 5455 North Figueroa Street loads its tacos onto Dodger-blue corn tortillas and offers seven salsas and hibiscus-pickled onions. Mason's Dumpling Shop at 5803 North Figueroa Street does pan-fried pork dumplings with lacy crisp edges and a DIY dipping sauce of soy, vinegar and house chili oil.
The two-street rule
York Boulevard and North Figueroa run roughly parallel a few blocks apart, and they are not interchangeable. York is the walkable, one-shop-per-storefront strip — better for browsing and for stringing two stops together. Figueroa sits on the old Route 66 alignment and holds the larger spaces, which is where you go if you want to sit down properly. Deciding which street before you set off is the single most useful piece of local knowledge here, because the drive between them is short but the walk is not.
Choosing
One lunch, no other information: Jeff's Table on Figueroa. Sitting down with a proper deli sandwich: Belle's on York. Lunch at four in the afternoon: Ggiata. Under fifteen dollars and fast: Joy On York. Something that has been here far longer than the neighbourhood's reputation: El Huarache Azteca. Eating in the car between errands: Villa's Tacos.
Practical notes
Addresses: Jeff's Table 5900 N Figueroa St; Belle's Delicatessen 5022 York Blvd; Ggiata Delicatessen 5025 York Blvd; Maciel's 5933 York Blvd; Joy On York 5100 York Blvd; El Huarache Azteca 5225 York Blvd; Villa's Tacos 5455 N Figueroa St; Mason's Dumpling Shop 5803 N Figueroa St. Ggiata runs 9am–8pm Monday to Thursday and 9am–9pm Friday to Sunday. Parking is metered street on both strips and genuinely tight on York around midday; Figueroa is easier. The Metro A Line stops at Highland Park station, a short walk from the Figueroa addresses, which makes the whole corridor workable without a car.
Tags: #LunchNearMe #HighlandPark #LosAngeles #YorkBlvd #NortheastLA #JeffsTable #BellesDelicatessen #JoyOnYork #Sandwiches #NELA #LALunch #NeighborhoodGuides #Figueroa #LAEats
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Ask Karpo first
Highland Park's lunch counters are split across two streets with different parking, different hours and different closing days, and the best one is behind a liquor store. Ask Karpo what is open near you right now, which side of the neighbourhood it is on, and whether it is worth walking or worth driving.
