Unit 120 is the self-proclaimed culinary incubator of Eggslut‘s Alvin Cailan, located in the Far East Plaza in Los Angeles’ Chinatown. With Alvin’s vegan-friendly, market-vegetable-driven Filipino regular Amboy, we’ve unsuccessfully been attempting to stop by for a while now. And I’d personally planned a visit Tuesday for Keep‘s 10 year anniversary party, but was effectively land-locked by the aforementioned neighborhood brush fire.
But then, this morning, scrolling through my emails, I saw one from Eater LA titled ‘Fried Orange Chicken Sandwiches Are a Thing Now’ with this photo featured.
Maybe you already know this about me, but I love Chinese food. I love Sandwiches. I love delicious chicken-like substances that are animal-free. So, hope in my vegan heart, I clicked through.
Turns out, the fried orange chicken sandwiches in question indeed came from new residents at Unit 120, Golden Boys—chefs Hunter Pritchett and Adam Midkiff, both former sous chefs at Son of a Gun. Grasping at straws, I briefly mentioned via Instagram that they should totally offer a vegan version of the sandwich, and, an hour later, they replied with just that—the tea smoked orange cauliflower sandwich.
Backing up, Golden Boys currently exists—usually—as a Thursday night pop-up culinary residence, serving coursed family-style dinners embracing a fun, healthy, and transparent approach to Chinese Food in Los Angeles. The menu’s farmers market-driven and, as Hunter assured me today, totally vegan-izable given some heads up. Check out their Unit 120 page for more details.
Tonight, though, the Golden Boys opted for a more casual, window-centric sandwich night, featuring both the sandwich menu. And I must say, the vegan cauliflower version was fucking spectacular. Pictured a tender, smokey, charred cauliflower steak coated in a wonderful, sweet-but-not-cloying orange sauce, and then topped with spicy, crispy sichuan tiger slaw and smashed cucumbers, all sandwiched between two grilled, crispy-soft potato buns.
The chicken/cauliflower sandwich was supposedly just running tonight as a special, but Hunter assured me you’d be able to order it as an add on with the the regular Thursday night menus going forward. Menu and details all via their 120 page; check them out on Facebook to stay keyed in to their adventures to come.
PS—they also sell cool shirts for $20.
