Recent - more or less - college grad that I am, one of my many money-saving schemes is bringing my lunch to work at least three days a week. I'm pretty good about it - I think there have been a total of maybe six weeks out of the 68 I've been a member of the 9-to-5 crowd that I've bought my lunch three days and brought it two. The rest of the time, I've kept the purchased lunches to zero, one or two days a week.
When I do buy lunch, I want to know I'm going to enjoy what I'm buying and not get stuck in line for 30 minutes, so I've become a creature of habit. I generally head to Cosi, a soup, salad and sandwich shop a block and a half southeast of my office, or to Au Bon Pain - affectionately referred to by all current and former GW students as ABP - a soup, salad and sandwich shop (how new and different!) two blocks southwest.
I don't like ABP's salads, so if I want a salad, I go to Cosi. I love Cosi's bread but oddly enough don't like their sandwiches, so if I want a sandwich, I go to ABP. I have to admit, Cosi's salads are not particularly spectacular either, but their bread is so fantastic that I'll happily suffer a merely so-so Caesar salad once a week if it means I get to chow down on their delicious bread afterward.
Lately though, I've been seriously tempted to ask if I can just buy a piece of bread and bring my own veggies or salad, because the assembly line employees of my local Cosi's salad department are even less customer service-oriented than usual. Most restaurant and carry-out salads are doused with way too much dressing - it's a fact of life. So you either live with it, or ask for it on the side, which I'll do in a restaurant, but feel awful holding up the line to do in a carry-out joint. Usually I can spread the dressing around enough that I don't notice the excess too much, but the last two salads I've bought have been so drenched with dressing that I literally cringe at every third bite, and find myself spending more time studying my salad for edible pieces of lettuce than reading my lunchtime/Metro book (more about that later). The lettuce-tearer/chopper is also noticeably slacking: the last two salads have required either intensive folding of lettuce into bite-sized pieces, or a knife. (What, you didn't know that eating a salad is an extremely exact science, and can be scarring if done improperly?)
Having waitressed for more than a year, I understand the insanity of the lunch rush in this town (especially in the neighborhood where I work, made up of about 98% businesses), and the temptation to slack off on service just to get the not-infrequently-snippy 12-2 crowd in and out as quickly as humanly possible. But really, is more-or-less bite-sized lettuce, prepared hours before the lunch rush, and a ladle not completely overflowing with dressing so much to ask?
What are your lunchtime solutions? Any carry-out or dining-in pet peeves? Any really spectacular lunch spots near you? Please, tell all!
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2 comments:
I don't eat lunch out much either, but when I do I try to change it up a little. It is SO difficult to find a good salad at a decent price. Chop't is overrated in my opinion, especially for the price, and going in there is always so nerve-wracking for me because everything is a little too fast (strange, I know). There used to be a hole-in-the-wall deli down the street that had create-your-own salads which I found to be quite delightful, especially with their house sherry vinagrette dressing. Like all good things, however, that closed down. There is also a pizza place a few blocks away on P street that has jumbo slices for $5, which sounds like a lot for pizza but it's worth it since it fills you up. The slices come in the usual cheese and pepperoni, as well as with more un-orthodox toppings such as chicken pesto and white sauce.
At the end of the day, despite the numerous dining options in and around Dupont Circle, I still find that bringing my own lunch is the best option, especially when I consider how much time and money (and probably calories) I save when I do.
I absolutely agree with you about Chop't - I don't see what all the fuss is about. There's a great, cheap pizza place near me too, but I try not to go there that often. One of my co-workers highly recommended Port of Piraeus' salads though, so I'm going to have to try one of those - I've only ever gotten Greek pizza there before.
I've gotten (slightly) less compulsive about counting calories, but it's definitely easier to do when you bring your lunch. And since it's so much cheaper, it really is hard to argue that it's the best option all around!
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