Lunch at Work

[BrazenAmateur]

We have the daily dinner threads, but who makes a point out of either preparing something interesting or seeking out a new place (usually carry-out for me) to eat lunch each day while at work?

I've had a pretty solid week in this regard.

Today I'm enjoying a nice ham, brie, and preserved fig sandwich on ciabatta with some Stacy's pesto pita chips, a granny smith apple, and a chunk of fresh-baked gingerbread (not like gbread-man type, but the fluffy kind).

All in all it's pretty solid. I got it all from a place called "Marvelous Market" on 18th street here in DC, one of several places that sells both sandwiches and "unprepared" stuff like cheese, grapes, fruit, piececs of bread, etc..., that allows you to assemble your own tasty meal.

Yesterday I had a bento from "Teaism", which was a little disappointing. The maguro (tuna) sashimi was of excellent quality, but the rest of the ingredients, while also of great quality, weren't really what I think would go in a traditional obento. Brown rice, raw broccolli, and sweet potatoes with a very un-japanese-like (yet tasty) creamy sauce.

When I think bento, I generally think sushi rice w/furikake, some sort of okaze like gyoza or salted salmon, and pickled veggies like umeboshi or daikon. A bento isn't a bento without all the salted, pickled, and/or vinegared ingredients, IMO.


The day before (Wednesday) I had fairly derivative and Americanized yet still very tasty Chinese, along with some curried Mei Fun.

Tuesday I made my own Bento of rice, shumai, boiled shrimp, umeboshi and sliced carrot.

I just brought half a baguette with some grapes, stilton, dates, saucisson sec, and an apple on Monday, which is my "standard" lunch when I don't feel like preparing a Bento and I don't want to pay $$$ to buy lunch in DC.


Anyone else obsess about their lunch every day?

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Wow, I want to have lunch with you!!!!! That all sounds heavenly! I've never put much effort into lunch but you've really got me thinking. At my Grandmother's house, the noon meal was the big meal of the day and dinner was a much lighter meal, often using leftover parts of the noon meal. At first, I thought that was weird but actually, it makes so much sense. I'm wondering, do you also put a lot of effort into your evening meal?
Terry

 

[BreezyCooking]

Around here lunch usually consists of the previous night's dinner leftovers.

 

[BrazenAmateur]

I'm wondering, do you also put a lot of effort into your evening meal?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I work in Real Estate Finance, and sometimes that means I can work some very late nights (11pm or later). Obviously, on those nights, I just order dinner at work and the office reimburses me for it.

My wife and I also eat out a fair bit and get a good deal of take-out (mostly Indian and Thai).

On all other nights, I alternate between extremely simple and fairly elaborate. I don't ever do anything TOO nuts during the week, instead saving those 6-8 hour efforts for Sundays when I have the time and inclination.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

Brazen, I think your user name is wildly deceptive! And now I want to have dinner with ya'll, too! lol

 

[GotGarlic]

Anyone else obsess about their lunch every day?

Oh, yeah Now, for medical reasons, I'm on a low-fat, low-fiber, high-protein diet, so keep that in mind, although I'm not as strict about it as I should be. Let's see:

Monday: My favorite Chinese takeout - sesame chicken over pork fried rice. It's enough for two lunches.

Tuesday: Don't remember. Maybe it will come to me.

Wednesday: Leftovers from Monday's lunch. Wasn't enough left over, so I went to a nearby grocery store and got some sesame noodles.

Thursday: Leftovers from Wednesday's dinner (I go out to dinner every Wednesday with friends) - braised chicken over red wine risotto and mascarpone cake with blueberries and raspberry drizzle.

Friday: From another grocery store, sushi (9 California rolls), a cup of she-crab soup, and four bourbon-BBQ'd chicken drummettes - I had to try these after the discussion here a few days ago. (They have a wing bar, as well as an olive bar and a really nice salad bar; unfortunately, I can't eat most of the veggies on the salad bar - too much fiber.)

 

[ironchef]

On work days, dinner is whatever we have for crew meal. Sometimes if it sucks, I'll skip it and snack on cheese and proscuitto then pick up something after work.

For lunch, I'll usually make a huge batch of something (usually pasta) on my day off and portion it out for my lunches over the next few days. I start work at 2pm so I'm at home for lunch on most days. If not leftovers, then I usually like to make my own ramen. I get fresh ramen noodles from a noodle factory, then add all kinds of stuff in it, usually fresh spinach, tofu, roast pork, fish cake, and scallions. It's quick and pretty healthy (not like the dried ramen in the stores ). The cool thing is that I don't even need to go to the factory or to Chinatown to get the stuff. At most of the supermarkets, you can get the fresh, locally made tofu, noodles, fish cake, and roast pork. I usually buy enough to cover 3-4 meals so when I'm out of leftovers or if I don't feel like eating them, I have another option.

 

[BrazenAmateur]

I don't know where in blazes to get that Chinese-style roast pork that you see in ramen shops, etc... I also unfortunately can't get fish cake in supermarkets here.

I need to move back to MD and back to my good asian markets.

 

[Glen8]

Behave!

At work I like to eat lightly so at lunch I have a salad consisting of:

Lettuces
Cherry Tomatoes
Beetroot
Cheese
Pineapple pieces
Cucumber
Kidney beans
Sometimes I'll throw in a small tin of tuna.
A little french dressing.

Yum I could eat this for breakfast!

 

[BrazenAmateur]

I know it's an ancient thread, but it's mine so I don't feel bad about reviving it.

Anyway, new job in a new location so that means NEW LUNCH SPOTS!


Today I hit up a place called "Breadline" for the first time. Here's their link:

thebreadlinedc


I got a proscuitto sandwich (proscuitto, gorgonzola, arugula, marscapone, fig jam on walnut bread) and a cup of seafood chowder. It was actually a LOT of food for $10.50 and it was all of excellent quality.

I learned today that proscuitto doesn't always necessarily make the best sandwiches because it's easy to pull it all out in one bite, lol. The proscuitto itself was delicious, but a little messy to eat. I thought they went a little heavy on the fig jam and a little light on the cheese though, making the whole thing a little too sweet, but it was delicious regardless.

The seafood chowder was out of this world. Huge chunks of fish, mussels, and baby octopus in a very thin, light, flavorful broth. It also had sweet corn and big chunks of boiled tomato.


What did you all have for lunch today?

 

[PanchoHambre]

hey BA I am in a new spot as well so I have adjusted my routine

I try to bring lunch (I got in this habit when I worked in midtown manhattan because the food around my office was expensive and bad)... leftovers if I have em or a sandwich or simple pasta dish... espeically when the weather is nice and I can go sit in a park and be outdoors

Sometimes, like today, I dont get around to it though so then I try to explore all the great cheap food around my office here in Philly...yesterday was a falaffel cart I had not noticed before YUM!

Today I had a surprisingly tasty pizza whole wheat crust, roasted peppers, carmelized onions, and olives (kalamata?) with a soft cheese (ricotta? goat?) I think there was a little tomato sauce... I am fuzzy on the details because frankly it was really good and gone really fast! it was really savory and had a super thin crust... I was impressed as a NYer with a generally bad opinion of Philly pizza... and I am always suspicious of the tourist spots

The place sells thier dough too which made me think it would be a fun lunch excursion to buy a knot of dough and then browse the market stalls Reading Terminal Market › Home choosing stuff to make a pizza for dinner. It is VERY dangerous to work near such a place.

 

[GotGarlic]

Most days, I bring lunch to work, but today I picked up a turkey-apple club sandwich - it's roasted turkey with sliced apples, white cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo on apple bread, with pasta salad on the side, and a strawberry yogurt. The pasta was a tad bland, so I jazzed it up with balsamic salad dressing I keep in the fridge.

 

[vyapti]

I usually make soup on the weekend for the coming week. I'll often have a sandwich too(always zucchini, havarti & tomato). This week's soup was Mushroom & Barley (a really good batch) and corn chowder (not so good).

 

[stassie]

I try and take my lunch because it just gets so expensive to buy it. My lunches this week great, but all to a theme, because we have a HUGE amount of tomatos right now. So I have roasted them, made them into soup, pasta sauce, etc., etc!

Often in the winter, I'll made a huge pot of vege soup at the start of the week, and use that for lunches.

 

[BrazenAmateur]

I try to bring lunch (I got in this habit when I worked in midtown manhattan because the food around my office was expensive and bad).

.................................................

Sometimes, like today, I dont get around to it though so then I try to explore all the great cheap food around my office here in Philly...yesterday was a falaffel cart I had not noticed before YUM!

I do currently have the problem of being in a certain area of the city where most of the food is overpriced and uninspired. It's the "golden triangle" area of DC, and everything is a Panera or a Corner Bakery or somesuch. Not bad food per se, but nothing to get super excited over.

That "breadline" place I mentioned is one of the very few exceptions.

I sometimes will metro to Chinatown or other areas to get stuff like falafel at carts, empanadas from little hole-in-the-wall latin bakeries, etc. The best stuff is always hidden away!


Anyway, today I brought my lunch in. I had a smoked turkey sandwich on 7-grain with swiss & polish mustard, and then a gladware container full of other stuff (hardboiled eggs, pickled asparagus, brie, braeburn apple, pepperoni). The pickled asparagus was delicious with the boiled egg.


There IS some decent food if I walk a few blocks. I got this sushi a couple weeks ago and it was fantastic:

 

[buckytom]

my lunches at work are primarily leftovers, but i treat myself once a week or two to a glorified hot dog cart across the street from my building. it's specialty is marinated chicken thighs, griddled with onions and peppers, then served with mild tsatsiki and hot sauces over yellow rice, and a side of lettuce and tomato.

btw, brazen, your sushi looks top notch! the salmon we've been getting here has been really good. is that a piece or two of shrimp tempura roll in the back?

 

[AllenOK]

I'm like IronChef. I have to be at work around 2pm. Sometimes I grab lunch at home. Sometimes I show up at work hungry (not the best thing to do when you work in a kitchen). There's a lunch buffet that comes back about the time I get there, and I'll eat a little off the leftovers, if they appeal to me. Sometimes, I just make a small order of nachos, or maybe get creative with the sandwich fixings on both the hot and cold sides of the line. The folks at the pro shop like to come visit me and ask me to get "creative" with their hamburgers, so I'm always thinking of "what else can I do for a burger?"

 

[BrazenAmateur]

Hummus and naan today, brought from home.

Yesterday I brought a salad of mixed greens, beet slices, slivered almond, olive oil, s&p.

 

[Jeekinz]

I try to cook my luches on the weekend for the upcoming week. I usually make pastas, stews or chili then divide them into containers for the week. I can break up the monotony by having 1 or 2 leftovers from the dinner the night before. I save a ton of money this way. When I used to buy lunch all the time I could easily spend 40-50 bucks per week. Now, it's more like 15-20. I really could care less what I eat for lunch, I just need to eat so I don't get real grumpy.

 

[BrazenAmateur]

Today is leftover fish enchiladas, black beans, and rice. Found a great new place last night.

I also brought my usual almonds, carrots, pickled asparagus, boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, and avacados. I store all this stuff in the fridge on Monday and use it for snacking through the week.