Safeway Chinese

And a mini-sushi as well.
I stick with the hot & spicy chicken and chow mein. Tasty and reliable.
This will be my first test of the safeway sushi, by the same suppliers as Draegers gets.

Everlasting Sandwich at Border's Ain't Half Bad.

Today's a whole Borders day -- where I'll log 10 hours in a cafe.

Lunch was a Snapple and a Roast Beef & Cheddar sandwich wrapped in plastic. The sandwich wasn't terrible.

You know that Borders is serious about these sandwiches lasting a while, as they wrap them in clear packing tape after they've wrapped them, a step that some might consider unnecessary. I think it makes them hard to open.

Hermit Meal

So there's really only one table in the Borders Cafe that's appropriate for computer game playing: a spot in the corner where no one can see my screen, and where I won't be bothering anybody. It's one of the 4 tables next to a power supply.

Of course I got this table when my office (Borders) opened @ 9 am, but would I keep it till my West Coast colleagues were available to play "shooty"?

To keep this table, I had to hit the bathroom and grab lunch in one fell swoop, taking my computer, but leaving my paper notebook & computer power supply.

I had to dash... but I was successful.

Feeling relieved and with a Snapple and Ham & Cheddar sandwich, I won't need to stand up again until quiting time.

The Bell

And what makes Taco Bell even better? When it's consumed in a movie theatre, while watching a gratuitous butchering of a classic compilation of philosophic robot stories.
At least the FX were (mostly) pretty. Too much Matrix-cam, though.

Really Satisfied, Actually.

I'm rocking today. Steph's being wined-and-dined by her law firm at the tony Gramercy Tavern, so I wasn't thinking about lunch at all, really.

3 pm had a Snickers Marathon bar. Best tasting energy bar I've ever had. Note to self: Buy future energy bars from candy bar companies.

Togos

#16 - the Italian, with no pickles.
Bread was a bit stale today.

Yesterday I dined on the wonderful majesty of shawerma, that time stuffing it with falafel. Soooo tasty.

Chicken Salad @ Bryant Park

Just ate at the cafe at Manhattan's Bryant Park -- easily the most picturesque setting that I've eaten at in a long time. Had a chicken salad sandwich.

BTW, I'm glad they call it Chicken Salad. At some point, it's just going to be disingenuous to refer to chicken whipped up and doused in mayonnaise as salad.

NYC Mass-produshi

Had to eat quick, so Steph & I ducked into a market on 3rd Avenue. They had the plastic boxed sushi -- roughly the same kind that I'd expect at Draeger's or Mollie Stone's.

Fake California Roll turned out to be okay, but my expectations were low. What was wonderful was the price. Something that looks like sushi in Manhattan for less than $4? You gotta be kidding me!

Burrito!

Pancho Villa. The best burritos in San Mateo, that I've found at least. See the commentary on my blog: Burrito commentary
Got the chipotle chicken, w/black beans. Their salsa bar was a bit watery today. Accompanied with sandia (watermelon) agua fresca, which is coming back into season, eg, it's sweeter & fruitier now.

Quiznos

With a $2 off coupon towards a combo (chips & drink with sub).

Discovered that the Quiznos mesquite bbq chips are rather tasty.



The sub was a meatball. A classic.

A Dog Day

If hot dogs were made of less nasty material, they'd be the perfect food. It's almost as if they were created with we desk jockeys in mind.

The gear:

• Hot Dogs
• Hot Dog Buns
• Condiments

The perfect preparation method:

1. Wrap dog in paper towel.
2. Microwave for 20 seconds -- during which time you prep the elements for step #3.
3. Remove dog from paper towel, insert dog into bun, insert dog/bun combo back into microwave.
4. Microwave for 20 seconds -- during which time you prepare for step #5.
5. Remove from microwave & apply condiments.
6. Eat dog out of warmed paper towel.

An invitation to scurvy? Maybe. The perfect food for the efficiency-minded? Probably.

Leftovers

The miraculous cheapery of lunchy eats.

Today, it is Indian food, from a marvelous eatery in North Beach (SF)
which is both an Indian restaurant and an Irish pub. (Go
figure.) Anyway, marvelous not because the food is fantastic,
though it's reasonably good, but because you can get Chimay or
Optimator with your Indian.

Yum!



Too bad there's no beer leftover...

I was gonna fast...

...I really was.

But Gateway Cafe had its very cafeteria-esque spaghetti with meatballs, which I find strangely hard to resist.

Very good calories/dollars ratio. I am full.

Incidentally, the inside of my Snapple lid claims that Pennsylvania is misspelled on the Liberty Bell.

Penance

It was my turn to bring the big sack o' hot dogs and hot dog buns for John and I to use as Lunches-of-Last-Resort.

I forgot to bring them. For the umpteenth time in a row.

Thus, I'm fasting. It's penance.

Sushi & cup'o'miso

Passing up the local food for the umpteenth time, cuz it just ain't all that, Draeger's sushi called me. Feeling a mite more peckish than the wee courses of fish would satisfy, I elected to sample the prepackaged, just-add-water cup o' miso soup. While it's drinkable, the flavor is bland at best, and the kelp dissolves before you notice it's there.

Just what is a Stardust Combo, anyway? It inspires thoughts of neither stars nor dust.
Faux crab, avocado, shrimp, and tuna.

Mystery Meat at the Gateway Cafe

Getting the special always means rolling the dice.

Today's special was "Barbequed L.A. Style Beef Ribs with Rice and Salad." That's got danger written all over it, but John and I both took the plunge.

My verdict: Loved them gristly slices.

John's still dining, so we'll have to wait and see how it works for him.