Lunch Rewards

Nearing the end of his time at my former company, a coworker told me one of his biggest concerns was the loss of a routine. He said he quickly caught himself, and thought, “Wait, I'll just get a new routine.” Indeed, change entails a period of adjustment, after which we settle into a new comfort zone of familiarity.

My lunch quest has settled in to a routine as well, with a lot of rewarding discoveries along the way. At least once a week, I've been meeting up with B13 and other former coworkers, which has helped with the transition. As I've gotten busier, there have definitely been days where I couldn't venture too far from the office, or stay out for too long. I have made some great discoveries though.

The most important thing in any area is a decent pizzeria. We have one that doubles as a restaurant, and after sampling plain and Sicilian slices the first week and approving of them, I've moved on to specialty slices. They have one of the sweetest, juiciest chicken slices it's ever been my privilege to consume, and that's saying a lot considering some of the places I used to get pizza from.

Chinese food is also important. I went through a phase with my ex-girlfriend when we were first dating, in which I thought it would be bad form to take her to the same place twice. I succeeded for about a year, but as we found places that became “our” places, going to the same restaurant twice wasn't the relationship-killer I feared it would be. In spanning Long Island, we actually hit a classic movie theater in the town I now work, and found a great Chinese place across the street. I recently returned, and it's still great.

We had a decent deli by my old job, but the only seating was outside, which didn't help in the rain or in the Winter. I've found a great deli with ample seating and a great selection. It seems they rotate their sandwiches, and I've taken great delight in ordering “Roast Beef Supreme”, “Chickaroni”, and “The Psycho”. The first hero was just roast beef with melted mozzarella. “Chickaroni” was an obscenely good collaboration between chicken cutlets, pepperoni, and mozzarella. Finally, “The Psycho” combined chicken, bacon, and swiss. I paired that last one off with a new kind of Doritos which combined two flavors in one bag: hot wings and Blue Cheese. I nearly proposed to the bag.

That deli definitely puts Subway's deflated sandwiches to shame, and I'm still baffled that I work in an area with two of those but not one Quizno's, where the pictures match the real food and you're allowed to have more than one napkin.

Thursday brought the best rewards yet. One of my friends at work lives in the area, and asked if I'd like to hit the best barbecue place in town and then check out a nearby comic book store. I was halfway to the parking lot before I realized we had two more hours until lunchtime. After my visits to Famous Dave's, I wasn't sure how a small local place would compare, but my friend said he and his wife hit it all the time. Walking past a small bank of stores, he turned in to a small doorframe just past a laundromat. I followed down a narrow hall, half expecting to emerge in someone's apartment. At the end, it opened up to reveal a counter and a dining area, and I had the best BBQ chicken and fries that I've had in a long time. We probably should have gone to the comic book store before eating something that messy, but it was still a good break.

Slowly but surely I'm finding a new routine, and new places to eat. Of course, none of my routines include exercise yet, but then no one ever accused me of prioritizing...