Working Lunch

After starting 2010 off with two full months' worth of distractions, it's by time we unpause the daily grind and start playing catch up.* When time is of the essence (as it almost always is no matter what your occupation) the lunch hour can quickly dwindle down to just a few minutes. No matter how we try to justify it, salted cashews and a sleeve of Thin Mints - bless you, Girl Scouts - do not fall in the category of "brain food."

So what do you do when running out for a quick bite is not an option? Why, delivery of course. Unfortunately, the number of restaurants who deliver in the CBD are few and far between. In my office, our #1 choice is Back to the Garden. Located in the basement of a triangular building at the intersection of Baronne, Howard, and St. Joseph, this no frills lunch spot employs an army of cyclists ready to deliver your order, usually within 30 minutes.

The menu leans to the healthful side - all-natural fruit smoothies, turkey burgers, and numerous vegetarian options - but there is also a full list of deli-style sandwiches. But my order never changes. The stuffed avocado salad: half an avocado stuffed with chicken salad (tuna, egg, and shrimp or also available) atop green lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, tomato and shredded carrots, with a sprinklin of sunflower seeds. I highly recommend the house dressing of oil, lemon juice, and tamari, which is naturally brewed soy sauce made primarily from soy beans. Different and good. If the spinach and tomato soup is available, order it.

Back to the grind.

*Don't worry though, there are plenty of opportunities to blow off some steam after work, and French Quarter Fest will be here before you know it. For a full list of events, check out the "Blackened Out on the Town" calendar to your left.