The Lunchtime "Sleeper"

BigBad employees seem to frequent the same places at lunchtime, however it never seems to fail that every couple of months I find another co-worker that is up to the opportunity to try something new. The most under-appreciate lunchtime spot in our neighborhood in my opinion thus far has to be the Sleeper Street Deli. Not only do they feature one of the best, if not THE best, wraps in the neighborhood with the Cuban Pork Wrap... they also have the best jumbo chocolate chip cookie in the 'hood too.

This past week I was able to convince Costa to give Sleeper Street a chance. I believe he order some sort of chicken wrap. Me? I went with the Cuban Pork Wrap. But here's the thing about the Cuban... you've got to ask the guys behind the counter if they have the fried plantain (or banana, as it is listed on the menu board). Without the plantain it is a completely different wrap. This wrap features an awesome blend of sweet and spicy. The pork is excellent and lean, the plantains sweeten each bite, and the jalopeno peppers add heat. All in all it's easily my favorite wrap at lunchtime. Try to get the short guy with the bald head and pirate hoop earrings to make it for you, he is the man.

When you go to pay, you will want to grab one of those over-sized chocolate chunk, chip and kiss cookies. They taste home made, they that great combination of crunch on the initial bite and then gooey insides. A much better cookie than those at Au Bon Pain, Flour and even Channel... which is saying quite a bit, because none of those other establishments are slouches when it comes to cookies.

The Shiny Chicken, in all of it's infamous glory!

Since day one @ BigBad, I have frequented the "big" Metro... which is the one with the salad bar. Early in my strained relationship with Metro I was obsessed with the hot meals and the Mandarin Chicken Wrap. However, in my efforts to eat healthy I began eating from the salad bar, like 90% of all the other people that work in the Fort Point neighborhood.

Months back I made myself a salad, and as you make the loop around the salad bar you come to 3 "troughs" of meat. It's usually ham chunks (yum), canned tuna, and some sort of chicken. The chicken is sometimes freshly grilled, however this is a rare thing, should you see fresh chicken pounce on it. The rest of the chicken options you will see at the salad bar all fall under the category of "shiny chicken."

Essentially the shiny chicken is the leftovers. Every day Metro makes chicken kabobs as one of their hot meal options. And the following day you will see chunks of chicken at the salad bar with little holes in it from being cooked on the kabob. Other times you will see a shredded chicken with what looks like taco seasoning on it, I think this is usually left over from the fajita wraps they make over by the pizza counter. Either way, both of those chicken options, when presented at the salad bar, are leftovers and they intrinsically share one scary attribute no matter the day of the week... the shiny.

Something happens between when the chicken is grilled, and when it is put out on the salad bar that makes it a virtual laxative. Make no mistakes, there are recent college grads working with us at BigBad who have steel plated stomach who cringe at the mere idea of eating the shiny chicken again... because their first encounter was so horrific. Myself, I ate it once about 9 months ago. It took about 45 minutes for it to happen, but when it did... cold sweats, flushed face, stomach cramps and complete gastro-disaster. This is the same reaction many of our constituents have had to the chicken.

Yesterday, for some reason, I decided I would brave the proverbial rapids again. I figured the law of averages and 9 months since the last time I ate it, it couldn't possibly make me sick again... could it? Much to my dismay, I ate the shiny chicken, I even got paranoid before eating it and re-heated it in the microwave to kill any of the whatever it is that gets us all sick. I ate my chicken, and within 45 minutes I was contemplating going home for the day. My stomach no longer wanted to be inside of my body. I was drenched with sweat, I was green, I was in fact suffering the wrath of the shiny chicken.

Lesson learned. NEVER AGAIN.

Consider yourselves warned. I take medicine daily to control my stomach and in about 45 mintues the shiny chicken completely broke me...

The King of Awesome on Fish from the Metro

Since embarking on my low carb venture, lunch and pretty much every other meal has been a stream of salads. I figured I could trust the Metro hot bar to provide a reprieve. I decided to try Hot Honey Salmon. According to Jack, King of Awesome, the Metro has pretty good fish. He's favorites are

• Potato encrusted Pollack


• Tortilla encrusted Tilapia


• Baked Haddok

These all seem to have some sort of carb crusting and unfortunately today, my fish was a little overdone for my taste.

Sushi, Bubble Tea and Terikayi Rice Bowls

Finding new places to eat when you start a new gig is either a thrilling adventure or in our case in Fort Point, a major challenge. Lunch spots seemed like slim pickings when I first started but I've slowly started finding more and more options. Today I found an awesome place, the Teriyaki House. I called in 3 orders to be delivered. The delivery arrived in less than 30 minutes with no minimum order or delivery charge. Seems someone else in the office has ordered from the Teriyaki House since they had our address and phone number on file. If you have any other lunch gems out there, spill the beans!

Teriyaki House
32 W. Broadway
South Boston, MA 02127
617 269 200

So how much DOES extra pollo cost?

So, for the 3rd time in about 2 weeks I ordered the Cucumber Hummus Wrap from Metro... with one dramatic twist! I asked them to add grilled CHICKEN!

I have found, in my new healthy eating kick that I prefer hummus on my wrap, instead of bacon, cheese and mayo. The thing is, I am a "meat with every meal" kind of guy. I like a good piece of grilled chicken in my hippie wrap. It makes me feel like the true carnivore that I am. In case you are wondering I am intentionally trying to sound like a tool.

Joking aside, I have paid 3 different prices for my Cucumber Hummus Wrap with Chicken each time I have ordered it. First I actually paid less than the wrap was listed at normally, then I was charged like $4 for chicken, then today I was charged an extra $2. So while this has become my new favorite wrap at Metro, I am afraid to recommend it to anyone else — because I don't want to be held responsible for their strange pricing. Which, by the way, is clearly based upon the level of grouchiness of the respective sandwich maker you might have the misfortune of having your lunch touched by when they call out "NEXT" when you are indeed next in line.

Why do I continue to eat it? By my calculations its only about 7-9 Weight Watchers points. Can you blame me?

Interview with Deanna, Art Director, Health Nut and Simple Sandwich Lover

I recent sat down to talk about lunch with Deanna.

What are you having for lunch today?

I have no idea. I’ll probably pick up something at Metro? Has to be healthy.

How often do you bring your lunch?

I was doing pretty well for a while but I am out of a routine...trying to get back to bringing lunch 3x a week. You?

I’m shooting for 4 x a week brown bagging it. You got a favorite lunch take out or are you a creature of habit and follow the other Metro zombies?

I typically go where I can get in and out quickly. I don’t really care. I went to the Channel one day last week but it took FOREVER to get my order. I also went to Cosi...I’m definitely no creature of habit.

What’s your favorite thing to bring from home?

Well...today I was supposed to bring a PBJ and I totally forgot. I love simple sandwiches...tuna salad is good too. Or...spinach salad with chick peas. What do you bring? You have more meal-like lunches, I think.

I’m not a sandwich person so much. Usually leftovers or salads.

You ready to go get lunch?

What did I just eat?

Well if you really want to know you can actually trace my turkey sandwich to its source by visiting the Applegate Farms Website. Applegate farms is dedicated to humanely raising antibiotic and growth hormone free animals and producing organic and nitrate free products.

Today, I had turkey on whole wheat with wasabi mayo, lettuce and tomato, a side of veggie crisp and a navel orange.

DSL with Food

Orange you glad?
Originally uploaded by hthaiwon

I forgot my lunch today

Let's see what I can find.