Skillet Breakfast and Work Lunches

So I'm working in the office this very moment. Or I'm about to. Work. Work. Lots of work. In any case I did feel the need to at least try to keep up with my eating life, though I'm already far behind. For example, this is a skillet full of roasted brussels sprouts, fingerling potatoes and tomatoes topped with some parmesan cheese and two eggs, all of which I stuck into an oven until the eggs were cooked. It was breakfast about a month ago.

As in years past, during the busy season at work our bosses pay for lunch in an effort to keep morale high/in a realization that the time we would usually grocery shop is generally taken up with work. On this particular day I believe I ordered the tofu and squash soup from Koja Grill. With the aid of an added rice island, the dragon got a very up close and personal look at the stew's silky tofu and spicy red broth.

Another day found the dragon at the edge of a pool of mozarella, which was oozing protection for an underlying eggplant parmagiana sandwich from Luigi's, which disappointed a bit if I'm going to be honest.

The Dragon and Sushi, Sandwich and Salad

So the busy season continued. Here are a few meals I had. This was sushi c/o Sakura. Shrimp tempura, eel and avocado and spicy crab. It's the kind of place where if you order sushi that isn't actually raw fish, you'll be happy. But the raw fish options are a little funky. Such is the life of a so-so sushi joint.

Frankly, I was pleased with my choices, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend the place.

Another day, another Primo's hoagie. This was a little heavy on the mayo, but still tasty. They have a way with pickles.

And finally a spinach salad c/o 3J's. They let you choose which ingredients you want. I went with tomato, corn, black olives, avocado and red onion, with the addition of grilled chicken. The chicken is fine, but not totally amazing. I kind of imagine they microwave it.

Team Building at a Phillies Game

A few weeks back our out-of-town boss was in the office and in addition to the chicken lunch, we also went to a baseball game to do some 'team building.' This, for me, meant generally ignoring a baseball game, drinking beer and taking photographs of the light. We were up way high.

But with a pretty great view of the Philadelphia sky line.

At some point they had a toddler chucking event. Here this guy is about to throw the kid down to the field, where a trampoline shaped like the Phanatic cushioned his fall. The parent who threw their child fromt he highest section won a Zune and '06 Kia.

The sky was doing lovely things.

Our tickets had $10 programmed on them for food or beverage. I ended up spending more of my own money to have a second beer, but this sausage was pretty tasty.

Feast of the Five Chickens c/o Federal Donuts

Life in the office recently has included some new additions. I thought that it might be nice if we all enjoyed a round of fried chicken and donuts in order to get to know each other a little better/really, come on, any excuse for fried chicken and donuts in the office is winning. So a Monday or so back that's just what happened. I excitedly placed the order for 5 1/2 chickens with varying spice configurations, and an even dozen of fancy donuts on the preceding Friday before the determined Monday meal. Then I took it upon myself to go and pick up the whole kit and caboodle. It took a little longer than I thought, as they didn't actually start frying the chicken til I was there, but the results were, in my humble opinion, quite good. While I waited I enjoyed a complimentary warm lavender donut. It was so warm that I didn't bother with a photograph before devouring it. In the end I came back to the office laden with the tell-tale red striped boxes of the Federal Donuts brand. And what a feast.

There were Z'aatar, Harissa, Buttermilk Ranch, Coconut Curry and Ginger Garlic flavored chicken parts for us to enjoy. Oh yes indeed.

And donuts stretching the gamut of flavors, but certainly including strawberry rhubarb, chocolate coconut, chili mango and fig.

Oh man. Was I pleased. I hope that my coworkers and bosses felt that it was well worth their time away from the computers at a point where we most certainly have work to do. So juicy. So crispy. We had leftovers. I enjoyed cold fried chicken for another lunch or two, and I don't think I was alone.

Work Pizza

Our office recently welcomed three new hires into the fold. In an effort to get them socialized and familiar with those of us already in the office the company sponsored a pizza lunch. We ordered three pizzas. Here is proof of the two more interesting ones (the first was plain ol' cheese). The old standby of former Pizza/Laundry/Puppy days, pepperoni and mushrooms from Luigi's.

And then the Veggie Fresca pizza. I actually didn't have a slice of this, it's so heavy for veggies and not quite cheesy enough for my taste.

Sushi and Sandwich

Another week, more meals. I'm not sharing the curry from King of Tandoor because it really isn't that much to look at, but I enjoyed it at the time. Another meal was from Kansai. I believe I went with the spicy/crunchy crab roll, eel and avocado, and smoked salmon with cream cheese. Very authentic sushi, no doubt. Satisfying though.
And then a turkey, pickle etc sandwich from Rybread. Their definition of a brioche is kind of off the mark.

Roast Beef Sandwich c/o Rybread

Another subsidized lunch meal at work. This time from Rybread. I believe this was roast beef, cheddar cheese and horseradish mayo grilled paninni-style. The beef didn't really have a lot of goodness to it, which meant the whole thing was a little flat; not Rybread's best, I didn't think.

Work Meals and Dragon Flight

The free lunches kept rolling at work. This particular day was hot and sour soup and some chicken dish. The dragon really wanted to bathe itself in the thick viscosity of the soup, but lost control in its approach, ultimately parting with a wing. Soup dreams dashed.
The next day, however, the dragon was renewed and had far more success when landing on my salad from Luigi's (complete with fried zuchini sticks).
The dragon really is a little sneak and a mooch. Always getting bites of my meals. But what has it ever done for anyone! Nothing. Just sits and stares at me til lunch time. That's it.

Primo's Hoagie

The busy work times continued. At some point I enjoyed this hoagie from primo's. From the look of it, it's probably a 'Big T' with pickles, long hots, tomato and mayonnaise. I don't remember being disappointed.

String Beans and Tofu c/o New Place

For lunch the day after dart night I rallied the office troops and we tried out a new Chinese place in the neighborhood. I ordered the sauteed string beans in garlic sauce and added fried tofu to that mix. LW and I also split steamed pork dumplings. All was better than some places but worse than others. Hunan Szehuan still wins as far as green beans and tofu are concerned.

Gyro c/o Zorba's

On another day I ordered the gyro sandwich from Zorba's - with extra tomatoes. It was a good move and a tasty hit-the-spot treat.
The dragon was overwhelmed by the extra tomatoes.

Lunch Special c/o King of Tandoor

The lunches kept rolling this past week, or maybe last week, whatever week it was. On this particular day I had the veggie lunch special c/o King of tandoor. I enjoyed the spinach/chick pea dish but I wasn't as enamored of the other element of the meal. I forget what it was though, so I can't really tell you to avoid it.

Dinosaur Progress and Primo's

Overnight the dinosaurs grew. I had hoped they would grow so big they would become alive and would be stomping around the office in all their neon glory. This did not happen, but you will note that they certainly grew.
Lunch was Primo's on this day. Maybe a Tuesday? I went with the Sicilian with long hots and tomatoes. It was a satisfying sandwich though the dragon tried to photo bomb this photograph, which I found quite rude.
Eventually it got its levitation on and all was better with the world.

The Dragon Returns ... With Primo's

The last couple of weeks have marked an uptick as far as work goes, which makes sense if you knew what I did. As has been the case in previous years, this means that my employers pay for lunch. Or inaugural lunch came to us care of Primo's. I went with a "Big T" with long hots, pickles and tomatoes. I was entirely satisfied until this dragon, whom I hadn't laid eyes on in months, suddenly was mugging for the camera like you wouldn't believe. Some dragons. No sense of humility.

Work Hoagie c/o Primos

We've got a few new folks in the office as of late, and in honor of their first week and getting to know them, the whole office sat down and had hoagies some time last week. I went with the Sulmona with pesto. Proble was that the sandwich didn't come like I thought it would. This is - in retrospect - partially because I was ordering the wrong sandwich ... but also because they didn't actually give me what I had ordered in terms of specializing the hoagie for my personal enjoyment. Primo's was pretty quick to get me a new sandwich, even if it too had mayo when I asked for none (I'm a mayo lover, but even I sometimes need a break). I think my love affair with Primo's may be, at least for the moment, an oversaturated love. Or desaturated? Can love be saturated? Probably.

French Onion Soup and Chopped Salad c/o Rembrandt's

We had another prospective hire come into town last week, or the week before? Last week. And so once again a smaller group of us traipsed to Rembrandt's for an informal sit-down. In this case, I thought I would try an alternative to their quite delicious burger selection and chose to go with a soup/salad. The soup was very hot and my mouth did end up a little burned after my first few slurps. I slowed down and then was better able to enjoy the massive quantities of massive cheese and the oniony broth hidden beneath it.
The salad had radishes and tomatoes and other things, I added grilled chicken to mine. It was a decent salad. I wasn't enamored of the dressing, but it wasn't altogether a disappointment. M. ordered the Caesar and was quite let down. I must admit, it was a sad looking plate with not a lot going on.

Gazpacho and Burgers c/o Rembrandt's

While I haven't gotten a raise or any new title, I have gained a bit more responsibility in the office this year. This responsibility came in the form of being part of our recruiting process for new hires. After a number of campus visits, a slightly wider cast net and so very many editing test conversations, we finally sent out offers to our faves, one of whom isn't from the area. In an effort to sway her into joining us in our work, we took her out to lunch. We went to Rembrandt's, which I haven't been to since they switched ownership. Or, if I have, not since they changed the menu quite a bit. C. and I were equally interested in the lamb and 21 day aged burgers and decided that we would each order one, cut it in half and switch. Which, in case you couldn't figure that out, meant that we got to try both. And let me just tell you something. These burgers? Really good. Way juicy. Way cooked to order. Way flavorful. Way, way, way too great.
And so filling. C. later said that she felt like she had a food baby inside her. This grossed me out, but is accurate.
I started with the green gazpacho, which I could only say good things about if you were to ask me, which you really don't have to since you're already reading this. Seriously, I'm giving this place mad props. I basically wrote off the place on the basis of food after meh crab cakes a few years back, but believe you me, they're back on my radar with these freakin' crazy burgers.

Wasabi Cracker, Salmon, Radish, Brie and Tabouleh Lunch

On my last work day before my Jamaican vacation, I made myself a little lunch. It was actually really good. I had left over poached salmon from the dinner I made myself a few nights before, and a little wedge of goat brie that needed to be dealt with, not to mention a nice bunch of radishes and a fair amount of tabouleh. Man oh man. While spring and summer are yet to really announce themselves, this lunch reminded me of my more summer-oriented eating style. Mainly because of the radishes and salmon. Fresh. Tasty.

Work Lunches

So, leading up to the new year, work was fast and furious, as were the company-sponsored lunches. One day I shared a Fresca pizza with some folks from Luigi's. It was weighed down with all sorts of veggies and entirely pleasing to me and the dragon.
Another day, another Primo's Hoagie. This one was a little heavy on the mayo if I recall correctly.
And yet another day I ended up ordering an eggplant dish from King of Tandoor along with garlic naan and a mango lassi. Those mango lassis really will make most things in your life a tad bit better, at least momentarily.

Turkey, Ham and Cheese Primo Hoagie

In my earliest years of working in Philadelphia, all members of the office were under the collective assumption that Primo's didn't deliver. This made having their fare for lunch during the busy season an especially nice treat, as it required someone to actually go into Center City proper and pick up the goods when every minute not in front of the computer was a moment longer you would have to stay at work. Since we realized that they would, in fact, deliver, the frequency of Primo's sandwiches in my life has exploded. While they are consistently good, they are no longer transcendent to me; Primo's hoagies have, in a sense, become pedestrian to me. By that I mean, they no longer blow me away with their awesome combination of bread, meat, cheese and those indomitable long hots. I show respect for the sandwich, but I am not in awe of the sandwich.
The dragon doesn't really feel the same way. It particularly cares for the pickles. Anybody else have the experience of literally eating too much of a good thing?