Five Fav Lunches

Five lunch entrees that are reliably tasty and economical.

Word Play Challenge (WPC): Guess the celebrity, public, or historic figure using the entrée name in a sentence – answers at the end of the post!

The nice thing about ordering a cheeseburger at Old Town is that if you order it medium rare, it comes to you medium rare. The melted Swiss and sautéed mushrooms add to the gooey, gut-busting pleasure, and the crunchy, steak-cut fries are icing on the cake.
“My dear Lizzy,” cried Mrs. Bennett, “I feel quite certain that Wickham would never have taken Lydia to an establishment such as the Old Town, much less required her to partake of a cheeseburger with grilled mushrooms.”

“When you took the picture of your salad,” my friend said laughing, “you should have SEEN the expression on the face of the lady sitting next to us! You'd have thought you were taking a picture of a pile of s---!” Ah, the hazards of blogging, though why a fellow diner would give a s--- whether I take a photo of my food, I don’t know. Regardless, Café Zola’s salad sampler serves up a perfect little plate of chicken, egg, tuna, and lettuce salads. I don’t even LIKE egg salad normally, but Zola’s is fantastic.
“I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is the Salad Sampler. Because there are samples. And it’s salad.”

I’m starting to feel like broken record singing the praises of Vinology. With their sandwich and salad/soup combo, you can choose from any of their lovely sandwiches – I like the chicken salad or the shrimp po boy – and have a salad, or one of the day’s selection of soups. And it comes with a pile of perfectly crisp shoestring fries. At only $8, it’s the best lunch deal on Main Street in a crisp, contemporary atmosphere.
“I have no plans to be a candidate for president again, I don't expect to ever be a candidate for president again. But I will tell you that I plan to have the soup and salad combo at Vinology for lunch today."

I imagine the owners of Makkara generate most of their income providing sushi in little carry-out boxes to groceries like Busch’s. But their storefront on Packard next to Fantasy Attic is an easy stop when you’re on the east side of town. I always order a spicy tuna roll, which the staff serve quickly with a smile. And their drink cooler is the coldest in Ann Arbor – my bottle of Diet Coke is always just short of frozen. Looove that.
“Being in jail was like being in a cage, but that nice sheriff did let me send out for a spicy tuna roll.”

In college I worked in a sandwich shop owned by a Korean family, and became addicted to BiBimBop. Bell's Diner, over on West Stadium, serves up a satisfying bowl of the stuff in an old fashioned diner where you might expect Andy and Barney to walk through the door any minute. And I’ve found it’s a great antidote for what ails ya the day after a night of overindulgence. Beef, egg over easy, and don’t forget the hot sauce.
“The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains, and everything to gain including BiBimBop. Workingmen of all countries, unite!”

WPC Anwers: 1) Jane Austen 2) George W. Bush 3) Al Gore 4) Paris Hilton 5) Karl Marx