Lunch? Sure, just tell me where!

I am not the biggest fan of the Post Magazine, but sometimes they nail it. Here’s a story about lunch in Washington and the boom of the “fast-casual” restaurant scene (think Panera, Cosi, Chipotle, Baja Fresh or Au Bon Pain). I always felt there was something city-specific about these joints, but I could never pin it down. This was certainly not the case in New York or the small town I lived in in Missouri.

Not to mention Romania!

Below is a choice graph from the story and further down — for those speaking Romanian — are some thoughts on the matter that I posted on the HotNews.ro blog.

So, what are you having for lunch? And even better — where are you having lunch?

(These places may be upscale), but its customers follow the same rules as at any burger joint: You stand in line, you get your own drink, you pay before you eat, you seat yourself, you bring your food to the table yourself and you clean up after yourself, all in prescribed patterns. Customers and employees are on an equal footing — eye to eye — instead of waiters hovering solicitously over comfortably seated patrons. And yet this Cosi, with its bright display of kalamata olives, pistachios, dried cranberries and gorgonzola cheese being tossed into salads and layered into sandwiches while customers watch, and its brushed-metal light fixtures and black-and-white photos on the walls, is offering a different product from the industrial environment of traditional fast food. Says Smith, “You’re buying class when you come in here.”

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Unde mancam de pranz?

De cand locuiesc in Washington am inceput sa fiu preocupat de ce voi manca la pranz. Chiar mai mult — am inceput sa ma preocup de UNDE voi manca de pranz. Azi am citit in Washington Post un articol fascinant despre explozia retelelor de restaurante “fast-casual” (sau quick-casual), care de fapt sunt fast-food-uri cu mot, si care au obisnuit consumatorul cu o omniprezenta incapatanata la doar cateva minute de mers pe jos de locul de munca. Fenomenul se intampla incet incet peste tot in lume (vezi Gregory’s in Bucuresti), dar in D.C. e o nebunie si e una din acele trasaturi care caracterizeaza perfect capitala americana.

Unde voi manca de pranz nu a fost niciodata o mare problema. In timpul scolii generale si apoi in liceu mergeam la bunica dupa ore si ma indopam regeste. “Iara mergi la perfuzii?” obisnuia sa ma intrebe un coleg de clasa.

In facultate la Bucuresti, desi eram de capul meu, pranzul nu a fost o prea mara bataie de cap. De multe ori eram acasa unde imi faceam un sandwich si la revedere. Alteori eram in campus la Politehnica la Leu si mancam fie la una din cantinele facultatii, fie la un barulet de langa gard care a primit atatea porecle de-a lungul anilor incat nu le tin socoteala.

Cand am venit in America pentru masterat am inceput sa mananc mai des in afara casei, dar avand in vedere ca eram student, masa de pranz a continuat sa fie o cursa de infulecare. De cand am terminat cu scoala si m-am mutat in Washington ma intreb mereu ce voi manca la pranz. Pot cobori in subsolul cladirii in care lucrez unde am o duzina de optiuni, de la mancare chinezeasca si burritos pana la lasagna. Pot iesi din cladire si la fiecare colt de strada sunt cinci sau sase restarurante fast-casual.

Ce e interesant — dupa cum arata si articolul din Washington Post — e ca din punct de vedere al calitatii, nu vorbim de nimic spectatculos. E totul in atmosfera, decor, stilul de preparare, interactiunea cu clientii — si poate cel mai important — faptul ca tu ca si consumator ai acceptat deja ideea ca ai posibilitatea (si dreptul!) sa ai atatea optiuni pentru pranz si ai dreptul sa le ai pe toata la “poarta fabricii”.

Daca nu iti pui frana te vei trezi dupa ca dupa o saptamana de munca ai aruncat intre $50 si $75 de dolari pe sandwich-uri, supe si salate pe care le puteai aduce de acasa si care in total te-ar fi costat un sfert din ce ai cheltuit. Cine spune ca nu am fost luati pe sus de dorinta noastra nestapanita de a avea, de a putea alege — totul piperat cu iluzia ca putem controla ce se intampla.

Apropo, cum e masa de pranz a unui angajat in Romania?

One Response to “Lunch? Sure, just tell me where!”

  1. Issues such as those posed in Ms. Gardiner’s article are being addressed daily by a community at theoriginalwhatsforlunch.blogspot.com – in fact, just this weekend, we had our first annual conference here in DC to further discuss, well, lunch. Where to get it? What to get? Why do we choose what we choose? Etc. We love to have as many contributors, from as many diverse backgrounds and with as many different lunching ethoses as possible.

    Please feel free to join us.

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