Up until a couple of months ago my house was close enough to my office that I could spend my lunch hour with my wife, who is an excellent cook, and my 20 month old son, who’s lunchtime antics would put me in a great mood that lasted the rest of the day.
We have since moved to the country so I’ve been doing lunch at the office every day for a while. I’ve been eating sandwiches and frozen dinners with the occasional last night’s dinner leftovers for variety. Surely there is a better idea or two out there.
What do you guys do for lunch? Does anyone have a more palatable or creative suggestion for their lunch time cuisine? How about suggestions for refreshing the old noodle during the lunch break?
Breaktime is great but a lot of times I’m in front of this screen all day and like to give my eyes a break during lunch. Thinking about joining a gym to get the blood pumping around mid day. What else ya got?
Kevin Halliburton
“One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.” -Elbert Hubbard-
Replies
Chinese restaurant. Gets you out of the office, chance to focus on something farther away than your monitor, order something hot and spicy and it gets the blood pumping quite nicely.
Restaurants- aside from the serious drain on the budget there is just something very dismal in my mind about eating alone in a restaraunt. When I eat out at lunch I'm also usually pretty lethargic for the rest of the day.
I've got a couple of stunt kites that haven't been in the sky for a couple of years- that might be a nice break on the right day.
I like the walk in the park idea for good weather days. A little too hot here in the summer and a little too cold in the winter but would be a good idea several days out of the year.
Keep 'em comin'
Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
Disagree on the chinese food- it will put you to sleep for the rest of the afternoon. Find a local park and walk lunch hour off- maybe get a light munchie to nibble on as you walk. Its amazing how new ideas come to you when you get out of the office.
Try not to look like a derelict or a pervert if you walk in the park... it scares the little old ladies!
depends where I'm at. Today I walked 4 blocks(didn't want to loose my parking space) to a deli I thought was still open, it wasn't, finally got took for 11 bucks at starbucks for a yardbird sandwich, ice tea, rasberry crumb thing and coffee.
Ask your wife to drop by with the little one for lunch. Ask for home-made gourmet. Get her a mini-van.
JUST KIDDING! I imagine she's already plenty busy with the little one!
It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
Actually, she just started driving in and hitting the gym again a couple of times a week. She finishes up just before lunch so we're able to grab a bite together on those days. Had lunch with her and the munchkin today in fact- that's what got me thinking about it.
Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
lucky to work near a sushi joint. hello my name is bear and i too am a sushiholic.....
Hello, My name is Hasbben and I too and a sushi-holic.
There are only two sushi places near where I live: Both 50 miles away. After that it's 100 miles.
Good thing we can drive the rice rocket!It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
Saw your picture with the glass of bin 59 a few weeks ago. Could have figured you were a sushi guy...(actually, now that I think about it, that might have been Bucksnort with a glass of bin 55 and red wine doesn't go too well with sushi)
Anyway, we've only got one restaraunt here in Abilene serving Sushi. You're gonna love the name of this place ... "Texas China." No kidding! It's actually not half bad.
Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
yup- that was bucky........... this would be me...... and sushi in abilene, hell why not. damn , kev i just love that name -abilene-, it's got curls, yeah brown curls with brown eye's, and summer breezes, and long white sun dress. and perhaps a sister and dear i say.... sushi... hhhhhhmmmm
Sorry mate- my mistake. There is certainly something very "beary" about you. Dang! Did you pick up that sushi habit catching salmon with your bare hands? :-)>
Abilene is a nice place to hibernate if you're ever looking for a break from those NorthEastern winters. Not too far off from your imagined persona actually. I'll buy you a sushi lunch if you ever make it this far south.Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
thanks kev.....
Just curious.......but does like anybody on this message board actually perform any kind of work in the construction field? I'm not trying to be a contractor bigot..... but this thread is hilarious!
......"Well I send Liz, my secretary, to the corner bistro to pick-up the lunch special of the day. Or after a "hardy" round of golf I'll eat with the other partners at the clubhouse."
You guys crack me up! I bet you guys don't even cut your own grass...unless it's on a John Deere tractor and you're wearing a golf shirt!
My lunch goes with me to wherever I happen to be working that day......and with whomever I happen to be with.
I love the contractor life......
jocobe
I was just thinking the same thing.....who are these guys? I pull my playmate lunchbox out of my truck and pull up on the wood pile or lean against a wall and eat what I packed. It usually takes 15-20 min, then you get back to work.....this is the difference between the paid lunches, and the self-employed. Oh yeah and one other thing....
I DON'T EAT BAIT!
Say it ain't so man... NO microwave,refridgerator and water cooler????? NO washroom key????
How ever could you survive?
If I went to the gym at lunch and burned any more calories I'd fall through my own butt and hang myself. Don't see any fat people on a jobsite do you.
Bawahahahah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gotta love those desk job boys while the boss is whippin their butts and they are stuck in traffic coming and going, I'm building or remodeling their house. Wouldn't trade it for anything, they work to pay me and I'm having fun. I've been on both sides and one day of desk job stress takes more outta me then a year of physical work. Heck when you can't get me on the phone and I don't call you back, it's because, I'm out fishing and you'll just have to wait. I'll eat crappy lunches the rest of my life but I'll gaurentee you the day I die nobody's going to say poor soul if he'd only had a better lunchtime things would have been different.
I'd rather die poor and happy then rich and miserable but that's just me.
___________________________________________________________If you were arrested for being a quality builder would there be enough evidence to convict you?
Gotta love those desk job boys while the boss is whippin their butts and they are stuck in traffic coming and going, I'm building or remodeling their house.
Respectfully, perhaps some of us desk job boys are perfectly capable of building our own house, as I'm presently doing.
Don't see any fat people on a jobsite do you.
Now that one.... that one is funny!!!
Seriously, I hear you about being stuck behind a desk all day being a drag. I do a lot of field inspections but it's not the same. There are days I really miss the sawdust in the air and the tactile feel of tools in my hand. Not going to have too many days this year that I can't satisfy that urge in the evenings and weekdends on my house though.
I'd rather die poor and happy then rich and miserable but that's just me.
This is one desk jockey that may give you a run for your money on any contest to die poor and happy. :-)>
Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
"I bet you guys don't even cut your own grass...unless it's on a John Deere tractor and you're wearing a golf shirt"
You just watch how you're talkin' there. Ain't nothin' green around MY place. Only degenerates have green stuff.
Anything what's green and don't grow got somethin' wrong with it.When your pet bird sees you reading the newspaper, does he wonder why you're just sitting there, staring at carpeting?
Aw, c'mon Boss, you hate Olivers, too?It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
"Aw, c'mon Boss, you hate Olivers, too?"
Naw - Should've been more specific - It's just that particular SHADE of green that I don't like.They say television is making people dumber. What do they mean by that?
I finished the restoration yesterday, how do you feel about yeller?
Wow, Keith! That's incredible. You've got the knack, for sure! {G}
What year is that Cub Cadet?It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
IMPRESSIVE!!!!!!!!!
I got nothin' against yellow.
As long as it's not GREEN and yellow.
Lead me not into temptation. I can find it myself
I must confess, the little guy drives a green and yellow......but I may change that.
Just curious.......but does like anybody on this message board actually perform any kind of work in the construction field? I'm not trying to be a contractor bigot..... but this thread is hilarious!
Yea, sucks being me on those hundred degree plus and thirty below days but that set of plans you work off of has to come from somewhere- There's a whole lot more to construction than just constructing. :-)>
I love the contractor life......
Me too- in moderation
I bet you guys don't even cut your own grass...
you loose that bet- I did finally quit changing my own oil.
Anyway, you got the wrong image of this desk jockey but what the heck, I'll take what you can give me. Any good ideas for those packed lunch days?
Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
Kevin,
I pack mine in a playmate but it ain't boring. Boudin, gumbo, sauce piquant,etoufee', grillades, N.Y. style deli sandwiches. Sometimes cook for everybody on site. Food is important.
Laissez les bons temps rouler,
KK
Now that sounds like what I'm after. I don't know what the heck you said when you signed off but for some reason it made me hungry. :-)> Care to share the recipe for any of that cajun magic?Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
http://www.gumbopages.com/food/boudin.html
Aiyeee, now I'm hungry. Don't forget the hogshead cheese!
KK
I'll pass on the hog's head but that boudin recipe looked pretty good. I've just got one question...
That stuff is pretty warm coming and going. Do you keep a roll of toilet paper chilling in that cooler of yours and if so, how do you keep it from getting wet? :-)>
Took a trip to Alabama to see the BIL and his family this summer and got some great Cajun cuisine coming and going through Louisiana.
Accidentally took a side trip on the way home and stumbled across one of the best Cajun sea food restaurants I've ever eaten at. I can't remember the name of it now but it almost made the ticket I got trying to make up the time worth it.
Oysters on the half shell pulled out of the water that morning- little squirt of lemon and a shot of Tabasco. Perfect compliment to a steaming bowl of crawfish gumbo.
When I was in college years ago I used to run the oyster bar at Jerome's- a four star Cajun restaurant in Tucson, Arizona. That gumbo was right up there with Jerome's and the oysters were hands down the best I'd ever eaten.
Is it lunch time yet?
Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
With the prices of microwaves where they are, I've bought one that goes to every jobsite with me. Nothing like something hot for lunch in the winter, and the other seasons too.
Goulash
Home made corn chowder
left over pizza
Chicken & rice soup
Soup and a sandwich
Steak from last night
NO BAIT! EVER! Not even in the microwave, oh god, how can you guys eat that stuff.
Every now and then we go out for lunch and inevitably it is expensive, not as good as home made, and sets you up for doing nothing the rest of the afternoon. Me anyway, I get a bit lethargic after a big lunch. I guess the secret is "not so big", eh?
Here is my favorite "Calvin & Hobbes" strip. Now, HE'S got the right idea!
I cooked for my friends wedding a few years ago. Besides the 300# pig and the 100# goat there was some hogshead cheese. The yankee women didn't want to eat goat but they sure gobbled down that "pork glace'".
Coonass food ain't hot it's spicey. Did you bring some corn and shrimp soup for lunch today?
http://southernfood.about.com/library/rec01/bl10727h.htm
KK
I'm one of those guys who gets 1/2 hr. for lunch and when I get a scrambled egg sandwich with taco cheese and jalapenos for lunch, I'm a lucky guy. My wife works swing shift, so I know that supper is going to be a microwave Mexican food dinner.
Wrecked, just stumbled onto this thread......Would Jerome's be the Kingfisher Grill on E. Grant?......If so, I agree, it was great......We were there over winter break this year......
cajun food.......Go over to Cooks Talk and do a search on Cajun......There are one or two fantastic cajun cooks there.....One in particular is FullFledged.........
Not unless they sold out and I didn't know about it. It used to just be named "Jerome's."
I worked there in 1988 so who knows what has happened to them by now. They used to be on East Grant and I can't find them in the on-line yellow pages so I suppose it could be the Kingfisher Grill now.Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
Thanks, I think it is now Kingfisher Grill......The oyster bar was still there and the seafood was good......Not bad for a landlocked city such as Tucson.....
What he actually said was:
Laissez les bons temps rouler
In English:
Leave good times to roll
"Lazy the bones temporarily to roll."
[I no cuz I tuk French in Kolege.]
~Peter
Why do people always mispronounce "debris"? [It ends with an "s".]
I guess I am the only one that skips lunch, at least most of the time. I just have never liked eating all that much in the middle of the day, instead I take a few short breaks and graze on some fruit or other snack.
Now try to ban coffee and there is going to be trouble.
You're not alone....
4/5 short breaks a day. 10/15 minuets a shot. A drink, snack, fruit, candy bar or something. 10/12 hour day.
For the record.... You are in trouble....
For just having the thought about banning coffee.
You're alright Wrecked Angle. Actually I turned the corner today..........and there it was......McDonalds on the left AND Dave's Natural Food Market on the right. What to do.......what to do.........Well I went for Dave's..............Powerhouse Sandwich, green tea, and vege chips.
Always try to eat right, usually make something and take it along....sandwich, fruit, Blue Sky soda.....sometimes just yougart and fruit...........then read the news on my palmpilot ;-)
I estimated for a millwork company for about 10 years. Smaller jobs were cool, but quoting big jobs really made me edgy. I would close my office door, do-not-disturb my phone and spend the whole damn day in there. Acted real grouchy so people would leave me alone! It felt great when I got a job that I had worked hard on........but I really got bummed when customers were awarded jobs based on my quote then sent it out for bids again. Or when you get a roll of prints and they want the quote the next day.........then you call to find out how you stand......and they decide (while you were still working on it and didn't tell you) not to go with the project. AAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
jocobe......the happy contractor
>>does like anybody on this message board actually perform any kind of work in the construction field?<<
A man does many things in his life. I've been a student, a soldier, a suit, a carp, and a couple dozen other things as well. I've eaten cold beans fom the can, c-rats and MRE's, three martini lunches, crap from the roach-coach, PBJ's from home, and a million other things as well. I'm not in the construction field now, because I found a field I love more- the field I plowed and planted myself.
=====Zippy=====
OK, Here's the pertinent question: How many of you that work on site everyday at physical labor are under 40 years old? And how many over 40 have at least less physically demanding jobs than they did earlier on in life? It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
You left out the precious few that are over 50 that are still out in the field. Me? 54.
Out in the field? If you are you better get back in before the drifts cover you up!It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
My question about people's ages and work (which didn't elicit much response to verify or refute my theory), was related to my experience that somewhere in a person's thirties they often, in my experience, either get out of regular on-site work OR they at least dream/talk about getting out OR they want to go into biz for themselves, etc.
Then I seem to hear from the ones who got out (me included) that they miss it....
Maybe it's just the "grass is always greener" thing.It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
I'll be 54 the last of June. This year, I've been working in a cab shop, trimming houses and just finished framing a 2000 sq. footer. Yes, those 8/12 pitches are a LOT steeper than they used to be and 7/8 t&g plywood weighs a ton, but if I don't do it, someone else will get the money. I had been self-employed since 1983 before Nov. of 2002, when I took an hourly wage position with some contractors. Now I work just as hard physically, but miss out on the paperwork headaches.
I am 40 years old. I usually prefer to skip lunch,work straight through ,and then go home early.
on site...........every day........physical labor.....skilled labor......
36. One man crew....me.
More physical job than when I was 25......
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
It's hard for me to figure out what to do for lunch, too. I work in a remote area. There's only one restaurant about a mile away, and it isn't very good. The nearst other ones are 10 minutes away.
I like to break up the routine with special lunches when I have the opportunity. When the kids are off school and I have to work, I try to meet them for lunch. When DW has a long lunch due to a special thing going on where she teaches, I sometimes meet her and 4 or 5 of her friends for lunch. (One guy and 5 women - Great stuff if DW wasn't there)
Sometimes I have to go to jobsites for various reasons. I try to schedule these visits around mid day, and ask if I can tag along with the guys when they go for lunch. It's nice to have the company, and try someplace new to eat. They generally know a good place, and what to eat.
Sometimes I've bought subway sandwichs or pizza for the rest of the office. One place I worked, a couple of the ladies put a pot luck together gor a special occasion.
Whomever suggested having DW and the kid stop by and bring lunch can also be fun. With small kids, the rest of the office staff will probably like seeing him.
Don't know if that's what you're looking for - But it's all I can come up with at the moment.
One thing I've NEVER been able to manage at lunchtime is a nooner. It's just never worked out for some reason.
Help Wanted: Telepath. You know where to apply.
Bunch of office workers... Geesh...
Here's an idea in the dead of winter try sitting in front of a torpedo heater roaring while you eat a frozen ham sandwich then go back to work 15 minutes later or your knees will lock up.
Or eat your sushi on a 100 degree August day then fight off the flies all afternoon in the out house.
Here's an idea pack some candles and a bottle of wine in that desk job lunch, the rest of the day will be so much more pleasent.
____________________________________________If you were arrested for being a quality builder would there be enough evidence to convict you?
hey geo- i've done my time........ trust me on this...... i chose my comforts, i've done the dinty moore stew out of a hubcap.more than i care to remember, i eat healthy. come to think of it i eat alot of healthy, but as i digress. is that..... is.... yes it is ..... it's a chorus of- " nobody 's seen the trouble i've seen"- time to put that in a can and put that on the torpedo heater.
ROFL!!! Did that scene for years. Setting my lunch on the truck engine to get it warm was one of my favorites. A propane torch will toast a hot dog in nothing flat too. Tuna fish and crackers, Dinty Moore stew, Wolf Brand Chili, Ramen noodles... Yea, just don't miss that diet or work environment all that much.
Actually, there is one old construction site meal I still eat on a regular basis. I still enjoy a peanut butter and honey sandwich with banana slices on it with a cup of stiff coffee for breakfast just about every morning. Protein, carbs, antioxidants, potassium and a solid shot of caffine- hard to beat for a great jump start on the day.Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
WELL, maybe you need a big van with no windows, curtains in front, arrange with Mrs. Bosshog......
I'm sure none of your coworkers would ever suspect or give you a lot of &%#$ about it!It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
Any of you lucky enough to work near a WAWA?
Got me, Miles. What's a WAWA?It doesn't matter how fast you get there, it just matters that you go in the right direction.
Well was going to suggest getting one of those tail gate type grills, used one at a former job occasionaly, usually fridays, when the weather was nice, We would bring in hamburgers, dogs, etc and grill em up during lunch on site.
But since your in an office, probably not practical.
How about everynow and then having your wife and child meet you somewhere close to the office?