When I started working in my current office there was a 7-11 down the street. I liked having 7-11 there...I'd pop in for coffee in the morning, if I didn't have time to make lunch I could grab something there, and I once became an intern's hero by rescuing him from a very tedious job and going to get Slurpees in the afternoon. We also had a couple of sub shops and access to the cafeteria in the federal building across the street, and there was a Chinese restaurant that was only occasionally shut down by the health department.
A few years ago a developer bought up pretty much everything in the neighborhood except us, the federal building, and the iffy Chinese restaurant. Gone were the sub shops and 7-11. We lost access to the cafeteria because of security restrictions. We were in a snack food wasteland.
Today it changed. A cafe opened in the new office building next door. I went in for coffee...they had regular coffee, flavored coffee, coffee with syrup and coffee with frothy milk. They had frozen coffee. They had tea and chai and hot chocolate.
They had a cooler full of fruit juices from every fruit you can juice.
They had a salad bar with the actual fruit.
They had omlettes and eggs, bacon, ham, corned beef hash, and sausage in links and patties. They had pancakes, waffles, and french toast. They had potatoes O'Brien and hash brown patties. An Atkins disciple would flee at the variety of bagels, muffins, danish, and biscuits.
The menu board of sandwiches included at least four vegetarian options, including one with roasted vegetables with brie. They have club sandwiches with names. At lunch the breakfast bar becomes a hot food bar and the fruit bar changes over to salad. They had every flavor of soda and chips I've never seen.
I left with a huge plate of breakfast and Leo Sayer going through my head...
Of course I can dance
Of course I can dance
I'm sure I can dance
I'm sure I can dance...
POST-LUNCH UPDATE: I'm in sensory overload. They still had the fruit bar. Did I mention it had kiwi? And a salad bar...all the normal vegetables, and Waldorf salad, greek salad, ceasar salad, pasta salad, potato salad, tofu salad...the hot bar had meatloaf, London broil, lasagna, broccoli pie, asparagus, Chinese food, mashed potatoes...
Good thing I had to leave the office early to take the dog to the vet; I'd be way too tempted to return a third time for a mid-afternoon Smoothie.
Posted by Nic at June 18, 2004 09:49 AM