Lunch meet

Many of my co-workers at Anomaly go out and buy lunch during work. Here are some of their options, all within walking distance of our SoHo office (restaurant, cafe and supermarket names are in brackets; prices are close approximations):

• Japanese lunch box (chicken teriyaki, rice, green salad and gyoza) [Mikaku] $6.00
• Freshly cooked pasta with choice of ingredients [Cafe Duke] $9.00-$10.00
• Freshly prepared gourmet hot sandwich ['Wichcraft] $7.00-$10.00
• Pad thai noodles [Lovely Day] $8.00
• Cuban burrito [Cafe Habana] $8.00
• Freshly tossed salad with choice of ingredients [Cafe Cafe] $9.00
• Japanese pre-cooked meal (usually a rice dish) [Sunrise Mart] $7.00
• Burger and fries [SoHo Park] $8.00-$9.00
• Freshly prepared cold sandwich [Parisi Bakery] $6.00
• Various pre-cooked hot entrees [Gourmet Garage] $6.00-$10.00
• Masala dosa [Hampton Chutney Co.] $8.00-$12.00

A ten-dollar lunch every day really adds up over the course of a month, which is unfortunate because the SoHo area is full of great places to eat. I'm one of those people who don't have time in the morning to make lunch and bring it to work, but I just can't spend $50.00 or even $30.00 a week on lunch alone. Plus, relatively cheap lunches, like Mikaku's lunch box above, are barely enough to keep me satisfied until 3:00 PM, let alone dinner time.

The solution? I go home for lunch four days a week, taking advantage of the fact that I live four blocks from the office. Of course, almost no one else at work has that luxury, so I feel left out sometimes. But the monetary savings are worth it. Consider my homemade lunch options, with estimated grocery costs:

• Veggie burger with lettuce, onions, cheese, and baby carrots $2.00
• Fried rice $2.00
• Turkey sandwich with alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, cheese, and Sunchips $3.00-$4.00
• Leftovers from last night $2.00

Of course, I have to prepare these meals myself, and usually, they don't taste as good as a dosa from Hampton Chutney. But they're much healthier than virtually anything out there, and I decide exactly what goes into my fried rice.