Not a Lunch Person

It's been a while since I went out for lunch.  On occasion I will treat myself to a slice of pizza, usually eating it in the car.  But a restaurant where somebody serves me, or I eat at a counter or go to a buffet, not in a very long time.  I think I got a hoagie at one of my favorite places near OLLI once during the semester.  I never ate at the cafeteria there.  When WaWa has its hoagiefests, a large one for $6, they can count on me for a couple of tuna or cheese creations during the promotion.  Those I order at a kiosk, pay at the auto cashier, and take the sandwich back to my car.

While on my two vacations this year, we ate generously at the hotel breakfast buffets and searched the online menus for dinner.  I don't recall having lunch.  I did the year before when visiting the Smithsonian.  Food trucks line up outside the museums.  Better falafels than I can get at home, and the rock-bottom motel at the end of the Metro did not offer breakfast.  Even there, I walked from the food truck to a place where I could sit down, perhaps a bench or the ledge of a stone wall.  Not a table or a counter.  No server to tip.  The only exception to my eating pattern might be a cruise, last taken six years ago.  Cruises have round-the-clock food for the taking.  Breakfast has a uniqueness.  Lunch and supper at the buffet do not, but unless returning late from a port outing, I reserve supper for the main dining room with service and assigned table companions.  When out in port for the day, I do not purchase food, preferring to exploit the pre-paid excess when I return to the ship.

My car being in the shop, I have a rental.  I don't want to bring food there and risk a cleanup fee.  My morning treadmill schedule discourages going out for breakfast on treadmill days.  I considered breakfast on yesterday's off-day but really did not want to venture out on a cold morning.  I would try lunch the next day.  It did not go well.  I considered a few common mid-day escapes from the years when I had my office nearby.  Too expensive.  My credit card would not bounce, but $13 for the ordinary exceeded my willingness to pay.  On Friday, the Farmer's Market has lots of food vendors, including one that I always found appealing, along with other places that have end of week specials.  Or I could go to WaWa or Sprouts, get a sandwich, and drive it over to a regional park to eat.

I kept my pledge to myself, opting for a Fish Fry special at a diner I sometimes choose for breakfast.  Lots of food, though salty.  Good price for entree, which also included a generous salad.  Soda a bit costly.  Service good.  Tab with about 40% tip, $22.  

Still not a lunch person.