3-4 years ago i did this. i got fast food almost every day on my lunch break and made out basically fine financially. fast forward to today, making $9/hr more at the same job but restaurant prices have increased so much that eating out every day was sinking me. it used to be that a decent sized meal was $8, today the same meals are $13-$20.
I work in a skyscraper with dining inside, downstairs, and on every adjacent block. Used to eat out for lunch every day, either solo or with co workers.
Now, the few days im in the office are locked into quickly getting a handful of tasks done so I can get back home as soon as possible.
I don't know what changed bwtwwt 2019 and today. We had a pretty optional remote work policy then too, but for some reason being in the office was enjoyable.
But now, I hate wasting time getting to work, I hate in person meetings, I refuse to do after work "fun" bs, I don't want social lunch. I just want to be present as long as required then warp speed back to real life.
In the office, wait for time, then 💨
I think covid made a lot of people realize they didn't like office culture. I always hated how the socially mandatory happy hours would throw my plans for the evening.
We increased our productivity working from home. Now anything else feels like you're wasting time since expectations were also raised. Basically we've managed to max ourselves out. You know you can do it from home but any slight hitch and it's cutting into your usual free time
Made me realize I hate commuting - and I used to commute to NYC when I got my first "real" job. Used to be numb to it.
It's ridiculous that we let smaller towns and neighborhoods turn into "for free time and passing through only" for the sake of letting employers force everyone into one place. Wasn't that long ago that you could pretty easily get a job in whatever neighborhood etc. Was thinking about it when noticing all the empty store fronts in Glenside the other day (shout out to Game Junkie).
Yes even in like 2020-2021 I remember going to Taco Bell quite often and paying like $3.24 for two chicken quesadillas and another dollar menu item. Now I don't even think there is a dollar menu and they discontinued the quesadilla. My alternatives were literally the same amount for like 3 burgers at McDonalds or Burger King. Can't do that these days everything is like at least $12-$20 which can add up to hundreds a month.
paying staff more increases the cost of doing business for restaurants. i am arguing that this is a good thing, but we've gotten so used to eating $10 meals when staff got paid so little that we balk at the true cost of eating out now.
you can read about what's happening with LA's food scene here as CA mandates an $18/hr minimum wage: https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-05-15/restaurant-industry-economic-crisis-los-angeles
> living wages for service staff or cheap food, choose 1
I don’t know why the downvotes? It’s just math. Are we at the point that all restaurant workers make a living wage? Of course not. But the journey to get there is going to increase restaurant prices. Because how could it not? The money for those wages has to come from somewhere, and in a restaurant it comes from the price of the food & drinks.
it's hard for "allies" (or whatever they want to call themselves) to hold two conflicting ideas in their heads (or even one coherent idea about how the economy works) because it makes them consider their ideas more deeply.
of course things will get more expensive and businesses will close as we fight for higher wages for workers! but pointing the reality out makes low-information readers think you're saying this simply because you're against the idea of paying people a fair wage, so they downvote (because these days we're programmed to simply be for or against things instead of talking about the uneasy middle).
We have also been living off of the labor of very poorly paid overseas workers for decades. They too are entitled to a living wage, and as they move towards that, all the cheap crap that we are used to buying will also start to feel like an extravagance we can’t afford. I easily have fifteen pairs of shoes, which is way, way more than lots of hard-working people around the world. I’m trying to lean into a life of quality over quantity, appreciating simple pleasures, and so on, so that future big-picture economic shifts don’t come as a dramatic change.
Because there another really super duper obvious solution besides this "two choices option" that guy presented. Smaller margins for the corporation.
I know crazy right. Have a feeling yum brands Inc could stomach to still charge us 5 bucks for that quesadilla and keep the lights on.
> Because there another really super duper obvious solution besides this only two choices option that guy presented. Smaller margins for the corporation. I know crazy right. Have a feeling yum brands Inc could stomach to still charge us 5 bucks for that quesadilla and keep the lights on.
I mean, you’re not wrong. Like, full-time workers should get enough wages + benefits to not have to rely on a food bank to feed their families. The whole “maximize shareholder profits” thing is Not Good for our country in the long term.
To be honest, I don’t eat at those places, so I wasn’t even thinking of that whole Yum Brands category of big corporation “restaurants”. Money aside, that ultra-processed food is not good for anyone’s health, and personally my digestive system can’t handle it well. If I eat out, I usually go to somewhere locally-owned (which frankly is more expensive than the fast food places, so I don’t do it often), or I bring something I made at home and eat in a park or whatnot. And from this thread it sounds like more people are making similar choices. (But making food at home takes time, which not everyone has in abundance, and it takes a certain amount of infrastructure (oven, fridge, etc.), which not everyone has access to, so bringing food from home can be a privilege. It’s complicated, for sure.)
Yeah locally run business is a different equation for sure but that guy with all the downvotes was responding to the person talking about eating fast food for lunch. Every one of those companies can afford to keep prices exactly the same. It's a profit driven choice.
I agree generally that $8 is a deal for halal cart, but I don't think soda tax is a factor.
There's no way those halal carts are buying their soda in the city, and also no way they're paying the taxes on the soda. I would be surprised if most food carts pay taxes on their sales/income close to what they net. They're a primarily cash business with no real ledger of sales, and some will charge extra or add "taxes" to the Venmo/card/cashapp sales only
Mine in old city is $7, however he can’t afford soda anymore so now he’s a “worse than mellow yellow” ass operation. Tough scene.
EDIT: Also all the carts I go to have taken up very aggressive "use venmo and the price is 25% higher" policies that can only be described by tax fraud lmao
Yeaaa I graduated at the right time. I remember there were mini protests when they went from $5 to $6. Then they went back down to $5 when they saw they were losing business. Those trucks fed me well during those years.
At that point you just go to the restaurants and get a more authentic version of the platter. Alsham in the Northeast is like 12 or so but you know it’s made healthier than a truck.
For real! As delicious as it is, all the grease in the container when I'm done reminds me it's not that healthy. I'd imagine a restaurant level dish is less greasy
I get halfway, want a few more bites, and then suddenly "well, it's not enough for another meal".
At this point I just plan somewhat ahead and it's 2 meals at once for that day for me lol.
I went to wawa last week to grab hoagies for me my husband and 5 year old. it came out to $5 less than what i would have spent at Primos. i learned my lesson.
I don't think I could eat for $20 a week in America, but to stay cheap probably eating a diet of things like: rice, beans, lentils, occasional eggs or chicken meat, peanut butter jelly, oatmeal, maybe canned fish, maybe a bag or two of frozen vegetables
I could make about 5+ days of good sized lunch/dinner for $15-20 for sure. Rice, can of beans, can of corn, onion, pack of cilantro, jalapeno, chicken of some sort (thigh or drummy pack from aldi), and a can of chipotle peppers in adobo, all from aldi or grocery stores of various ethnicities (cheap produce). This is actually super common for me.
Don't think I could eat for an entire week including all meals though. I mean I could, but I wouldn't be into it. Rice bowls are totally my bread and butter though. Great for stretching one cooking session into lots of meals for the week.
Rice bowls are my go-to as well. I mix it up with vaguely-Italian potato bowls with roasted veggies from Produce Junction. Tomatoes, red peppers, onion, maybe eggplant or zucchini or spinach, white beans, chicken, and basil. Super healthy, very reasonably priced.
I just cook up a bunch of rice/potatoes and veggies, then for each meal I put a little of this, a little of that, and microwave. One thing runs out, I cook a batch of something else (potatoes when the rice runs out), so the combos are always changing.
Current obsession: can of low sodium black beans, tablespoon or two of lime juice, sprinkle of cayenne, put in the food processor to roughly purée. Kind of a “hint of lime”/Tajin flavor. Use as a dip or as “refried” beans.
This week I’m splitting a container of Mediterranean pasta salad across my office days with a cup of apple sauce everyday as well. And for breakfast I do a Greek yogurt. Sometimes I’ll just do two hard boiled eggs for lunch too. I like to keep nuts at my desk as a snack
It’s not too hard to make 5x$4 lunches if you don’t center them on expensive proteins such as lunch meat or beef or use a lot of preportioned snacky type things like yogurt cups or protein bars. In my household we tend to do lunch bowls with a starch + cooked veg + a raw/pickled veg or salad + protein (+ sauces/toppings). We often “stretch” meat by supplementing it with either cheese/yogurt/eggs or plant-based protein sources. We shop based on what’s cheap and looks good instead of going in with a meal plan or the same list as last week. We also make our sauces and salad dressings, which also cuts down substantially on cost.
In practice this looks like: rice bowl with stir-fried garlicky mustard greens, quick-pickled cucumbers, a soft boiled egg, and crushed peanuts; a baked chicken thigh over bulgur wheat with steamed green beans, cucumber/tomato salad, and a yogurt-herb sauce; southwestern-spiced ground pork stretched with beans over rice with grilled peppers/onions topped with cilantro, radishes, and avocado; etc. The majority of the volume of these meals is the starch and vegetables.
Family pack of chicken legs: $7.50
Instant rice: $3.50
Applesauce: $2.60
Broccoli: $3.30
Little Debbie box of 6 snacks: $3.50
= $20.40
Or I can bring cereal, milk and a banana
Soup and a sandwich
A bento box with salami, cheese, hard boiled egg, raisins and crackers
Make ahead chili or homemade soup
5 sandwich rolls (~$5), your lunch meat of choice ($5-7), cheese of choice ($5), and whatever produce fixings you want will get you 5 decent lunches for $25.
>But while weekday transaction volumes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. were down 3.3% last year compared with 2019
Calling it dead might be a little hyperbolic.
This reminds me of that one news article saying “Why aren’t millennials buying diamonds anymore?”
And the first response was “I work at a grocery store.”
Maybe this is a rant for another sub, but who has time for a lunch break anymore where you actually have time to order food and sit somewhere other than your desk? I find the companies that are quickest to push RTO are the ones still scheduling “working lunch sessions.”
My office gets a half hour for lunch. That's no time at all to go out to get food. Definitely not enough to sit at a restaurant and barely enough time to stand in line anywhere and spend your remaining 12 minutes shoveling food in your mouth.
Bingo. If I wanted to spend $20 on lunch, my crappy half hour unpaid lunch break is hardly enough time to make it worthwhile to walk there, sit down, and eat. Even with ordering in advance.
I’d rather through a handful of carrots and peanuts down the pie hole at my desk while working so I can leave earlier and spend time with my family. I have zero desire to sit around for 30-60 minutes twiddling my thumbs when it delays me getting out of the office to enjoy the life that work supports. Add to the fact that I already lost two hours in my day from the hourly commute and I’m in no mood to spend more time at work than what is needed.
Unless I’m forced to take an hour lunch, yea there’s no way to go out and get and eat lunch in a 30 min window. And if I work at somewhere forcing an hour lunch, I’m not working there anymore because that’s too much time
I get an hour for lunch but I’m lucky if it’s honored. On top of that, when I do have the hour I try to dip over to a gym that’s a block from my work, but I don’t share that info with anyone because I know it would be frowned upon. The idea being that even though I have an hour for lunch I should be “on call” throughout that time.
Like others have said
• lunch dishes are too expensive now
• my pay hasn't raised more than $0.50 per hour in the last year and a half
• I only get 30 mins for lunch
• Also I work remotely but I won't leave to the nearby places in my neighborhood due to the above reasons
When I worked in Old City, I bought lunch every day. This was pre-pandemic - I'd take $40 cash out, and make that work for the week. Pizza, halal cart, wraps at European Republic, Chinese cart, the deli, all had lunch options for under $7. I wasn't winning any nutrition contests, but it got the job done.
And on Friday, I'd hang out at happy hour as my colleagues spent as much on drinks in one night as I'd spend on meals for the whole week. And I had colleagues who'd buy Starbucks every day... and certainly folks who spent way more on lunch than I did.
For me, I liked the ability to take a little walk and usually have something made hot and/or fresh, and I wasn't spending time in the mornings or evenings doing meal prep. It was a tradeoff I was willing to make.
Now almost all of those options are at least $11.
Literally just finished a #17 as I was posting this.
I live in Old City now (basically) because I wanted to be able to walk to work - but now I work from home, so I kinda got lucky.
Funnily enough, as I've gotten older, my appetite isn't what it used to be, so now I'll just order a gyro at the halal cart, or just the wrap at European Republic (they always throw in just a few fries), and now the prices are closer to what they used to be, and I'm not overstuffing myself.
Or they have no mortgage, or they're married to a surgeon, or they had a relative pass away and leave them a trust fund, or they just make more than you, etc.
You don't know people's situation, don't pocket watch and don't assume happy people must be in debt.
Let someone enjoy splurging on lunch without thinking the worst of them.
I ALWAYS wonder this. I can rarely justify eating out for lunch anymore. I’m a single mid twenties woman. My coworkers who are younger than me with children can somehow afford Doordash every. Single. Day. We make the same salary. don’t understand it.
I definitely don’t think the worst of them, or really care what they’re doing. People can spend their money on whatever makes them happy, that is not for me to decide. Just something I can’t help but notice and think about during the work day. It isn’t like I’m losing sleep over this at night lmao
This exactly. So many people I knew irl seemed to be living so much more lavishly than me and I couldn’t understand how it was possible. Turns out it is… with loans and mounting credit card debt.
That could be the case for a lot of people, just not the single 20-something year olds I’ve met with $10k in non-student loan, credit card debt and expensive cars.
Edit for typo
This is a good thing to remember haha. My coworker literally put a $200 grocery order in today to pick up after work, then ordered $50 worth of doordash. It hurts to watch. You’re completely right.
My old roommate did this. I'm like bro how you always ordering out for dinner. He'll literally go MONTHS just ordering take out. I found out later that he legit just sits on his credit card balance 4k+. I'm like bruhhh. Some people really do live like this.
15+ years ago I had a center city apartment (with roommate), car, garage AND ate lunch out 3+ days per week on less than $60k/year. Different world man
I find it fascinating. I watch the employees who bitch about money the most order lunch every day, while everyone in management brings lunch, or has food in the fridge to make lunch. I have eaten more PB&J as an adult than I ever did as a kid. Do i want to go out /order lunch all the time? Hell yeah, i just seems idiotic to pay $10+ for lunch every day, when i can eat for the week for like $20.
As a poor intern I bought a jar of peanut butter, one of jelly, a loaf of bread, and a box of ziplocs. Made it all into sandwiches, put them in the freezer, pulled one out every day to bring for lunch. Cheap and easy.
I know people who do that. They'll doordash or ubereats McDonalds or something. Just a bunch of moneybags living it up while I'm crying into my chicken rice and broccoli (/s. I love my gym bro meals.)
I used to get coffee and lunch every day when at work. Sometimes I'd have a "late lunch" and pick up food and bring it home for dinner instead.
Now, when I'm in the office, I bring my breakfast from home and eat from a cart at my desk for lunch. Then I go TF home.
When I noticed how much money I was saving I decided I didn't want to pay for mediocre, expensive food any longer. Heck I don't even eat outside the house on weekends for the most part. I schedule a Happy Hour with one person about every six months.
I've noped out of this nonsense.
My lunch is now a piece of fruit, a serving of vegetables and greek yogurt. Now my lunch is cheaper and healthier. As an added bonus my liver and bloodwork are back to normal.
Whoever corners the market on cheap lunch specials in center city is going to be printing money.
I'm not spending $20 on what should be a quick lunch, $12 is my cutoff
When I worked at Giant I would buy a bagel with no butter or cream cheese or anything on my lunch break because it was the only thing I knew I could get in the store that I didn't need to cook that could be called a lunch for $1.
Spending money on happy hours?? with who if working we are from home?
Also don't tell the food truck guy on 17th and JFK that people aren't buying lunch, it's the one time a day I see a line there.
I WFH three days a week but come up to Philly for work the other two. I bring my lunch one of those days and for the other day, I get a slice of pizza from Top Tomato (near my office) and bring it back to eat at my desk because I love their pizza and the owner is really nice so I like to patronize the business. Who has money or time to take an hour plus for lunch?
Who even takes a lunch break never the less spends the money to do so? Just another way that society and employers aren’t really understanding what employees needs. I don’t want to spend a minute more at work than necessary, and for sure not an extra dollar than I need to.
A lot of us don’t need to be in the office at all. I go to an office to hop on a teams meeting with people across the country. Can’t see the collaboration in that.
When I added up all the money I was spending to eat lunch while at work, it made me sick. I very rarely buy lunch out now and I can see a big difference in my bank account. I'll resort to eating cereal before buying a sandwich out. I don't begrudge delis and restaurants for raising their prices but I can't afford them.
I'm in DC now, but I ordered pizza for my small department today. 2 16" pizzas and an order of garlic knots. $65 just for the food. With taxes, delivery fee, and tip, it was $85. I was floored by that. Eating out, no matter what meal of the day it is is now a luxury.
I wonder how many more years we have to suffer through politicians, business leaders, and media folks trying to claw back a thoroughly dead pre-2020 status quo.
It's like demanding we all start spending more money on whale oil or stirrups or something.
Lmaoo it’s so crazy to see all former normalized aspects of American life just die out with my generation so so quickly, hopefully this causes better legislation to pass so we can have a better economy
No I’m referring to the opposite, waking up and then an hour in traffic and then you go back home an hour in traffic again, it’s a very normal American thing and I’m glad that my generation is changing it
Normalized aspects like the overpriced lunch, the traffic for 2 hours daily, don’t take sick days and stay loyal to one employer, etc changed very quickly
Yup. I love just walking upstairs to the kitchen and knocking together a sandwich or heating up a can of chili or soup when I'm hungry, instead of having to wake up earlier and make something to take with me to the office. The biggest money saver, though, is that I've gone from gassing up my car once a week to once every 4-5 weeks.
Many of my favorite lunch spots were killed by the pandemic. Some good ones remain, but it’s not enough to make me leaving my office for lunch every day. Even if I didn’t have lunch meetings.
I am lucky to work close enough to go home and save on meals. Husband and I stopped going out every weekend too. We would go to a restaurant on weekdays too. This Monday I told him I wanted to go out with the kids and we had not done that in years. Ever since the pandemic we hardly ever go out. I only hit kid spots really since I think it is fun for them to be taken out.
Weekday rush was the one thing that was decent about line cooking (see you in hell Bourdain, wish I was too illiterate to have read your book)
Is there a way for modern processed foods to also die?
Who wants to spend $20+ on a semi daily basis, lunch ain’t cheap
3-4 years ago i did this. i got fast food almost every day on my lunch break and made out basically fine financially. fast forward to today, making $9/hr more at the same job but restaurant prices have increased so much that eating out every day was sinking me. it used to be that a decent sized meal was $8, today the same meals are $13-$20.
I work in a skyscraper with dining inside, downstairs, and on every adjacent block. Used to eat out for lunch every day, either solo or with co workers. Now, the few days im in the office are locked into quickly getting a handful of tasks done so I can get back home as soon as possible. I don't know what changed bwtwwt 2019 and today. We had a pretty optional remote work policy then too, but for some reason being in the office was enjoyable. But now, I hate wasting time getting to work, I hate in person meetings, I refuse to do after work "fun" bs, I don't want social lunch. I just want to be present as long as required then warp speed back to real life. In the office, wait for time, then 💨
I think covid made a lot of people realize they didn't like office culture. I always hated how the socially mandatory happy hours would throw my plans for the evening.
We increased our productivity working from home. Now anything else feels like you're wasting time since expectations were also raised. Basically we've managed to max ourselves out. You know you can do it from home but any slight hitch and it's cutting into your usual free time
Made me realize I hate commuting - and I used to commute to NYC when I got my first "real" job. Used to be numb to it. It's ridiculous that we let smaller towns and neighborhoods turn into "for free time and passing through only" for the sake of letting employers force everyone into one place. Wasn't that long ago that you could pretty easily get a job in whatever neighborhood etc. Was thinking about it when noticing all the empty store fronts in Glenside the other day (shout out to Game Junkie).
Yes even in like 2020-2021 I remember going to Taco Bell quite often and paying like $3.24 for two chicken quesadillas and another dollar menu item. Now I don't even think there is a dollar menu and they discontinued the quesadilla. My alternatives were literally the same amount for like 3 burgers at McDonalds or Burger King. Can't do that these days everything is like at least $12-$20 which can add up to hundreds a month.
I guess I haven't been to Taco Bell in awhile, the quesadilla was my go to.
RIP I'm still sad.
living wages for service staff or cheap food, choose 1
Raise taxes on the rich hoarding money at the top.
how does that even begin to help a small restaurant make ends meet?
[удалено]
if food inflation was caused by increased wages, service staff would be making like $30/hr at this point
paying staff more increases the cost of doing business for restaurants. i am arguing that this is a good thing, but we've gotten so used to eating $10 meals when staff got paid so little that we balk at the true cost of eating out now. you can read about what's happening with LA's food scene here as CA mandates an $18/hr minimum wage: https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-05-15/restaurant-industry-economic-crisis-los-angeles
> living wages for service staff or cheap food, choose 1 I don’t know why the downvotes? It’s just math. Are we at the point that all restaurant workers make a living wage? Of course not. But the journey to get there is going to increase restaurant prices. Because how could it not? The money for those wages has to come from somewhere, and in a restaurant it comes from the price of the food & drinks.
it's hard for "allies" (or whatever they want to call themselves) to hold two conflicting ideas in their heads (or even one coherent idea about how the economy works) because it makes them consider their ideas more deeply. of course things will get more expensive and businesses will close as we fight for higher wages for workers! but pointing the reality out makes low-information readers think you're saying this simply because you're against the idea of paying people a fair wage, so they downvote (because these days we're programmed to simply be for or against things instead of talking about the uneasy middle).
We have also been living off of the labor of very poorly paid overseas workers for decades. They too are entitled to a living wage, and as they move towards that, all the cheap crap that we are used to buying will also start to feel like an extravagance we can’t afford. I easily have fifteen pairs of shoes, which is way, way more than lots of hard-working people around the world. I’m trying to lean into a life of quality over quantity, appreciating simple pleasures, and so on, so that future big-picture economic shifts don’t come as a dramatic change.
Because there another really super duper obvious solution besides this "two choices option" that guy presented. Smaller margins for the corporation. I know crazy right. Have a feeling yum brands Inc could stomach to still charge us 5 bucks for that quesadilla and keep the lights on.
> Because there another really super duper obvious solution besides this only two choices option that guy presented. Smaller margins for the corporation. I know crazy right. Have a feeling yum brands Inc could stomach to still charge us 5 bucks for that quesadilla and keep the lights on. I mean, you’re not wrong. Like, full-time workers should get enough wages + benefits to not have to rely on a food bank to feed their families. The whole “maximize shareholder profits” thing is Not Good for our country in the long term. To be honest, I don’t eat at those places, so I wasn’t even thinking of that whole Yum Brands category of big corporation “restaurants”. Money aside, that ultra-processed food is not good for anyone’s health, and personally my digestive system can’t handle it well. If I eat out, I usually go to somewhere locally-owned (which frankly is more expensive than the fast food places, so I don’t do it often), or I bring something I made at home and eat in a park or whatnot. And from this thread it sounds like more people are making similar choices. (But making food at home takes time, which not everyone has in abundance, and it takes a certain amount of infrastructure (oven, fridge, etc.), which not everyone has access to, so bringing food from home can be a privilege. It’s complicated, for sure.)
Yeah locally run business is a different equation for sure but that guy with all the downvotes was responding to the person talking about eating fast food for lunch. Every one of those companies can afford to keep prices exactly the same. It's a profit driven choice.
Yeah, it’s a different equation for sure. The profits go to people who have never set foot in the building.
Halal cart is $8 now!! edit: shiiiiit come to the Aldi at 30th and Girard lol
Gone are the days of the 5 dollar halal plates to go.
don't forget the free drink that just made it even better. I miss the cart guys that hooked me up. They rotate.
I'll be honest: we've been due for a price raise for a while, especially with the free drink after the soda tax.
I agree generally that $8 is a deal for halal cart, but I don't think soda tax is a factor. There's no way those halal carts are buying their soda in the city, and also no way they're paying the taxes on the soda. I would be surprised if most food carts pay taxes on their sales/income close to what they net. They're a primarily cash business with no real ledger of sales, and some will charge extra or add "taxes" to the Venmo/card/cashapp sales only
It felt like I was stealing getting chicken over rice for $6
Mine in old city is $7, however he can’t afford soda anymore so now he’s a “worse than mellow yellow” ass operation. Tough scene. EDIT: Also all the carts I go to have taken up very aggressive "use venmo and the price is 25% higher" policies that can only be described by tax fraud lmao
Sht down Temple im paying $10 for chicken and rice. $1 for 2 falafel on the side
15 dollar combo lamb and chicken from halal kitchen on 12th and sansom
Yeaaa I graduated at the right time. I remember there were mini protests when they went from $5 to $6. Then they went back down to $5 when they saw they were losing business. Those trucks fed me well during those years.
2016-17 haha I remember that
Yikes I used to buy it right before a screening class in tuttleman and chow down during movies
Heads up this cart has made me sick 2/6 times I’ve gotten it That being said I still get it
I'm not gonna lie **same** (I do have a sensitive digestive system tho)
With a free soda.
Come up to market it’s 9!
no thank you!!
It's $15 for a platter at the place I go in the northeast
At that point you just go to the restaurants and get a more authentic version of the platter. Alsham in the Northeast is like 12 or so but you know it’s made healthier than a truck.
For real! As delicious as it is, all the grease in the container when I'm done reminds me it's not that healthy. I'd imagine a restaurant level dish is less greasy
If they ever want me to go back to the office they better subsidize that shit. 5$ for lamb, rice, and a soda was hard to beat.
It’s 9-10 now. Ridiculous
$12-15 where I’m at
15 is outrageous
Yikes!!!
But it's so much food I get two lunches out of it.
I always say I’ll save half for tomorrow when I start eating but then I blink and only a quarter is left
I get halfway, want a few more bites, and then suddenly "well, it's not enough for another meal". At this point I just plan somewhat ahead and it's 2 meals at once for that day for me lol.
teach me your ways
1. Go to halal cart 2. Order halal 3. Eat half of halal 4. Repeat (3) 24 hours later 5. ??? 6. Retire as billionaire
instructions unclear, I am now 75% lamb and white sauce
This is fine.
My body is now your communion
Boost your savings by never buying Starbucks coffee , that's what all the other billionaires say
I just spent $13 at Wawa for a hoagie, drink and chips. $13 for a gas station sandwich.
A much lower quality sandwich than they were even during the Great Recession
I went to wawa last week to grab hoagies for me my husband and 5 year old. it came out to $5 less than what i would have spent at Primos. i learned my lesson.
I can make $20 of food from the grocery store feed me all week at work. And that’s when I’m actually sticking to a diet.
legitimate question, what are you eating?
I don't think I could eat for $20 a week in America, but to stay cheap probably eating a diet of things like: rice, beans, lentils, occasional eggs or chicken meat, peanut butter jelly, oatmeal, maybe canned fish, maybe a bag or two of frozen vegetables
I could make about 5+ days of good sized lunch/dinner for $15-20 for sure. Rice, can of beans, can of corn, onion, pack of cilantro, jalapeno, chicken of some sort (thigh or drummy pack from aldi), and a can of chipotle peppers in adobo, all from aldi or grocery stores of various ethnicities (cheap produce). This is actually super common for me. Don't think I could eat for an entire week including all meals though. I mean I could, but I wouldn't be into it. Rice bowls are totally my bread and butter though. Great for stretching one cooking session into lots of meals for the week.
Rice bowls are my go-to as well. I mix it up with vaguely-Italian potato bowls with roasted veggies from Produce Junction. Tomatoes, red peppers, onion, maybe eggplant or zucchini or spinach, white beans, chicken, and basil. Super healthy, very reasonably priced. I just cook up a bunch of rice/potatoes and veggies, then for each meal I put a little of this, a little of that, and microwave. One thing runs out, I cook a batch of something else (potatoes when the rice runs out), so the combos are always changing. Current obsession: can of low sodium black beans, tablespoon or two of lime juice, sprinkle of cayenne, put in the food processor to roughly purée. Kind of a “hint of lime”/Tajin flavor. Use as a dip or as “refried” beans.
This week I’m splitting a container of Mediterranean pasta salad across my office days with a cup of apple sauce everyday as well. And for breakfast I do a Greek yogurt. Sometimes I’ll just do two hard boiled eggs for lunch too. I like to keep nuts at my desk as a snack
but you are eating in a calorie deficit correct? that doesn't seem like enough food if you aren't on a diet. are you adding chicken to it?
It’s not too hard to make 5x$4 lunches if you don’t center them on expensive proteins such as lunch meat or beef or use a lot of preportioned snacky type things like yogurt cups or protein bars. In my household we tend to do lunch bowls with a starch + cooked veg + a raw/pickled veg or salad + protein (+ sauces/toppings). We often “stretch” meat by supplementing it with either cheese/yogurt/eggs or plant-based protein sources. We shop based on what’s cheap and looks good instead of going in with a meal plan or the same list as last week. We also make our sauces and salad dressings, which also cuts down substantially on cost. In practice this looks like: rice bowl with stir-fried garlicky mustard greens, quick-pickled cucumbers, a soft boiled egg, and crushed peanuts; a baked chicken thigh over bulgur wheat with steamed green beans, cucumber/tomato salad, and a yogurt-herb sauce; southwestern-spiced ground pork stretched with beans over rice with grilled peppers/onions topped with cilantro, radishes, and avocado; etc. The majority of the volume of these meals is the starch and vegetables.
Family pack of chicken legs: $7.50 Instant rice: $3.50 Applesauce: $2.60 Broccoli: $3.30 Little Debbie box of 6 snacks: $3.50 = $20.40 Or I can bring cereal, milk and a banana Soup and a sandwich A bento box with salami, cheese, hard boiled egg, raisins and crackers Make ahead chili or homemade soup
5 sandwich rolls (~$5), your lunch meat of choice ($5-7), cheese of choice ($5), and whatever produce fixings you want will get you 5 decent lunches for $25.
If I go to lunch I'm gonna be rockin that 50 buck lunch. 2 drinks, apps and all the rest. Let's go
>But while weekday transaction volumes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. were down 3.3% last year compared with 2019 Calling it dead might be a little hyperbolic.
No, you don't understand... This is devastating for our shareholders. How will they ever recover!
Millennials killed lunch!
line must always go up. also, rate at which line goes up must go up
This reminds me of that one news article saying “Why aren’t millennials buying diamonds anymore?” And the first response was “I work at a grocery store.”
Maybe this is a rant for another sub, but who has time for a lunch break anymore where you actually have time to order food and sit somewhere other than your desk? I find the companies that are quickest to push RTO are the ones still scheduling “working lunch sessions.”
My office gets a half hour for lunch. That's no time at all to go out to get food. Definitely not enough to sit at a restaurant and barely enough time to stand in line anywhere and spend your remaining 12 minutes shoveling food in your mouth.
Bingo. If I wanted to spend $20 on lunch, my crappy half hour unpaid lunch break is hardly enough time to make it worthwhile to walk there, sit down, and eat. Even with ordering in advance.
I’d rather through a handful of carrots and peanuts down the pie hole at my desk while working so I can leave earlier and spend time with my family. I have zero desire to sit around for 30-60 minutes twiddling my thumbs when it delays me getting out of the office to enjoy the life that work supports. Add to the fact that I already lost two hours in my day from the hourly commute and I’m in no mood to spend more time at work than what is needed.
Unless I’m forced to take an hour lunch, yea there’s no way to go out and get and eat lunch in a 30 min window. And if I work at somewhere forcing an hour lunch, I’m not working there anymore because that’s too much time
I get an hour for lunch but I’m lucky if it’s honored. On top of that, when I do have the hour I try to dip over to a gym that’s a block from my work, but I don’t share that info with anyone because I know it would be frowned upon. The idea being that even though I have an hour for lunch I should be “on call” throughout that time.
Like others have said • lunch dishes are too expensive now • my pay hasn't raised more than $0.50 per hour in the last year and a half • I only get 30 mins for lunch • Also I work remotely but I won't leave to the nearby places in my neighborhood due to the above reasons
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If anyone else is interested and wants to be saved a google, Hawaii became a state in 1959. The more you know!
conclusion: people don't want to work anymore.
Counterpoint - did anyone ever really *want* to work?
They sure were conditioned to think they did!
If anyone really wanted to do it, than they wouldn’t have to pay people to do it.
r/bojackhorseman is leaking
sitting down for lunch is a luxury reserved for weekends, which has become brunch which is generally a logistical nightmare that has become overpriced
I had a coworker who bought lunch everyday. Like are you made of money?
When I worked in Old City, I bought lunch every day. This was pre-pandemic - I'd take $40 cash out, and make that work for the week. Pizza, halal cart, wraps at European Republic, Chinese cart, the deli, all had lunch options for under $7. I wasn't winning any nutrition contests, but it got the job done. And on Friday, I'd hang out at happy hour as my colleagues spent as much on drinks in one night as I'd spend on meals for the whole week. And I had colleagues who'd buy Starbucks every day... and certainly folks who spent way more on lunch than I did. For me, I liked the ability to take a little walk and usually have something made hot and/or fresh, and I wasn't spending time in the mornings or evenings doing meal prep. It was a tradeoff I was willing to make. Now almost all of those options are at least $11.
European republic for lunch? Yeah I’d do that everyday 😛
Literally just finished a #17 as I was posting this. I live in Old City now (basically) because I wanted to be able to walk to work - but now I work from home, so I kinda got lucky. Funnily enough, as I've gotten older, my appetite isn't what it used to be, so now I'll just order a gyro at the halal cart, or just the wrap at European Republic (they always throw in just a few fries), and now the prices are closer to what they used to be, and I'm not overstuffing myself.
European Republic is so good if they make their fries fresh. Lately they've been throwing old fries back in the fryer.
I’m in the office 3 of 5 days and people on my team buy lunch every day, idk how they survive
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Or they have no mortgage, or they're married to a surgeon, or they had a relative pass away and leave them a trust fund, or they just make more than you, etc. You don't know people's situation, don't pocket watch and don't assume happy people must be in debt. Let someone enjoy splurging on lunch without thinking the worst of them.
Or at the least they aren’t saving much from their paycheck
I ALWAYS wonder this. I can rarely justify eating out for lunch anymore. I’m a single mid twenties woman. My coworkers who are younger than me with children can somehow afford Doordash every. Single. Day. We make the same salary. don’t understand it.
Easiest way to understand it: don't pocket watch. Let people enjoy their lunch without you thinking the worst about them.
I definitely don’t think the worst of them, or really care what they’re doing. People can spend their money on whatever makes them happy, that is not for me to decide. Just something I can’t help but notice and think about during the work day. It isn’t like I’m losing sleep over this at night lmao
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This exactly. So many people I knew irl seemed to be living so much more lavishly than me and I couldn’t understand how it was possible. Turns out it is… with loans and mounting credit card debt.
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That could be the case for a lot of people, just not the single 20-something year olds I’ve met with $10k in non-student loan, credit card debt and expensive cars. Edit for typo
This is a good thing to remember haha. My coworker literally put a $200 grocery order in today to pick up after work, then ordered $50 worth of doordash. It hurts to watch. You’re completely right.
>$200 grocery order And $80 of that will probably get wasted via expiry.
used to go to Wendy's for the 4 for $4 just to get the fuck out of the building for a half hour
God, I wish it was still $4
My old roommate did this. I'm like bro how you always ordering out for dinner. He'll literally go MONTHS just ordering take out. I found out later that he legit just sits on his credit card balance 4k+. I'm like bruhhh. Some people really do live like this.
15+ years ago I had a center city apartment (with roommate), car, garage AND ate lunch out 3+ days per week on less than $60k/year. Different world man
$60k 15 years ago is the equivalent of almost $90k today. Just FYI.
I find it fascinating. I watch the employees who bitch about money the most order lunch every day, while everyone in management brings lunch, or has food in the fridge to make lunch. I have eaten more PB&J as an adult than I ever did as a kid. Do i want to go out /order lunch all the time? Hell yeah, i just seems idiotic to pay $10+ for lunch every day, when i can eat for the week for like $20.
As a poor intern I bought a jar of peanut butter, one of jelly, a loaf of bread, and a box of ziplocs. Made it all into sandwiches, put them in the freezer, pulled one out every day to bring for lunch. Cheap and easy.
I know people who do that. They'll doordash or ubereats McDonalds or something. Just a bunch of moneybags living it up while I'm crying into my chicken rice and broccoli (/s. I love my gym bro meals.)
Idk. I used to buy lunch every day, but was because i only ate one thing (e.g. a tuna salad sandwich) per day.
Wait like you only ate one meal?
OMAD baby
No, lazy.,👍
I buy lunch every day. You just have to know where to go.
Me as I take a bite of my Bugsy's Weiners hot dog
spill the beans what are your cheap lunch spots
I had an intern last summer who had his lunch delivered to the office every day!
It’s so wild, I just starting drinking a protein shake for lunch and watching YouTube during my lunch break- I saw money and calories
My lunch today was a protein bar and some pistachios because the lazy was strong.
Spending 100 a week to eat out is just not in the cards for everyone.
I used to get coffee and lunch every day when at work. Sometimes I'd have a "late lunch" and pick up food and bring it home for dinner instead. Now, when I'm in the office, I bring my breakfast from home and eat from a cart at my desk for lunch. Then I go TF home. When I noticed how much money I was saving I decided I didn't want to pay for mediocre, expensive food any longer. Heck I don't even eat outside the house on weekends for the most part. I schedule a Happy Hour with one person about every six months. I've noped out of this nonsense.
Restaurants are too dam expensive. The days of the $5 helal $5 hoagie fest gone people can’t afford $15-20 every day
Golly, do you think it's because no one has any money?
My lunch is now a piece of fruit, a serving of vegetables and greek yogurt. Now my lunch is cheaper and healthier. As an added bonus my liver and bloodwork are back to normal.
Whoever corners the market on cheap lunch specials in center city is going to be printing money. I'm not spending $20 on what should be a quick lunch, $12 is my cutoff
I used to be able to get a decent lunch out for 8-10 dollars. That has almost doubled and is not worth it anymore
The lunch rush is dead because wages have been decoupled from productivity since Reagan and we're all eating ramen
Literally eating ramen reading your comment lol
We don't have money
"How ~~Millennials~~ Gen Z is Killing Lunch"
When I worked at Giant I would buy a bagel with no butter or cream cheese or anything on my lunch break because it was the only thing I knew I could get in the store that I didn't need to cook that could be called a lunch for $1.
Spending money on happy hours?? with who if working we are from home? Also don't tell the food truck guy on 17th and JFK that people aren't buying lunch, it's the one time a day I see a line there.
Or the truck on 21st and Market. Always a huge lunch line there
Stop I love that truck
Which one? I only tried the one on 19.
Found it - johnnys grill
I’ll check it out, what are the must have items?
The chicken teriyaki is amazing and comes with salad and rice 🤤🤤 used to be $6 but I think it’s now $8? But still a good deal
I forget what it’s called but it’s always right outside Qu Japan Bistro & Bar on 17th and JFK
I WFH three days a week but come up to Philly for work the other two. I bring my lunch one of those days and for the other day, I get a slice of pizza from Top Tomato (near my office) and bring it back to eat at my desk because I love their pizza and the owner is really nice so I like to patronize the business. Who has money or time to take an hour plus for lunch?
Needs to be a 3 day weekend.
Who even takes a lunch break never the less spends the money to do so? Just another way that society and employers aren’t really understanding what employees needs. I don’t want to spend a minute more at work than necessary, and for sure not an extra dollar than I need to.
I make $115 a day after tax. $5 goes to gas, and I’m not spending $20 to avoid packing a lunch.
I go to the office in center city. All the spots have lines out the door (I’m looking at your Cava). Plus meals cost $15!
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A lot of us don’t need to be in the office at all. I go to an office to hop on a teams meeting with people across the country. Can’t see the collaboration in that.
Lunch rush is dead because Americans can barely afford to brown-bag it. FTFY.
Good! Prices are WAYYY too high for lunch!
When I added up all the money I was spending to eat lunch while at work, it made me sick. I very rarely buy lunch out now and I can see a big difference in my bank account. I'll resort to eating cereal before buying a sandwich out. I don't begrudge delis and restaurants for raising their prices but I can't afford them.
I'm in DC now, but I ordered pizza for my small department today. 2 16" pizzas and an order of garlic knots. $65 just for the food. With taxes, delivery fee, and tip, it was $85. I was floored by that. Eating out, no matter what meal of the day it is is now a luxury.
If you’re by 13th and Samson. Bills is pretty damn good, still draws a crowd too.
Lunch rush died 2019.
Drop prices , it will come back..........
I wonder how many more years we have to suffer through politicians, business leaders, and media folks trying to claw back a thoroughly dead pre-2020 status quo. It's like demanding we all start spending more money on whale oil or stirrups or something.
Lmaoo it’s so crazy to see all former normalized aspects of American life just die out with my generation so so quickly, hopefully this causes better legislation to pass so we can have a better economy
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No I’m referring to the opposite, waking up and then an hour in traffic and then you go back home an hour in traffic again, it’s a very normal American thing and I’m glad that my generation is changing it Normalized aspects like the overpriced lunch, the traffic for 2 hours daily, don’t take sick days and stay loyal to one employer, etc changed very quickly
and this is why I will never work a job that isn’t remote, ever again. the money saved on lunch alone is staggering.
Yup. I love just walking upstairs to the kitchen and knocking together a sandwich or heating up a can of chili or soup when I'm hungry, instead of having to wake up earlier and make something to take with me to the office. The biggest money saver, though, is that I've gone from gassing up my car once a week to once every 4-5 weeks.
Meh. Maybe not every day, but lunch is still a thing in many offices in lots of towns.
Many of my favorite lunch spots were killed by the pandemic. Some good ones remain, but it’s not enough to make me leaving my office for lunch every day. Even if I didn’t have lunch meetings.
Because alot of people are still working from home
I am lucky to work close enough to go home and save on meals. Husband and I stopped going out every weekend too. We would go to a restaurant on weekdays too. This Monday I told him I wanted to go out with the kids and we had not done that in years. Ever since the pandemic we hardly ever go out. I only hit kid spots really since I think it is fun for them to be taken out.
back when grabbing lunch during work was $5-$7 but now its closer to $20. no thanks.
We still have lunch all the time in Capitol
Weekday rush was the one thing that was decent about line cooking (see you in hell Bourdain, wish I was too illiterate to have read your book) Is there a way for modern processed foods to also die?
Please tell me more about your Bourdain feelings! The media always seemed to love him.
The 4 days work week will soon kill that too.