Results tagged “chain”

Jimmy John’s
249 S State St, Chicago, IL 60604

Time: In at 2:10pm, leaving with food in 2 minutes, 15 seconds.
Meal: Ham sandwich (#1 Pepe), chips, and a drink = $8.33

As I said when I went to Chipotle, I’m going to try to avoid chains on this project. But it is my work day, and so there are going to be days when I just need to grab something fast. And Jimmy John’s does finish off my tour around the block* that my office is located on. And fast they are: the two minutes and fifteen seconds it took to get this sandwich and walk back out the door is the current Loop Lunching record.

And, you know, I like a Jimmy John’s sandwich. Again as I mentioned in the Chipotle review, I like places that do something simple and stick to it. I think Jimmy John’s has had the same basic menu for years. I remember it being a big deal when they added bacon to the possible ingredients, and that was like five years ago.

*Without crossing the street.

Fontera Fresco at Macy’s Seven on State
111 N State St, Chicago, IL 60602

Time: I arrived at mid-lunch rush, 12:30pm. I goofed up on my usual system for timing the line, but it was just over 10 minutes from the front door of Macy’s to sitting with food.
Meal: Grilled Steak Huarache, Classic Lime Aqua Fresca, Caramel Nut Bar for afternoon snack = $14.62

I broke out of my immediate neighborhood (by a whole 3 blocks) to meet an old work colleague for lunch. We met up on the seventh floor of Macy’s (nee Marshall Field’s) where there’s the Seven on State high-concept food court. The concept is celebrity-chef-designed food courts stands, so there’s Rick Bayless’ Frontera Fresca, Marc Samuelsson’s Marc Burger, and Takashi Yagihashi’s Noodles. There’s also a salad and soup place that is just… salads and soup. There are two other Frontera Frescas in other Macy’s—one in Skokie and one in San Francisco.

I’m not ashamed to be a Rick Bayless fan. I’ve eaten at Xoco quite a bit, and Frontera Grill whenever I can. The Frontera Fresca was closed for renovations the last time I was here, but is open again. I’m not sure the renovations made any huge difference to the decor, but they seem to have made some changes to the kitchen flow, as there was quite a line, but once I had ordered, I had my food in minutes. It felt faster than the wait from order to food had been in the past.

I’d recently had huaraches from a place near my home and so I decided to try Bayless’ take on the food. Delish. Just great.

My lunch companion had a salad from the salad place. I don’t believe he starved to death.

Chipotle Mexican Grill
10 E Jackson, Chicago, IL 60604

Time: In the door at 12:40pm, walking out the door with food in 2.5 minutes.
Meal: Carnitas bowl, Fountain drink = $9.03

Chipolte is a small local chain… ha ha! I crack myself up.

So here’s the deal. There were only two restaurants left to complete a full circuit of the block my office is on, but both are national chains and so I was going to skip them in favor of branching out for more local, and interesting, fare. But then it was pretty rainy at lunchtime and work was busy enough that I just wanted to grab something quick and come back, so I popped into the Chipolte that’s right next door (don’t be creepy).

There’s a divide in chain lunch places that I see in places like Quiznos and Subway vs Potbelly and Jimmy Johns. It’s about either doing, like the latter, a few ingredients and doing them well and sticking with it, or like the former, constantly coming up with changes to your menu to entice customers in. Chipotle in definitely in the latter camp. They do four meats, a couple of salsas, two kinds of beans and rice, and however you can combine those things in tortillas, tacos, or bowls. I do have to say I’m a fan and I’ve got an order that I’ve got down, which is part of that very impressive 2.5 minute service time. (Bowl, brown rice, pinto beans, carnitas, some tomato salsa, some corn salsa, cheese. Clear!) They have Coke products on the fountain, but they have pretty good iced tea and non-diet lemonade on the fountain, so I usually make an Arnold Palmer.

I’m a fan of local, interesting, and different. But if it’s a rainy day, Chipotle is just fine by me.