lunch

Sprouting Lunches 3 Days a Week

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By Tiffany Young

My new “resolution” is to bring my lunch to work at least three times a week. This is primarily to save money, since I work downtown and it can get expensive eating at Whole Foods for lunch almost every day. But I know the lunch has to pretty good to convince myself not to go hang out with my coworkers away from the office for an hour or even 30 minutes. That means less store bought frozen meals and more homemade frozen meals. So, this week I made mac ‘n cheese and Sriracha roasted Brussels sprouts and packaged them for my mid-day meal. You can find the recipe at The Austin Gastronomist. I had been eying the recipe for sometime, but was a little intimidated by it for some reason. However, the recipe was pretty easy to carry out and has turned out to be a delicious choice for my lunch. My only caution is that some coworkers think it smells up the office when I reheat it. Also, when the recipe says that the sauce will bubble up on you, that means step back! There was definitely a little splash back when I poured the hot water in. Other than that, everything went well and I would definitely make it again!

Let us know what some of your favorite lunches are in the comments!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review: Ate. Cafe

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ate. cafe menu

Recently out in the Lakeway area during the lunch hour, I had about an hour to spare when I saw ate. cafe at Lohman’s Crossing and RR 620, near The PJ Shop.

Seeing its European bistro feel with an outside patio, I decided to pop in to see if there was anything that looked tasty.

A quiche lorraine caught my eye, but since it was packed with ham, that was out. I asked the young man behind the counter if they had any other quiches and he pointed me toward the fugazzetta ($8), which looked much like a slice of pizza, but tasted more like a savory tarte filled with grilled onions, red bell peppers, asparagus, oregano and mozzarella cheese.

Although it was already prepared, the waitstaff heated the pastry-filled goodness along with a light side salad.

I thought I’d be starving afterward, given it was just a slice and a small side salad, but I was very fulfilled by the last bite.

Fugazzetta with a side salad1

There isn’t a lot of seating outside, but since the weather has been so balmy lately, the iron patio furniture out front is a nice place to meet a friend and pop into a few of the local shops within the shopping center. I enjoyed the friendly waitstaff, delicious food and relaxing atmosphere.

The menu consists mainly of sandwiches, salads, tarts, breakfast items, coffee, wine, beer and desserts.

Ate. cafe, owned by Rodolfo and Jesica Buonocore, serves breakfast lunch and dinner Tues.–Wed. 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Thurs.–Sat. 8 a.m.–8 p.m. and Sun. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and is closed Mondays.

ate. cafe
2127 Lohman’s Crossing, Ste. 310
512.263.4933
www.atecafe.com