Grab & Go Lunch Spots [SF FiDi]
Having a bad lunch ruins my mood for the rest of the afternoon, and I don’t always have 30 minutes to sit down at a restaurant for lunch. These are my favorite grab-and-go spots that make the best of the #desklunch sitch.
Homegrown (222 Battery Street)
Homegrown just opened up in the Financial District and my coworkers and I have been obsessed! To quote their manager, they are “sandwich environmentalists”; all of their ingredients are local and sustainable, which means that their menu changes seasonally. My current favorites are the steak and bleu sandwich, the hatch chili steak grain bowl (which has a great kick to it), and their chicken and avocado grain bowl.
Fresh Roll (220 Bush Street)
I am constantly craving this place because I love the flavor and texture combinations of the pickle daikon and carrots, vermicelli noodles, lettuce, and fish sauce. My favorite combo is half lettuce, half vermicelli with five spice chicken and the standard toppings with fish sauce and sriracha.
Mixt (multiple locations in FiDi)
You can not go wrong with a Mixt salad combo. I just recently eating beets and realized that I am a sucker for them especially in salads! Mixt’s Beetnik salad is healthy and delicious. I like to add in brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and chicken as well. The line at Mixt starts to get long around noon but there seems to be a new Mixt location popping up every month which will hopefully even out the long lines.
Tenmatsu (336 Kearny Street)
One of my coworkers will only ever grab lunch from Tenmatsu or Proper Foods. That’s it. I love the concept of Tenmatsu because there’s so much variety but never any real wait. Everyone in there means serious business and just wants to grab their food and get out (I’m usually the one exception).
Halal Cart (Market Street between Front and 1st, multiple locations)
Get here early because the line gets long the second it hits 12pm. I like it better than The Halal Guys which recently opened up in SF. However, there is a lack of quality assurance with Halal Cart as sometimes it’s super spicy, but it is sooo worth it. I’m tempted to get it every time I smell it on Market Street.