4 Fast Lunches for When You’re Just “Too Busy”

Four places for the 15 minute lunch in your busy schedule.

Storefront+of+fast+casual+restaurant%2C+Chipotle

Anna Letson

Storefront of fast casual restaurant, Chipotle

Scott Hogan, Dining Editor

We get it. In high school you were student body president, head of three different clubs, all while lettering in varsity volleyball and making straight A’s. You adored complaining about how busy you were. But be honest, how do you expect us to believe that when you finished 14 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy in just one month you bold faced liar. Which is exactly why you thought it would be a great idea to take six extra credits your first semester at NYU you insufferable show off. You looked on with pride at the classes you packed in back to back every day between 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. because, “If I did it in high school I can do it now!” But wake up and smell the 2.5 GPA Deborah, with only 15 minutes between each class, how the hell are you supposed to eat?

Fresh & Co.
729 Broadway

Fresh & Co.’s menu was designed specifically for you. They have sandwiches and paninis to grab as you speed walk to GCASL (what the hell is a GCASL anyway?) and a large assortment of salads, grain bowls and soups. Try the crispy chicken and mozzarella panini to stress eat while you draft your schedule for finals week, an act you took pride in just last year. Or sample the kale lentil and quinoa soup for days when you realize that once killer varsity athlete body is starting to fade. Fresh & Co. also puts a lot of thought into the quality and sourcing of its food, so you can rest easy knowing you won’t have to rely on a diet of garbage and Kraft Easy Mac for four months.

Chipotle
55 E. Eighth St.

Chipotle is a blessing to every single NYU student. It’s quick, it’s affordable, you already know the menu and it reminds you of home. But be warned, don’t get a burrito bowl or tacos, your lecture hall definitely doesn’t have the desk space for that, and you’ll end up just pissing off the professor who sees a kid eating over taking notes. Stick with a trusty burrito that can be easily concealed from your teachers’ eyes in your lap.

Just Salads
53 E. Eighth St.

Just Salads offers a customizable salad and wrap experience which is perfect for someone like you, you micromanaging freak. Sure they can finely crush up pita chips into the salad, and it’s totally reasonable to ask for seven croutons, no more, no less. They might get annoyed, but you annoy every person you’ve ever met, you know-it-all. Plus salads are perfect for when you realize the freshman 15 you told yourself you would evade is creeping up on you.

OatMeals
120 W. Third St.

OatMeals offers a build your own oatmeal bowl experience, something so millennial it almost hurts to type, but in practice, is surprisingly incredible. You can add fresh fruit — a food group you haven’t touched since Welcome Week when your parents bought you groceries — or you can treat yourself with some chocolate. Either way, the oatmeal is sure to fill you up through the rest of your classes, and it’s good brain food to help your productivity.

With an actual game plan to feed yourself during the day, maybe this semester won’t be as bad as you thought? Just kidding, there’s no way you’re sleeping during finals week, or the week before for that matter. But always remember, you only have four years in college, enjoy them.

 

Email Scott Hogan at [email protected]