Lunchtime Blogging

405 words written by dylan
Posted October 13, 2003 @ 12:56 PM
3 comments

Rare for me to blog at lunch, but something's been bugging me. My employer had a catering subsidiary that produced really simple sandwiches. They had a tuna salad sandwich that consisted of tuna, mayo, celery, and wheat bread. Really simple, really good low-cal lunch. They sold these things for $1.99. Or, rather, they did.

In August, the catering subsidiary abruptly stopped making sandwiches. Instead, they signed a contract with Briazz, the local chain of sandwich shops (similar to the Pret for you British readers, only not as good). The nice, simple sandwiches were gone, replaced by the complicated Briazz sandwich. Roasted Kangaroo Loin and Heirloom Beet Sandwich (with Leek-Ginseng Aioli). Dad's Meatloaf If Dad Raised Kobe Beef And Used Breadcrumbs From Day-Old French Bread He Had Flown In On The Concorde Sandwich.

I have three problems with this new arrangement.


  1. The sandwiches, as illustrated above, are way way way too complicated. If I want a turkey sandwich, I want turkey, mayo, maybe a piece of cheese, a slice of tomato, and two slices of decent (but not extravagent) sandwich bread. That's a simple sandwich. I don't need cranberry-orange-Grand Mariner compote on my turkey sandwich.

  2. The sandwiches are jaw-droppingly high in calories. Take the Briazz Tuna Sandwich, the closest analogue to the old tuna salad sandwich. Old sandwich: 317 calories, 9g fat. New sandwich: 620 calories, 35g fat. Almost twice the calories, FOUR times the fat. And, mind you, the Briazz version isn't that much larger. Well, when you cut the bread in half, it isn't. Briazz apparently believes that a sandwich consists of bread, bread, bread, bread, bread, and everything else. I can't get my mouth around their bread slices -- they're too thick. Plus, they're way too chewy.

  3. Worst of all, the prices are painfully high. Old sandwich: $1.99. New sandwich: $4.59. I'm not paying $4.59 for ginger-saffron-caviar chutney. Honestly, I get more nutrition -- and more enjoyment -- out of a Bento box. Six pieces of sushi are the same price as a Briazz gutbomb. Briazz has tried to alleviate the complaints by making "classic" sandwiches that are supposedly simpler and cheaper. One example: A hummus sandwich. Hummus. Lettuce. Same 4.5m thick bread slices. $3.50. $3.50???


Apparently, I will have to start making my own lunch. I've been avoiding it for a long while (mainly because I'm too unconscious at 7am to make a sandwich), but $5 for sandwich is obscene.

Comments

  1. what is depressing is that a turkey-cheese-lettuce sandwich at QFC also costs $5 and there you don't get the mango-chutney either. talk about overpriced....

    But be careful. ben moved from spending $3 on a sandwich to us making our own... and it turns out that the ones that we were taking ourselves were more than $5. zoiks!

    Posted by: kat | October 13, 2003 01:20 PM

  2. Get yerself a small refrigerator for the office, stock it with ham, turkey, cheese, mustard, mayo. No more fumbling around in the pre-8AM incoherence.

    Posted by: Harry | October 14, 2003 06:45 AM

  3. I know the creator of this company and the idea was stolen while He was prancing around Europe. The problem with Briaz is that they could not duplicate the quality of the European delis. At this time Briazz stock is at 9 cents a share. THe staff lies and at least one of them reaks of padussey. Do you know what it isl liek to go into the workplace and have to smell padussey, raost beef, firecracker ham and bleach? THat is unbearable funk. No human should have to go through that. Yuck. The fruit is not fresh.

    Posted by: Former Briazz Employee | April 16, 2004 08:20 PM