- A hearty ‘Box’ lunch.
The Ladies’ Lunch gang apologizes for the lack of reports. Timing just hasn’t been on anyone’s side. But today, the gang was back in action and I jumped at the chance to join in for new ilume resident, Beyond the Box. Glad to say, it was a good decision for this cold day.
I made my way over there earlier this week and had some pretty fantastic and way spicy tortilla soup. Although it was more puree than chunky, the flavors worked nicely. Being that it was piping hot only made it better for the dropping temps. This time, the three of us took stabs at the sandwich options. But I couldn’t resist another soup serving. But before I get to mine, here’s LL regular Chris’ take on lunch.
The sandwich process was very convenient, a lot of choices but easy like Which Wich. I had tuna salad on a 6-inch baguette with a bowl of charred tomato soup. The best tuna salad I’ve had in town so far and the soup was perfect on a chilly day.
The employees were super attentive and owner Chef Doug Brown even rang me up! The pricing is affordable if you don’t get too crazy which is easy to do there. I could eat there every day since there are so many different things to try. I wish I had dessert but there’s always tomorrow.
The place was very clean and you can spend hours on your laptop wi-fi chatting on Gay.com with the guy sitting at the next table.
I’m in complete agreement with Chris. Box is sort of Eatzi’s lite. They offer tons of options in a quaint space. I’m hooked on their soup bar which also had black bean and vegetable, which I selected. Although my soup tasted like any other veg soup, it was still satisfying and I was digging it’s double duty as a hand warmer. I also ordered the tuna which is kind of a barometer for me in sandwich art. Box’s was delicious and fresh and I’m always a fan of the toasted baguette.
Although Chance’s sandwich order was momentarily lost, his selection had my mouth watering. Here’s how his LL panned out.
The Sex on the Beach chicken salad was sensual, divine and satisfying. However, it was a bit messy (Ed. note: Personally, never a bad sign.), but in the end well worth it and hearty with flavor. The charred tomato bisque was one of the most heavenly things to slide down my gullet in months. I will definitely be back for some more of that!
The Fruit Tart was a small disappointment. I am a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to fruit tarts. Although they had the crust down perfectly, I was not a fan of the whipped filling and the fruit seemed a bit sad and downtrodden. There appeared to be many other tasty confections that I will for sure be back to check out.
The eye candy was off the charts, from behind the counter to the table next to me. You will definitely be finding me and my laptop there in the very near future.
I’m sad to admit I’ve ordered desserts twice already from Beyond the Box within the week they opened. Although no one can top Angelo’s bread pudding, the chocolate croissant bread pudding, at $3 and some change, comes a close second. Although it’s room temp, it is wonderfully thick and more like a bar than a pudding. It’s hefty amount of chocolate was sweet but never overpowered the dessert’s intent of being a BP. Today’s mocha almond bread fared just less so. Interestingly, the chocolate part of the bread was a little too intense tasting more like a coffee bean, but the rest was delicious and moist and tasted better with mere hints of the chocolate swirl. Plus, it was cheaper at $1.25.
Like Chris said, it’s easy to get wrapped up in ordering because it all looks so fresh and beautiful. But when you stay away from more impulse purchases (i.e. desserts or a bowl instead of a cup of soup), lunches can be quite reasonable coming in under $10. Entrees are priced a bit higher but we still have more soups, salads and sandwiches to discover before hitting the fancy stuff. So it looks like many more adventures to Beyond the Box in the future. And we’re pretty excited about that.