Squash from Squares

On Thursdays, my co-workers Beth and Michele are usually the only ones who are in the office besides me; because so many people work through the weekend, they tend to take Thursday off. So the three of us often order lunch in, as a treat for ourselves.

We usually order from Pizza House, which offers an astoundingly wide variety of items from the obvious to sandwiches and salads and appetizers and pasta. But because our office is a vegetarian one, we can't have pepperoni or sausage on our pizza, or eat fried chicken, or even have a simple bowl of chili; that still leaves us with options from Greek salad to macaroni and cheese to tuna subs, so we definitely do okay!

But one gets a bit tired of the same ol' stuff ... at least, *I* do. And so, when we received a flyer for a new place called Squares which offered salads and sandwiches and delivery service -- not to mention providing some nice coupons -- we thought we'd try it.

This past week, Michele ordered the Fun Salad which came with both green and red lettuces, apples and pineapple; broasted potatoes, which were salted/seasoned potato wedges; and the vegetarian minestrone. I, feeding only 1-2 people now (and only occasionally feeding Jeremy and his attendant 20-year-old male appetite), find myself inundated with leftovers on a regular basis; so I had brought a sandwich, but ordered the roasted squash side dish because I love squash, it was nutritious, and it intrigued me that this was available from a chain-like restaurant.

True to form, Michele picked out the red lettuces; and she'd asked if she could also try the gingery Asian dressing in addition to the red wine vinaigrette that normally accompanies the Fun Salad. She's a notoriously picky eater, but was very pleased with the gracious accommodations that Squares made at her request, and she thoroughly enjoyed her meal (with the exception of finding spinach and zucchini and tomato chunks in her soup ... but she ate around those).

As for the squash, it was just perfect! It was very slightly sweet, rather than overly sugared. It was pureed, but still had some tidbits of texture. The dried cranberries in it were perfectly tender rather than crunchy. And the portion -- normally $1.99, but charged at only .99 and included as a side dish to Michele's order rather than as a separate meal -- was generous enough that it would have made a perfect lunch with a cup of soup. I will remember this, happily!

The service, in addition to being friendly, was also quite efficient ... an important point when one is hungry and waiting for food!

And so, Beth (who'd eaten while running errands at her usual lunchtime), Michele and I have found a new place to patronize and support, providing some variation in our routine. But the tradition of spending some "down time" together on Thursdays and catching up on each other's lives continues and thrives ....