Law & Your Lunch Order: Chelsea Square

Ryan's review of Chelsea Square yesterday made us decide to give it a try. It was yummy, but the best part was that the fries were still crispy!! CS is only about 2 avenue blocks away, apparently not far enough to make the fries mushy. AND! I literally let out a schoolgirl squeal when I peered inside my dish and noticed not one, but 2 onion rings mixed with my fries! I absolutely love it that happens:


Oh, and the BLT was deliciously classic.

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K-Kat:

I ordered Chicken Souvlaki on a pita and instead of fries I ordered extra salad. WHAT WHAT WEIGHT WATCHERS! They'd be proud that I made a smart decision. BUT i was very upset. The salad had 2 anchovies and boy did they make everything taste like smelly fish. So all i ate was the pita and the chicken smothered in feta cheese and Souvlaki sauce. My ww leader would not be happy that I dropped my veggie serving for the day. But she'll just have to deal bc I had to deal with the disappointment of fishy fish lettuce.

Frank ordered the same meal as K-Kat, yet was rather excited to find the hairy slug-like fish. Congrats Frank!


Crista's food was so good, she refused to review it. Oh well, better luck next time!

Law & Your Crafty

Yesterday was a long and weird day. Towards the end of the day, I received a package from a set run from Delora. Immediately I thought, "Ugh, more work..." So I opened to package and what did I find? A hand written blog entry! I was so pleasantly surprised! I think she intended for me to type it up, but I appreciate her efforts so much, that I think I should leave the entry in its original format:

Law & Your Lunch Order: Guest Post Pt. II

We have another guest post from the Production Office. I am excited about this one because I have always considered Chelsea Square for lunch, but just assumed it was yummy breakfast (which I love, but don't think it would deliver well) and mediocre sandwiches. I think Ryan's following review has convinced me to give it a try...I love BLTs!!!

***

Hi! My name is Ryan. I'm an office PA and I like food. Today's lunch came from Chelsea Square. Let's see how they did!

The Minestrone Soup - The taste is wonderful; not too strong and not bland at all. The vegetable chunks are nice and big, and the noodles have a perfect consistency. They serve a nice-size portion, but it would leave you hungry if that's all you ate.

The B.L.T. - "The Perfect Diner BLT". Nothing fancy but incredibly delicious. Crunchy bacon is a plus. A welcome respite from my usual grilled cheese.

The Pickles - I asked for a pickle with my sandwich and they sent me about 10. What's not to like about that?

9/10 stars.

Law & Your Lunch Order: Guest Post

Today we have a special treat: a review from the Production Office! They ordered Indian food, a cuisine that Crista and I are too big of wimps to order-- I know everyone likes to shake things up and keep it fresh, so Production Office did us the honor of reviewing the otherwise never to be reviewed restaurant Earth ...Thanks guys!

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Gillian's Intro and Review:

We over here in the production office found out about this food blog and got very jealous. Not because we don't also receive our $12 worth of delicious lunch every day, but because we love an opportunity to be sassy. And we also like food.

In addition to the initial excitement of a blog dedicated entirely to the lunches that are brought to us by the swift and nimble steps of the smiling Daioh sushi man or the scared Bottinos guy, we also learned that this blog is the reason for the delighted response of "Yum!" or "Yaaaay!" that C-Cat gives us when we dial ext.185 to her that the Locations lunches have arrived. We were wondering why the restaurant names have been unrecognizable as of late. It all seems to make sense now…

So, without further delay, I present to you our guest entry:

Spicing Things Up! A Closer Look at the Indian Culinary Stylings of "Earth" (formerly known as "Indian Kitchen"

So this isn't the first time we have ordered from here, but they recently changed their name from "Indian Kitchen" to "Earth". I don't know if that means the food now tastes like dirt or what. They also classed up their menu by making the font tinier and more spread out, with the prices as just numbers, which apparently means it's fancier. Does the food taste more delicious, though?!

Um, YES. I ordered my favorite Indian dish, Chicken Makhani, which I have tried at many different restaurants. This version was definitely one of the best yet. It is supposed to spicy (but not overwhelmingly so) and creamy, and Earth's had a perfect blend of both. The rice could have been a little less greasy, but paired with the chicken it was excellent. A piece of Naan bread rounded out the meal nicely. My only complaint is the guilt I now feel for not eating any vegetables.

Rachel's Samosas:

With a description like," savory pastry stuffed with spiced potatoes and minced lamb" deliciousness should have been seeping out of the samosas I ordered. However, this certainly wasn't the case. On top of the spiced potatoes and minced lamb the samosas included peas, which, I am a fan of, but, the pastry was a little more crunch than I was expecting and the lamb was dry. On top of that, after one bite of said samosas the structural integrity was completely compromised. All together I wouldn't bother ordering them again. Luckily Earth, formally known as Indian Kitchen, has much better dishes to offer.

Law & Your Lunch Order: Pita Hut

I found another falafel joint, and it delivers!! I was thoroughly searching our massive menu book for a new restaurant, one we haven't ordered from in years, and stumbled upon Pita Hut. It turns out we've plum never ordered from here! And Crista's never had falafel before, so it was a day full of excitement-- for me at least, I think Crista was a little more worried than excited.


Pita Hut was more than willing to customize their falafel sandwich for me. I asked for hummus instead of tahini, and to include a cucumber salad in the pita, but I ended up with both hummus and tahini, and cucumber salad on the side...I didn't even realize the cucumber salad was on the side and not in my sandwich until after I ate half of the pita, and gave the mainly red cucumber salad to Charlie. As far as the falafel is concerned, I really liked it - it wasn't spicy or greasy, however towards the last few bites, it started to taste piney - in the way that bad gin tastes like a chirstmas tree. Regardless of my list of negatives, I still enjoyed my falafel sandwich and look forward to utilizing the delivery service further down the road.



Charlie ordered the Mixed Grilled Combo - sounded too mysterious for me, but Charlie was game. Turns out he consumed three different animals: cow, chicken and lamb - judging by the magnatude of Charlie's grumbly burp, he enjoyed all three. On the selection of cuisine, Charlie said it is not his "go to food, but its good to shake it up every once in a while."

* NOTE: I apologize for the lidded photo - I don't quite feel comfortable undressing other's food.

Crista tried falafel and liked it! We are thinking its because it was deep fried, and anything deep fried is going to taste good, but the important thing to note here is she tried something new and liked it. For her main course, Crista (and Manny) ordered the Chicken Kabob with Vegetables and thoughly enjoyed it, she would prefer to leave the detailed review to Manny...so Manny, its all up to you:

Emmanuel Vozos edition:

Chicken Kebab (w/ vegetables) to the face on a mf Wednesday! (10pm Law & Order).

Every once in a while, a lunch will come along that is served in just the right portion, under such perfect conditions, it will launch you into the second part of your day with such positive energy that you won't know what to do with the smile on your face, (even as you try in vain to get that last thread of chicken breast out from between your teeth.)

Today, friends, I encountered such a lunch, and the world is better for it. The chicken was juicy and spiced just right. The vegetables were grilled with an expert hand: the skins of the peppers crisp, the flesh warm and of a succulent zest, the carrots, while surprising in their attendance, became a welcome addition to the medley of onion, pepper, brocolli and cauliflower. All fresh and in your face.

The side salad and hummus combination was like a detour down a small sandy road while taking a lazy sunday stroll down to the brook to skip stones and spying a doe lapping up som cool refreshment. Unpredictable but emotionally gratifying.

Hummus needed more garlic.

And finally, without further adieu, we have Winton's very first posting...or dialogue for that matter:

Winston edition:

I want chicken, I want liver, meow mix, meow mix, please deliver.

Psych, totally kidding.

Do you like grapes? You do? Well that's awesome, because I'm

not allowed to eat them - unbelievable right? I know! In fact, I can't

have any dried fruits. Isn't that wild? Totally limits my palette.

Anyway, let's talk about what I can eat - for food, sickos.

Wellness. It's nutritious on so many levels I feel like I'm

in a commercial for God. Anyway, it's tough when you're hungry

but also delicate like a peach. Crista hooked me up with some

Wellness and my culinary needs have been met head on (see 11/11).

I get all the vitamins, minerals and proteins that a celebrity pup like me needs

to go out there and impress Princess Hilton and that Beverly Hills

Chihuaha. (Total slut by the way).

Still don't mean I wouldn't like to be hand fed some grapes one of these days.

Gotta go, I see something shiny.

Weekend Crimes: Pita Joe & White Castles

On Saturday, I, C-Cat went on an excursion looking for a new winter coat. Along my travels, I stopped to talk with my mom on the phone, and found myself standing outside of Pita Joe. I have had a tough time finding a replacement favorite falafel, as I recently moved from the Wicker Park area of Chicago, and was spoiled by my close proximity to Sultan's Market - home of the best and most delicious $3 falafel. Anywhos, I have been willing to give any falafel seller the chance to impress me, and Pita Joe finally did it! While their sandwiches were not $3, it was worth a few extra dollars as the restuarant is big on being eco-friendly and uses organic ingredients. Most importantly, they offered the cucumber salad mix, can't remember the name, AND hummus. Mmmmmmm. More good news: they deliver! They don't deliver to our office, but if you live/work relatively close to Union Square, they will most likely deliver to you.

Check it out! http://pitajoe.com/


On Sunday, I contiued my search for a new coat with my friend Megan. We were exhausted from a search with no results, and were starving in Soho. Although I allow myself to assume I can afford to purchase a coat in Soho, I do not allow myself to afford a meal in Soho...so Megan quickly suggested White Castles! We quickly texted google (466453 - use it, its a life saver) and discovered 3 seperate locations in the New York City area. The closest one is closer than you thought: 35th St. and 8th Ave.!!! Somehow I was able to spend $10 at White Castles, and loved every bite of it. A few changes NY White Castles has made from the standard St. Louis WC:

• Cheese fries cheese was in the corner of the container, instead of smuthered on the fries
• Cheese fries cheese was spicy, almost jalapeno-y - StL uses normal nacho cheese
• Ketchup on the burger?!?! Sort of seems like a crime...
• Soda lacked syrup
• And most importanly, we were sober during consumption

Law & Your Lunch Order: The Dish

Sorry for the delay, Friday was a super busy day-- and it was Friday...I would rather spend my time reviewing the weekend treats and today's lunch - especially since we've reviewed The Dish already. So this entry is rather limited on my part, but luckily a few people wrote their very own reviews from Friday which will do a good job of covering the group:


K-Kat's Review:

c - cat "I love the chicken"

k - kat "you should marry it"

c - cat "i was thinking about it and I'm not ready to settle down"

Kat

I like the carribean chicken salad. The chicken was uber moist and pleasantly warm. I love onions and there were A LOT of red onions. My breath is kickin. Watch out possible locations that we may film out. Please dont say no bc I stinka.

Again I got the Matzo ball soup. I cant stay away from those balls! YUMM


Looks like K-Kat was too busy taking pictures of everyone else's food, that she forgot hers! Refer back to C-Cat's order last time we ordered from Dish for a picture.

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On to The World is My Oyster Cassie's review:

1400 hours: Our meal arrives from Dish. I got the Dijon Chicken Pasta and I have to say I was disappointed. The chicken was try, the pasta super creamy and fatty, and there wasn't the dijon "kick" I was expecting. I'm told that Dish is an excellent restaurant, but the taste in my mouth was dulled by the bitter pill I had to swallow when my beloved "Hill Country" wasn't chosen as the lunch option.

If I'd had Hill Country, I'd be rubbing my belly in delight as I digested my Beer Can Chicken -- moist and juicy yet with a satistying outer crunch. I would have followed that with the Bourbon Sweet Potatoes, accompanied by a side of cornbread with Ancho Chili Butter. I would have eaten delicious BBQ, sang "Texas Our Texas" for the entire Locations Department, and told wondrous stories about Sam Houston and the Battle of the Alamo.

But alas, it was not meant to be.




Post script: Kat raised my spirits a bit by offering me her one point mini Chocolate Raspberry bar. Maybe I'll tell her about the Texas state rock (Petrified Palmwood, in case you're wondering).

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And finally, making his debut at Law & Your Order, it is an honor to introduce Manny and his first review. Good luck!

Today for lunch I had a salad. A layman would clarify and call it a Greek Salad, but for obvious reasons, I don't have use for such wasted words. Balloon.

The volume of lettuce was good, as was the crunchy texture. The tomatoes were halved slices, which is my least favrotie cut of tomato. Cucumbers were so scarce I hardly remember them being there. The green peppers were crunchy and awesome. The olives, same. The chicken, while bountiful, was kind of dry and even though it had absorbed a lot of the oil and vinegar dressing, still was dry. All in all, good salad. Bonus for anchovies which are awesome and fishy. I didn't finish it all.


Editor's Note: This is NOT Manny's salad, just a picture of a similar salad ordered that day.



The chili con carne was delicious, but Jesus, the portions were huge! It was good but Crista said it looked like Vomit. It kind of did. I saved some for later.

C is for cookie.

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Although there are not reviews for the other orders, I would like to include their pictures:

Frank's French Onion Soup, mid-chew. I ordered it also, not good at all.


Charlie's tin of melted cheese...I think there might be some chicken under that mess of gooiness.

Law & K-Kat's Lunch Order: Energy Kitchen

As a new member to WW (weight watchers) it's been difficult to order healthy lunches when you can order WHATEVER you want any day of the week at Law and Order. Let me put it to you like this… We as location scouts, and everyone working at Law and Order for that matter, gets their lunch paid for. We can order up to 12 dollars for lunch, so wouldn't YOU get thai food or sushi EVERYDAY?
Now with WW I have to limit my lunch orders and boy does it get boring! Today the office ordered BOTTINOS. Bottinos is an awesome Italian sandwich place that I thoroughly enjoy. Couldn't order that today though! So I took a risk and ordered on my own. I went with Energy Kitchen and I got a Vegetarian Salad which has a veggie burger served over mixed greens and steamed mixed veggies. Since it's rainy outside I decided to also go with a small Lentil soup, which is listed as LENTIL GRAVY on the menu! The gravy was phenom, had a hint of cumin and chunks of onions and peppers. C-Cat even tried it and liked it, but said that the "texture of lentils throws me off." I'm slowly getting her into the lentil cult. Soon she will be making Lentil soup! Yay!



As for the Veggie Burger salad… Fresh steamed veggies were cooked to perfection. Not soggy at all. The burger was quite tasty as well. You could see the pieces of carrots, peas and corn and that makes me feel good. I like knowing what I'm eating.

I give Energy Kitchen an A- The minus is for "I don't feel any additional energy after eating Energy Kitchen"

Law & Your Treat: Starbucks by K-Kat

I gotta say that every year around this time, I'm happy for some reason. I just realized what it is. It's the holiday season! Now its not the long lines at stores, or the music on the radio that is on way too early in the season that gets me in the holiday spirit. It's the Starbucks holiday red cups! There's nothing like walking into a Starbucks on a chilly day and ordering a tall skim latte in a nice warm red cup with a reindeer. It just tickles my fancy… doesn't it for you?

Note to all you Starbucks lovers, make sure you order your fancy drinks extra hot. Once you walk out of the door, the heat will seep out, so extra hot is the way to go!



Check out Teddy's flying thing on the holiday starbucks cup. You see it makes him happy too!

Law & Your Lunch Order: Bottino's

So Frank absolutely loves Bottino's; if it were up to him we would order Botti's every single day - but its not up to him, so he must relish these days, and dream about them at night. This blog entry is for you, Mr. Franky Frankster - Real American Hero (aka Real Man of Genius)...Today we salute you.

Does anyone know what I am referring to? Probably not, because I am the only one from St. Louis, and the only one who would pay attention to horrible commercials advertising mediocre beers...but for some reason the opening line triggered that horrible song in my head, the one which none of you know what I am talking about...


Seeing as we had a full house today, and there was a small downpour of contracts and chits- I did not have enough time to write individual reviews for the 9 orders placed with Bottino's...so I asked everyone to write their own review, or at least an outline of their thoughts, and this is what I was served:


Today Christine ordered the Lasagna Bolognese! It was....sadly disappointing! Crunchy on the outside, mooshy on the inside and cold all around. Christine gives thumbs down for Bottinos' Lasagna Bolognese!




Delora's review came in form of bullet points - I think they are rather self-explanatory yet poignant:

• Tastes like a true French sandwich
• Menu reads "lettuces" not "lettuce"
• Herb mayo good
• Wish I had chips

While I find parts of Dan's entry to be a flat out lie, I will post it as I appreciate him taking the time to write it- with or without lies:

This is my first entry to the blog. C-Cat didn't tell me about it and I find out because she was photographing peoples food. She photographed my very oily Pesto Pasta. The Pesto Pasty reminds me of a Scout who doesn't work here anymore but was the biggest Scout Nerd (she would openly admit it). Suzanne Muir used to get the Pesto Pasta every time she order from Bottino. Back then it wasn't so oily. I think they lost their touch with the pesto. But that is a very new thing, I had a pesto salad two weeks ago and it was oily too. So, i thought I would give it another chance. Still oily.

Anyway, I also had the #9 (Smoked Turkey with herb mayo, Lettuces & Tomatoes). It was served on a Baguette, eehh!! Not awesome! I thought it was going to be awesome, It was OK but not awesome. I'm spoiled.



Actually, it turns out I (this is C-Cat talking again) ordered the same sandwich as Delora and Dan: the #9 on Baguette aka Smoked Turkey with Herbal Mayo, Lettuces & Tomatoes. I also ordered the pasta pesto, which we both Dan and I agreed is hard to complete as the final spirals sinking into the oil pool make us feel like grease balls. Well, we didn't really agree on that, I just decided it on my own, but I am sure he would agree.


Fraaank- Frankie LOVED his soup! A new discovery as no one has gone so far as to order soup from Bottino's - looks like he will have even sweeter dreams tonight than we expected.



Charlie ordered the Roast Beef and Russian Dressing sandwich-- I think I creeped him out when I snuck in and took a picture of his sandwich, so I won't creep him out further and push for a review. We will just go with the noises coming from his mouth during mid-chew, "mmm munch munch mmmmm" as being positive.



I am exhausted from this entry. I can't go any further.

Crista got the Chef Salad and the delicious soup Frank ordered. I wouldn't typically leave Crista's opinion that simple, but she promised to write an entry about Winton's diet, so I will use this lack of detail to motivate her to complete her task!

Bridget ordered the Med. salad, as in Mediterranean- not to be confused with Asian. I sincerely doubt she has touched that salad yet, as her days are busy and she usually doesn't get the chance to eat lunch until after 5pm. I might have to start a special daily posting of what Bridget had the day before.


Teddy stopped by to see his favorite department (or get his paycheck) but, unfortunately for him, we don't get paid until tomorrow. In a fit of rage, he tried to eat my sandwich but I quickly caught on and kicked him out. Forever. We'll miss you!

Law & Your Lunch Order: Half King

Mmmmm. Today we ordered from Half King. I've always wondered why no one ever requests 1/2K for lunch, and figured it was not so good. But it turns out a lot of people like it, but because the experience was once spoiled for an anonymous Locations member, we have refrained to place further orders. Luckily, that anonymous member was out of the office today, so we had the opportunity to try it out. For all those who missed out, I regret to inform you that they no long deliver, so the likelihood of us ordering from here again seems grim. However, it is near by, so we could always stop by for a late night Law & Order Happy Hour if interested.


Crista & Chris went the questionably healthy route today and both ordered the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad. They both agreed it was a tasty salad, yet no more than the average Caesar Salad, and noted the meal did not justify its high selling price.




Frankie Frankster ordered the Spicy 3 Bean & Veggie Chili. He found it to be an overall decent chili but the Spicy factor was too chill(i), yet thought it would be too spicy for Crista's taste. Bridget also unknowingly ordered this chili (they no longer make her favorite, the Crock of Chicken & Bean Chili) and has not yet had a chance to weigh in on the spice/chill factor.

Turns out I forgot to take a picture of the chili, but we did take a picture of the cute salad and chips that came with it:



And last, we have C-Cat's Fish & Chips. C-Cat battled it out with her lunch decision today - she finds it hard to order something "healthy" when the WW crew is out of the office and not around to keep her on track. She finds it equally hard to order something fried because you run the risk of a mushy meal once it makes the trek from across town. Hopefully, someday soon, someone will invent packaging to keep fried foods crisp during delivery time- but until then, we will just have to deal with it.





Today's pictures were provided by Ms. Crista, "Knock on wood that there aren't any parks!"

Law & Your Five Dollar Foot Long: K-Kat's Subway

Yea! We have our first texted in lunch review from the field! Thank you K-Kat! If only you were here when I announced the text, you would have gotten the chance to experience Frank's happy dance to the Five Dollar Foot Long Song...oh wait, I think I hear him whistling it in the distance...


Hot off my phone's screen:

"Out in the field, K-Kat had Subway: turkey and ham on honey oat. Toppings included firey jalapenos, banana peppers and filling veggies. Her tounge's on fire, but it was worth it! subWAY COOL!

Law & Your Friends: K-Kat and C-Cat

K-Kat gave C-Cat a mini Water Jug after listening to C-Cat go on and on about how much she liked K-Kat's water bottle. K-Kat's kindness and generosity did not stop at the Mini Jug, she went out of her way to make sure it was BPA safe and made from #1 Plastic! Thanks K-Kat!!

Law & Lunch Order: Doggie Bag!

Winston brought his lunch today, yummy Wellness Complete Health Super 5 Mix! Unconditional Love * Uncompromising Nutrition

Law & Lunch Order: The Dish

Oops! I just wrote a post, and lost it...I don't have time to rewrite it, and it was horrible, so I am actually saving your time by simply posting pictures of our lunch. Toady we ordered from The Dish- Cassie was bummed to miss out because she was excited to see if they could "take what they Dished out"...


Crista's Grilled Portobello Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing...she dressed it so nice! Must have been anticipating a picture!




K-Kat's Florentine Vegetable Salad with roasted peppers, sun dried tomatoes, olives and fresh mozzarella over spinach...looks pretty yummy! Did you like it K-Kat? C-Cat had it once, and did not enjoy it so much, what an interesting debate you two could have.




The Matza Ball Soup, ordered by Crista, K-Kat, and C-Cat: Crista prefers her ball salty, K-Kat never thought to add the salt, and C-Cat was excited just to try it for the first time as the ball was made of unleavened flour, just like Imo's Pizza crust:





C-Cat's Famous Caribbean Salad with grilled blackened Chicken and Honey Mustard Dressing: it was Dishlicious!




And Christine decided to get a head start on Thanksgiving, and ordered the Roasted Half Chicken (I guess it should have been Turkey) with mashed potatoes and corn:




Today's pictures were provided by Ms. K-Kat - "God Bless America!"

Law & Lunch Order: Spice

Today we ordered lunch from the well known Thai restaurant Spice. We order from Spice a couple times a month because the food is consistently good, and up until today, they are rather speedy. I was told we'd get our order in 40 minutes, but actually ended up waiting almost 2 hours. We still enjoyed our food; Crista loved her Eggplant with Holey (Blessed) Basil, minus the Basil, and I thoroughly enjoyed my Cashew Pineapple Chicken Fried Rice...however, there were a few starving problems as a result of the untimely delivery, such as:

• Lots of Brownies Bites were consumed durring the wait, thus filling our bellies, and making us feel bad for eating treats before lunch
• I forgot to take pictures of our food because I was so excited to eat!

So sorry for the lack of pictures, I know that is what keeps a food blog going.

On a side note, we are still trying to work out the structure of Law & Your Order, so if you have any suggestions, please share! And please please please feel free to write reviews of your own lunch that I can post.

Slow Go...

We were so excited to start our blog today, that we decided where we would order lunch earlier than usual. Well, after an hour of calling and getting a busy signal, I finally got through! I was on hold for a few minutes, but its worth it. I enjoy this restaurant's consistency of yummy meals...we will make the restaurant name a surprise when we post our first lunch review.

Welcome!

Welcome to "Law & Your Order"! This blog has been created to keep track of what the Locations Department of Law & Order orders for lunch, and how they like it. If you don't work on the show, then sorry, its probably pretty boring...to all of you Law & Order-ers, enjoy, and may you never eat a bad lunch again!