COLUMBIA'S LUNCH REVIEW

The Lunchmen tried to review the McCutchen House during the Spring school semester. However, perhaps foolishly, we waltzed into the place 7 strong without a reservation. After sitting in the entrance waiting for 15 minutes, we bailed and enjoyed Tiyo's instead. Over the summer, the McCutcheon House has undergone renovations, and the Daily Gamecock has notified those of us eager to get into the revamped venue for lunch that the expensive renovations are complete. With the new kitchen, we can expect a new, broader menu. Excellent news - the Lunchmen will be heading there soon.

The Lunchmen like breakfast... a lot. So why don’t they ever eat it? Mostly because they’re already 30 minutes late for work by the time they drag their sorry asses out of bed. Accordingly, breakfast falls in line behind other tasks that only occasionally get accomplished, like putting on a tie and practicing personal hygiene. Aside from the detriment to health and nutrition, skipping breakfast is a terrible idea, because by 10:00, the Lunchmen are hungry enough to eat yogurt out of the "small" of Lisa Lampanelli's back. Hell, we would eat David Hasselhoff’s cheeseburger scraps if they got shoved across the desk at 11:05.

We’re no fan of chains, but lets face it, deliciousness conquers all. Chick-fil-a did a great thing when they introduced the chicken biscuit, and damn near changed the world when they rolled out the chicken mini. These ideas both have one thing in common – modifying lunch favorites for breakfast eaters. That’s why the Lunchmen are hereby calling on Chick-fil-a to develop the next big thing: the Spicy Chicken Breakfast Burrito. Come on Truett, you know you like it.

- The Publican

EDITORS NOTE 1: Hat tip to Spoony for craving spicy chicken at 9:00 a.m.

EDITORS NOTE 2: If this ever happens, don’t nobody go in the bathroom for about 35, 45 minutes. Somebody open up a window...

Your average Columbian would likely agree with us if we claimed that Michelle Wang's "M" restaurants have the overall best Chinese food in town. I say average Columbia, because there are always outliers (like Hot Pockets), who will take issue with any sweeping claim that we might make. However, the best sushi?!? I was a little skeptical that Columbia would agree with this humble blogger that Miyo's/M-Vista/M-Cafe also has the best sushi in town. In reality, I believe it is the sushi rolls that garnered the "M" restaurants nearly 30% of your votes, placing the "M" restaurants #1 in our sushi poll.

Notably, for the first time ever, we had a three-way tie at second, between Camon, Saki, and Tsunami, obtaining 10 votes and 18% of the support apiece. I agree that Camon and Saki are right at the top. In fact, if I am craving sashimi or nigiri instead of sushi rolls, I prefer Saki over the "M" restaurants. Maybe it is simply psychological, but Saki's sashimi seems the freshest to me. Sakitumi came in a distant third, obtaining only 6 votes; Sushi Yoshi, often heavily criticized by the Lunchmen landed 3 votes, and Fujiya only obtained 1 vote (ouch).

Michelle, please keep up the delicious work!

“There’s not much we don’t have.”

As a native Columbian, few words conjure up more disturbing images for me than “Irmo.” I’ll be the first to admit that I have long held a disdain for our suburban neighbors to the northwest, what with their award winning public schools, lack of southern accents, and indoor carousels. In fact, Irmo is perhaps best known for what the Lunchmen hate more than anything – crappy chain restaurants. But, there is a needle in every haystack, as they say, and Irmo is the home to a true diamond in the rough: Mathias Sandwich Shop. We had heard that this place was legit, so Tank and I snuck into enemy territory this week incognito-style to scout out the situation.

Nestled on St. Andrews Road just south of the intersection with Lake Murray Boulevard, Mathias sits in a non-descript store front along a row of other unspectacular businesses. While not overwhelmed by the outside, Tank and I were vastly impressed with the overflowing parking lot – particularly given the late hour which we chose to dine. It’s always a good sign if a restaurant never seems to have enough parking.

Forced to park three businesses away, Tank and I were glad to finally reach the air-conditioned dining area on this typically hot summer day. We walked up to the counter to order and were greeted with rows of desserts ready to be consumed. Tank, in typical Tank fashion, grabbed a carrot cake slice and two forks for an appetizer – the key to any nutritious meal. We both tried the cake and agreed it to be top notch (not as good as Ms. Tank’s, mind you, but serviceable for sure). It was not too dry or heavy on the icing, which are common mistakes with carrot cake.

As for the meals, I went with the chef salad (shocking) and found myself enjoying a large bowl of garden goodness along with what seemed like a pound of lunch meats and about ½ dozen chopped boiled eggs. The salad stands up to any other chef in town. Tank, eager to try their signature items, ordered up the Pimento Cheeseburger and made quick work of his selection. While a bit creamy, the pimento cheese was described as solid, and the burger itself drew comparisons to Rush’s - a midlands favorite. Also, to top things off, Tank and I split an egg salad sandwich on white toast with lettuce and tomato. This is one of my favorite sandwiches, so I was going to like it either way. Tank, infinitely more discerning when it comes to such things, also praised the egg salad, particularly the strong amount of pepper.

Overall, it was a solid lunch call and definitely worth the trip. While it probably won’t be a regular part of our rotation given its distance from downtown, we definitely recommend it to anyone who lives or works in the area. If you don’t have the good sense to move closer into town, at least eat at this place while you’re stuck living out there.

-Rabbit

PS – Mathias has some really good tailgating specials for $24.95 that would come in handy in the fast approaching football season.

As you all know, the Lunchmen never eschew to a chance to visit our friends across the river, and last week was no different. It was our new clerk The Jolly Green Giant’s first day in the office, so we allowed him the honor of making an inaugural bold lunch call. We were all expecting the typical wing joint/bbq/sports bar request, but were pleasantly surprised when he threw out the idea of heading over the bridge to Café Strudel, anchor of the “Vista West” area of town.

Just about all of us had been to Strudel on Sundays for brunch, so we were all eager to give it a shot for a lunch hour destination. No doubt many of our readers are also familiar with the Sunday Brunch here, most likely having tried the “Hangover Hashbrowns” in an effort to soak up the previous night’s mistakes. This, however, was on a Monday, so no one had “tied one on” the night before (except maybe Kali).

For those of you who have never been there, Strudel is located in an older two-story building that obviously was not intended to be a restaurant. The rooms are small and crowded with seemingly randomly placed tables. We had a group of nine, and did not hold out any hope of being able to sit together. I think we ended up with a table of four, three, and two. However, the place is so small you are basically sitting at the same table with anyone on your floor.

Lunch is busy at the Strudel, and diners would be wise to order their food along with their drinks and save their harried waitress a second trip to your table. The management seems to realize how busy the staff is, as they provide the largest glasses in town for your beverages, ostensibly to cut down on the need for refills. Unfortunately for them, I drink un-sweet tea like Lindsey Lohan drinks rum punch, so even with the large glasses I still had about four helpings before the food was out.

Speaking of the food, this place really does make an effort to do everything well. They feature daily specials, some of which have become quite popular – such as the chilled peaches and cream soup and the BBQ Turkey Melt on and English Muffin. While a little on the artsy side in terms of atmosphere and clientele, the menu designers do not shy away heartier fare such as hotdogs, a taco burgers, and the aforementioned hashbrowns. Members of our group also tried the famous Martino Sandwich, a couple of salads, and the California Wrap.

As I mentioned, our party size forced us to split into 3 tables. Now, when this happens, many diners will try to choose a table based on location, comfort, and conversation potential. Not this guy. When we have to split up, I ALWAYS try to sit with Tank. Why? Simple, really: his proclivity to order and share items off the dessert menu. This outing offers a classic example. When we ordered our drinks, Tank asked for a piece of carrot cake and three forks “as an appetizer.” Soon thereafter our waitress brought in what appeared to be about 5/8 of an actual cake. It was bigger than Captain Understatement’s ego after a successful tennis match. My table, ever thankful for Tank’s boldness when it comes to sweets, dug in vigorously, happily spoiling our appetite in favor of this monstrosity of a dessert.

Unfortunately, the food that was to be our actual meal was admittedly underwhelming after we finished the carrot cake. It would be sort of like if KISS had to open for another band instead of headlining. How could the main act hope to follow such a performance? It, like our entrees, would be destined to pale in comparison. That’s not to say they can’t stand on their own, but no one should have to follow the Gene Simmons-esque awesomeness of a multi-pound slab of carrot cake appetizer. Next time we’ll know better and hold off on the cake until after the meal – or at least just make the cake the meal itself.

-Rabbit