Sorry to be so far off topic on this one.
I'm just wondering if you guys actually take a cut lunch to work?.
I myself, I actually work way out in the country during the day, so a cut lunch is the only way that you can have it here.
Oddly enough we have a few Lines Apprentices that buy thier food on the way to work.
I was talking to one of them one day after he bought out this flash looking sandwich and a drink, I asked him how much it cost.
He told me "Only (NZ)$17 and I got a free coffee "
I've still to work out the logic on that one.
But, the question is, what do you guys prefer out on the job?.
I make my own, at least I know what's in it!.

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 04-28-2005).]

Well, normally I don't eat a lunch because I'm on the run so much...but, when I do - I find that I'm ready for a nap afterwards. So, it's pretty much coffee and cigarettes and a few minutes sit down to keep me going for the rest of the afternoon.

I also tend to "munch" as I work, usually on stuff I pick up in the AM. Once in a while- usually while on a parts run- I'll drive through some burger joint. I never did really like the sit-down lunch- unless I want to clear my mind for the next xhallenge!

Im a variety guy and lunch is a must for me or i have zero tolerance for anything if im starving. Mostly italian, Chicken cutlet parm hero, Eggplant parm hero, sausage and peppers. Also, around us we have Deli's all over the place. (cold cut sandwitches, burgers, Etc.). It gets expensive but i GOTTA EAT.

Can't remember ever bringing my lunch. Depending on where we are there is at least one deli.

There is one that we frequent regularly, coffee and maybe a bun every morning then lunch if we are within "range", then sometimes coffee again on the way back in. We are such good customers that they make me a sandwich with a bottle of Snapple for $5.50 no matter what the sandwich is. With that price it doesn't pay to make your own.

-Hal

I eat way to much fast food for lunch and really hate it. I do brown bag leftovers at times and wonder why I don't do it more often.

Trumpy, that is just another example of how small the world is, we have a good number of guys who do the same thing.

When I was in the field, nothing topped "electricians steak" sandwiches (potted meat and crackers) or a seafood lunch (sardines and crackers)

Roger

Lunch?

What's that?

There's a canteen at the factory where I work, but I don't like the food in there. Too many fried dishes and heavy casseroles, and all served with vegetables monsterously overcooked, exactly like my grandmother used to do them. A couple of pieces of fresh fruit is what I prefer at lunch, and it's easy to just stow them in the rucksack on my way out in the morning. Sometimes, a small piece of cheese to go with them. Then, the best thing is to go via the baker's shop on the way to work and get a good coffee and a couple of his fresh, warm, buttery croissants for breakfast on the train. Perfect.

...Usually no lunch for me,..my guys bring lunch,but I'm always too wrapped up in what I'm doing to take a lunch...coffee and cigs is the norm for me..

...I eat/binge when I go home...that's why I'm gettin'a beer belly,and I hardly ever drink beer!!

[This message has been edited by Attic Rat (edited 04-24-2005).]

Many times I am eating while driving.

The only time I bring a lunch is when I know that there is no place near the job to get something.

I think I am single handedly keeping the drive throughs and sub shops in business.

If I want to eat healthy I will stop at a super market with a salad bar and make my own.

If I am not eating healthy most any deep fried or otherwise cooked animal makes me quite happy.

I frequently work in places where it'd be a half hour drive to get anything to eat,so I take my lunch (or dinner as it's called here).

Sometimes its leftovers,mostly its ham and cheese,bologna,or some such.

We don't usually take any breaks during the day,and usually spend at least 45 mins with a sit-down lunch. Something VERY strange has to happen if I'm not eating at 12:01 pm.

Russell

Thanks for your comments guys.
Bob,
Join the club.
I start at 5am, so I have lunch at 10am, a bit wierd sounding, but I'm normally starving by then anyway.
It keeps me going until I finish at 2pm, then the fridge and cupboards get a hiding at home here.
Just another question, how many of you guys have one of them cups with the lid on them that stops the coffee from spilling on you and it keeps it hot at the same time?.
I swear by mine, so much so that my truck won't be leaving the Depot, unless it's full!.

mostly my mistakes.

Recently switched to basic peanut-butter sandwiches... two pieces of fruit and some yogurt (portioned out from the large quart containers). Easy and cheap.

I've been eating out a lot lately in the past year. I've also gained 15 pounds too.

Peter

We always get a 9:30 coffee break and a 12 noon lunch break. I bring a sandwich, yogurt, some fruit, peanuts, coffee--and eat them during those 2 breaks. Some guys go out for lunch if there's a place nearby. I'm too cheap and I get tired of McD's, BK, etc.

Never skip lunch - Its the law! 2 - 10's (10 and 2) and a 1/2 hour at noon!

As for what I eat, most often the nearest sandwich shop. Or if on the road, I'm usually not far from the only CheeseSteak joint in town. (Well its not the only one, but one of few I'll go to. Being from the east coast (Boston area), I'm kind of particular about it. I'm not fond of gringo burritos "wraps", chinese ones either, I prefer my burritos to made in a mexican owned establishment.)

On the rare occasion I get sent out of the city (where it could be a 1/2 hour drive to lunch), I have a can of chili and a blow touch in the truck for emergencies. Put on some gloves, open can, apply heat and stir with the spoon that is kept in the file drawer.

I am also an sent to work with my daily dose of 64oz's of coffee.

On very rare occasion, the wife will pack me something.

2 minute noodles.

Most substations have ZIP water heaters, if I need my afternoon salt burst, I have some trident hot & spicy noodles.

I don't usually eat but if I'm hungry I keep a few of those 2 minute noodle cups in the truck, along with bottled water and one of those quick water heater units.

It amazes me how many guys I work with dont stop for lunch! I've been giving some much needed nutritional advice to the journeyman I work with. He is a big dude, 6'3" and about 270lbs. Probly 40 lbs of it pot belly! He calls his wake up meal the John Wayne special. Its of those giant energy drinks along with a huge thermos of coffee. He downs that in the first two hours and then he's a speeding train until about 3:00 at which time he quickly looses all his energies and starts looking at the clock. He used to give me grief about the bag lunch that I brought every day untill he finally made the connection. Last week he said, ya know, maybe that bag lunch things not a bad idea. I think I'm going to tell the wife to start making it for me!. I hear you there Trumpy! About 10 years ago I almost snapped a tooth off when I bit down on a chunk of bone in a MickyD burger... YUCK! That's when I said, NEVER again!!

OK, 'fast food', subs, pizza, whatever was "around" the jobsite areas.

Now (+40 lbs over the years)...I'm more selective. Pizza, once a week max; subs, occasionally only; deli sandwich, yogurt, soup, chili & stay away from the fast food burgers & fries.

Salads & fresh fruit are great also, and.....like the rest of us COFFEE.

John

Soup, and a hard roll, great anytime,

Whatever favorite sushi shop I am closest to.
One I really like is near a supply house so that one gets a lot of my business.

I used to eat fried chicken, pizza, cheeseburgers or chicken fried steak. Now, with borderline high blood pressure I usually eat a salad or light sandwich. I quit chewing tobacco 2 years ago. Boy, it's no fun getting old!

I've equipped the van with a small microwave, bar fridge and a coffee maker, so we try to eat at the jobsite unless we're out doing call-outs. If we have no place to get power, we use the 1500 watt generator that's also onboard.

Both myself and my 2 employees have cans of soup, chef-boy-ar-dee (yuck), crackers etc if we don't bring leftovers from home. I need a "kick" in the afternoon, so about 1:30 one of the apprentices gets the coffee on for our 2 pm break.

RedBull and power bars

... Just found these yummies... they're made from real fruit,..no corn syrup, or sugar,..all natural, and no refrigeration,..I keep tons of them on the truck for hunger pangs...
Russ

Bring lunch?

As the helper, I used to have to take the order then drive to the local fast food joint.

God help me If I forgot something!

I used to go out for lunch all the time. Pizza, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, etc, etc, but now I bring my lunch with me except on Friday's. I buy lunch meat, usually turkey breast or ham, provolone or American cheese, pack a few of those orangey peanut butter crackers, or Milano cookies, an apple, and iced tea mix to drink. In the winter I like bring along a thermos of either tomato or cream of chicken soup. I have also saved alot of money by bringing my lunch with me to work.

"As the helper, I used to have to take the order then drive to the local fast food joint.

God help me If I forgot something!"

I think we've all at one time or another been "that guy."

P.S. Don't forget napkins, forks, spoons, or ketchup.
P.S.S. And don't forget to give me back my change!

I bring my sandwich, soda, small snack and small bag of chips.

Since I'm attending the "HS" tech center I usually go to the neighboring high school's cafeteria. Sometimes I come back and buy a snack instead.

leftovers again.

[This message has been edited by jwhite (edited 12-27-2005).]

Mr jwhite,

We all like a joke, but.......

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 12-30-2005).]

I do a lot of work in New York City, which makes for a very expensive lunch. Typically the van is parked five or six blocks away, and it gets too hot in the summer to really bring anything with me, and too cold in the winter to want to have cold soup or a frozen sandwich, really makes it hard to want to bring lunch. If I can get lunch for under $10/day I am happy, if I am feeling adventuress I will go to one of the street carts for some "chicken" & rice, usually about $6 with a soda. If my PM comes out then lunch is never under $15, and I see him at least once a week. If I brought lunch I can't even imagine how much I would save.

depends on what I can find in the customers kitchen

The help can eat whatever they want as long as they are back working in thirty minutes.
One stand fast rule we have – no trips to the port-a-john after 12:00 noon or your pay is docked thirty minutes.

Most don’t eat anything nor drink water on those hot summer days, they say they can’t afford to.

This is an attempt to inject a little humor in this thread.

Briselec,
I've heard about you Aussie sparkies and this aspect of the job, I thought it was all myth and legend until I saw a programme on TV one night.
That blew that theory out of the water.

Breakfast and lunch, I eat out almost every day. Costs a fortune. So it's definitely on my list of things to do: I need to start packing lunches into work. Get a wide-mouth vacuum-insulated thermos and start making up chilli or pasta and such.

Apparently a good thermos can really do the trick. Just the other day one of the guys I work with forgot about his coffee all day and it spent eight hours sitting in eighteen degree wind-chill. Opened it up at the end of the day, and the coffee was still steaming hot. Made me a believer.

-John

I always keep slim jims in my bag, and usually granola bars too. Slim jims are just perfect as a backup snack- they last forever, are indestructable, and the grease and protein is filling enough to tide me over a good while until the next meal

As far as actual lunch goes, I've found bagel sandwiches hard to beat; they're filling, don't get crushed like bread and last OK without refrigeration.

When I'm in the office, I usually just nuke leftovers. If I'm out of leftovers, I'll often mix a can of soup with a can of vegetables.

[This message has been edited by SteveFehr (edited 12-31-2005).]

It's definitely not myth. I used to work with a guy who was a great worker on construction sites but you wouldn't send him to do an existing domestic. He was likely to find food in the cupboard, cook it up and eat it, and then leave the washing up for the customer.

I keep a couple of tuna lunch packs behind the seat for when a burger shop is too far away. Usually I starve for hours before finally remembering they are there.