Summer 2010 Jo Lee - JO LEE Magazine

INDULGENCES
The Real Meaning Of Lunch
By Lyne LaFontaine
New York – New York
Fred’s is a smartly perched bistro on
the 9th floor of Barneys, New York,
recommended by CitySearch as “the
best lunch spot to see and be seen”.
Therefore we decided to pay Fred
a visit this afternoon to see and be
seen. During our 45 minute wait, I
couldn’t help but notice a concoction
of high-heeled housewives (some
more desperate than others) engaging
in light banter while having “lunch”.
My quarrel is not so much with them
as with the implicitly derogatory
use of the word “lunch”. The
kind of repast that these women
were indulging in was essentially a
Chardonnay-fueled shopping break
with a partially eaten mesclun salad
on the side.
I feel that this is a travesty to the true
meaning of lunch.
I am all in favor of healthy and light
lunches, but whatever happened to
a real lunch? From time to time, I
believe it’s important not to focus on
the Chardonnay and instead to focus
on the true essence of “lunch” - food
and friends.
By food, I mean - how about having
a real meal occasionally? Perhaps
a salmon carpaccio followed by a
steak au poivre? Or how about a
turkey club sandwich or certified
Angus burger? Or perhaps some
spinach ravioli or penne basilico
for the vegetarians? Anything but
a few mesclun greens and a glass of
Chardonnay to wash them down…
please.
By friends – I’m referring to real
conversations about real issues. In
the words of FT columnist Harry
Eyres, “a good lunch can remind
us how lucky we are still to be in a
place where words, if we speak them
thoughtfully and from the heart, can
still have rich meaning and delight”.
Lunch…
JL
Jo Lee Summer 2010 39