Two weeks ago the cafeteria inside of my office building closed down for repairs, and since I work in Long Island City this leaves very few options as far as other places to obtain food from.  Just take a look at the LIC web forum, even the residents of the neighborhood have trouble finding food around here - and we’re only one stop on the E train out of Manhattan.

Sidenote: Seeing the above in writing makes me want to crash the craft services table at the nearby Silvercup production studios.

Before I get the comment of just bring your own food to work for lunch, I just can’t, I’ve done the math and the sandwiches that I would make would end up costing me more than just buying one (in most cases, i.e. Quiznos $10).

Anyway, so far my lunches have come in the form of a chicken roll from a local pizza place, street meat, and free lunch Friday.  My favorite of all them being the sreet meat guy.

For those of you who aren’t sure what street meat is, it’s meat that is cooked as clean as it possibly can be considering it is cooked on a cart on the corner of a New York City street.  This cooking is done in carts exactly like this one:

streetmeatguyatwork1.jpg  

And let me just say that it is usually absolutely delicious, and worth every penny of the low cost.

Personally I like to get a plate of chicken over yellow rice, with white sauce only, but there are plentyof other orders you can get too.

So yesterday afternoon I was waiting patiently on line to place my order, the cook asked me what I wanted, I ordered, I watched him put together my plate in the styrofoam bin, and place it down for the money guy.  This is all done with me still a ways back in the line of people who have ordered and are waiting for their food.

When it was my turn to pick up my food and pay there was only one person behind me.  It was an Asian man who ordered a plate of chicken over white rice. 

I asked the money guy what I owed him, since the prices have gone up since the cafeteria closed down, he said “five bucks” and the cook then looked at me as if I was crazy, never ordered, never saw my plate of food prepared and placed down in the cart, and informed the money guy that it was the Asian man’s food.

“I already ordered, and my food should be next (in theory).”  I told the cook. 

The Asian guy told the cook to make him a new plate, and he did. 

I paid and left with my plate of food feeling as if I got the wrong order, which I did, because when I got to my desk I found that I had a plate of chicken over white rice with white sauce. 

No big deal really, I ate it, and felt satisfied by the meal, but I couldn’t help but wonder, where did my original order of food go?

I watched it get prepared, loaded into a tray, and then placed down in front of the money guy - which is where it went out of my sight due to his body blocking the view.  And since the cart only has a couple of square feet of counter space that isn’t a grill, where did it go? 

Only Chris Angel knows…