Only You Can Save Lunch!

This will be the 4th entry I post about A-Bar at Aspire’s Lunch offerings and in all that time, I’m going to be honest with you, lunch business has just barely puttered along. I’m not interested in lying to you, our true fans. Lunch is bleak. The food quality is delicious, the prices low, the atmosphere beautiful, but still…business trickles in. This is not at all uncommon for the area, most full scale restaurants in our downtown vicinity have very limited hours or don’t offer lunch at all. People are more interested in the grab-and-go. Hence why placed like Mama Theresa’s and Gourmet Heaven are incredibly popular right now.  It seems that the days of taking clients to 2 hour lunches are gone? Of office workers grabbing a quick bite – not at their desks – is petering out? We’re not in a time of excess either, economically. “Brown-bagging-it” has also grown in popularity. We understand.

I should mention – Aspire food can be ordered To Go. If you’d like to call ahead and order food for your whole office, with enough notice, we would be more than happy to accommodate.

With ALL that being said, I’ll tell you about the delicious lunch I shared with Tricia this week! We decided it had been a while since I’d concentrated a blog on lunch food, and there were still a few items which needed their time in the spotlight. Feeling Summery we picked the Lobster Roll ($11) and the Crab Cake Sandwich ($10). They were wonderful, and the portions were perfect for lunch. If you’re wondering why Cottage Cheese now appears as a side on the lunch menu, it is because of Tricia and I. You either love it, or you hate it, and we’re absolutely of the former. We promptly ordered a side of it, and sunk into our meals. Neglectful as usual, I took our photos after we’d already begun eating.

Tricia said of her lobster roll, “It is not too heavy, the lobster’s sweetness really comes through, and the portion is huge! I paid way more for a lobster roll last week and it wasn’t half this good.” And then I snagged a huge piece of lobster when she wasn’t looking. Don’t dine with me and think because it is on your plate it isn’t up for grabs. Stay diligent, I’m warning you now.

The Crab Cake was everything a Crab Cake should be – sweet, cooked well, with not too much filling. The bun it sits on is warm and soft and spread with a very orange mayonaisse that has a delicate flavor and is very complimentary of the Crab.

I look to you now – last winter we went dark during lunch hours for some time – to prevent this from happening again we will need your cooperation. I am prepared to offer coupon incentives, email me and tell me you’re coming by and I will personally come thank you for your attendance! Plan lunchtime parties with your coworkers. Our park is great for people watching! Who said a two martini lunch is passe? Not us! Drink up – and then walk to your destination. Safety first my friends. Until next time, remember this, in the partial words of Smokey the Bear “only you can prevent Aspire from closing during lunch.”

Entry by Emily Beauchemin: ebeauchemin@stepstonehospitality.com