According to Wikipedia, a “Lady Who Lunches” is: a phrase to describe slim, well-off, old-monied, well-dressed women who meet for social luncheons, usually during the working week. Typically, the women involved are married and non-working. Normally the lunch is in a high-class restaurant, but could also take place in a department store during a shopping trip. Sometimes the lunch takes place under the pretext of raising money for charity. Oftentimes, the women simply gossip about trivial and frivolous things.
Not many of these adjectives apply to me here, but I will admit Liza, from StyleBlueprint Nashville, myself and two others had the pleasure of a “working” lunch Monday at, ahem, Jack Fry’s. I’ll explain.
At least once a week, I notice that my husband picks at his dinner. I am on to him immediately and then he’ll fess up that he’s been somewhere fabulous for lunch and isn’t really hungry. He has convinced me that you can eat at any of the really nice restaurants here in Louisville very reasonably for lunch. I’m not talking Qdoba here people, think Jack Fry’s, Lilly’s, Vincenzos–that caliber of restaurant.
Two things of note. First, I did play it safe and made a reservation and was glad I did as they had a full house on a Monday. Second, by 11:50am, there were only four orders of Shrimp and Grits left. So, other people are on to my plan of nice lunching.
It is so nice to start your meal with a silver bread basket.
A silver bread basket=great start to lunch. Look at how reasonable the prices are.
And then to my old standard, the Warm Brie Salad.
Seriously. Was your lunch looking this good today? I think not.
Finished off by Shrimp and Grits as an entree. Those of you Jack Fry’s fans know that you can only get this as an appetizer at dinner, so this was a huge treat.
The flagship meal at Jack Fry’s: Shrimp and Grits.
Finally the bill. Last time I went out with four adults to Panera, my bill was this much.
Not what you think you would pay for lunch at one of the nicest restaurants in town. $56 for four people.
So our bill was $56 for four people. That is with the bread basket, teas, soup, salad, entrees. We did not drink cocktails/wine or have dessert — that would have definitely increased the bill.
Here’s the moral of the story. Louisville has so many fantastic local restaurants. How many have you NOT been to just because you thought you needed a special occasion, or you thought it might be out of your price range? Change your perspective from dinner to LUNCH. The menus are just as good and you get to have experience of fine dining for a fraction of the cost.
For Jack Fry’s lunch menu, click here. I would also like to note for the record that this is one of my favorite hamburgers in town, so you don’t have to eat ALL FANCY to get a good meal.
Then you, too, can be a Lady Who Lunches.
Off to eat my cup of soup out of a pyrex bowl today. Tata.
