A whole new bag of tricks

Nine out of 10 workday mornings over the past 8 months have started with me packing a lunch. PB&J. Turkey wrap. Bowl of soup. Chocolate cake. Carrots & hummus. Whatever I could throw together before bolting out the door.

Sure, packing a lunch is practical. It saves money. And, since I work in a secluded pocket of the city, it saves time … running out to grab something to eat in the middle of the day used to take at least 40 minutes. (I should also say in a perfect world it saves calories because you choose exactly what goes in your bag – but we know me better than that. I’ve become notorious around the office for packing a First Lunch and a Second Lunch.)

Then, last month, a little café opened just up the road and the pressure to cram enough food into my insulated lunch bag to last an entire workday disappeared. Now if I’m feeling too rushed (hitting the snooze three extra times tends to do that), too tired (not hitting the snooze buttons three extra times tends to do this), or too uninspired (a girl can only eat so many kitchen sink salads) I just head up the hill to the Monkey Business Café.

Seriously – sprouts and avocado with tuna? A turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce? Steaming hot panini with melty cheese in the middle of the day – washed down with an iced mocha? Who has time to pull something like this together? They do! There are bistro tables on the sidewalk that afford a lovely view of Cannon Park, or you can eat inside. Plus, when you get your sandwich to-go, they put it in a bag with fresh-popped popcorn and a Dum Dum sucker. Yay!

As an added bonus, the café shares space with the Parkside Grocery, a healthy corner store that boasts fresh-cut meats, raw milk and locally sourced produce. Pick up a few groceries while grabbing your lunch — hello, super-effective multi-tasker!

You’ll find the Monkey Business Cafe at 1913 W. Maxwell, in the West Central neighborhood.