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Lunch at the Shop AN AFFINITY FOR THE MIDDAY MEAL IS AUTHOR PETER MILLER’S MUSE FOR LUNCH AT THE SHOP, A BOOK MARC GREUTHER, CHIEF CURATOR AND SENIOR DIRECTOR OF HISTORICAL RESOURCES, RECOMMENDS AS GOOD FOOD FOR THOUGHT. READ
The story on Page 52 for a glimpse at how designers Charles and Ray Eames approached the midday meal in the officec
LUNCH AT THE SHOP PHOTO BY BLACK & STEIL
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JUNE-DECEMBER 2018
What is lunch during the workweek? Perhaps a choice between cafeteria, local eatery or nearby market. Or something hurried at the desk — which is barely a lunch, more a lonely attempt to refuel while catching up, with crumbs in the keyboard for your trouble. Peter Miller’s Lunch at the Shop offers another way, a way that steers clear of retreading yesterday’s dinner, overspending or missing lunch altogether. “You will not be bringing lunch from home — you will be bringing the parts for lunch from home.” This is not simply a rejigging of leftovers, although “stray parts” — the loose change of scant remainders from former meals — do find a place here. This elegant volume presents a host of recipes, replete with asides and strategies, for creating truly fresh lunches for you and your colleagues — with little more than modest prep space, a microwave and a place to clean up. No need for a dual-fuel range or acre of granite counter here, just a little planning, time and care — and an appreciation of the value of coming together with co-workers over a meal before the plunge into the afternoon.
Other favorites of mine, in vaguely similar territory: For culinary brevity, glance at Edouard de Pomiane’s French Cooking in Ten Minutes; for cooking creatively under constraint, try the late Roger Ebert’s The Pot and How to Use It; for basic building blocks, Cal Peternell’s gorgeous Twelve Recipes is a standout. A copy of Niki Segnit’s The Flavor Thesaurus is a fun reference to have on hand, too. Bon appetit!