Mmm Mmm Good
It's the quintessential corporate perk--the vendor lunch.
Since starting work at the end of January, I have had the opportunity to sit in on at least five vendor lunches. And these aren't just one- or two-person lunches, they are full-on feasts with my entire team, plus several reps from the hosting vendor. I have to say I don't look back and miss my nonprofit days.
In any case, today the visiting reps took us to Fogo de Chao--the well known churrascaria joint. I had heard about these restaurants but never actually been to one, so it was definitely a treat. For those who have never been, here's a quick rundown of how it works.
There are no menus. You come in to the restaurant, they put you at a table. If you wish, you can go help yourself to the ginormous salad bar--choosing from fresh greens, grilled and pickled miracle-grown veggies, and prepared cold salads.
Then you sit at the table. In front of you sits what looks like a coaster. But it's not a coaster, it's your feeding indicator. One side red, the other green. When you're ready to sample entrees, you flip it to the green. Then attractive Brazilian men bearing huge skewers of meat (from beef to chicken to lamb to pork) walk up to you, offering you samples. If you agree, they slough a hunk off onto your plate.
Once you have had enough, simply turn your feeding indicator to red. Stop.
The problem is it's hard to balance trying what you've already taken with monitoring what's still coming around and trying to have table conversation without being offered more meat every minute. So you turn your card to red, to eat what's on your plate. And while you're red, they come around with the sweet, delicious ribs you really wanted--and now you've missed them.
And as my boss pointed out, it's really hard to decide when you're finished. Even with a full belly, resisting the smell of the meat as it walks from table to table takes great self-discipline.
Did I mention it's a lot of meat? It's not exactly a place I would recommend for a business lunch. It was particularly difficult to go back to the office and try to work after consuming so much protein. I don't know how Atkins dieters do it.
Since starting work at the end of January, I have had the opportunity to sit in on at least five vendor lunches. And these aren't just one- or two-person lunches, they are full-on feasts with my entire team, plus several reps from the hosting vendor. I have to say I don't look back and miss my nonprofit days.
In any case, today the visiting reps took us to Fogo de Chao--the well known churrascaria joint. I had heard about these restaurants but never actually been to one, so it was definitely a treat. For those who have never been, here's a quick rundown of how it works.
There are no menus. You come in to the restaurant, they put you at a table. If you wish, you can go help yourself to the ginormous salad bar--choosing from fresh greens, grilled and pickled miracle-grown veggies, and prepared cold salads.
Then you sit at the table. In front of you sits what looks like a coaster. But it's not a coaster, it's your feeding indicator. One side red, the other green. When you're ready to sample entrees, you flip it to the green. Then attractive Brazilian men bearing huge skewers of meat (from beef to chicken to lamb to pork) walk up to you, offering you samples. If you agree, they slough a hunk off onto your plate.
Once you have had enough, simply turn your feeding indicator to red. Stop.
The problem is it's hard to balance trying what you've already taken with monitoring what's still coming around and trying to have table conversation without being offered more meat every minute. So you turn your card to red, to eat what's on your plate. And while you're red, they come around with the sweet, delicious ribs you really wanted--and now you've missed them.
And as my boss pointed out, it's really hard to decide when you're finished. Even with a full belly, resisting the smell of the meat as it walks from table to table takes great self-discipline.
Did I mention it's a lot of meat? It's not exactly a place I would recommend for a business lunch. It was particularly difficult to go back to the office and try to work after consuming so much protein. I don't know how Atkins dieters do it.
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