It can be tough to eat healthy around the holidays. The Snob has been on a health kick over the last few months, however – push-ups perched over a pie plate, treadmill with leftover turkey sandwich just out of reach, pudding squats, candy cane crunches and the like. Now that it’s the new year, we had to choose a healthy option for our next Snobportunity. Then it dawned on us: Where could be healthier than Concord Hospital? They must have a cafeteria in there somewhere, right? We grabbed our dining companion (gotta have a co-pay) and drove down to find out for ourselves.
We took the elevator up from the lobby to the third floor, took a right and headed down a hallway before spilling out into the cafeteria. Right away, we were impressed. Not only were there several promising-looking entree items, a sandwich station and a salad bar, but down at the end was the creme de la creme: a gelato bar with a half-dozen or so flavors! A unique item for a cafeteria, to say the least.
We trayed up and hopped into line. The cafeteria was bustling, but not crowded; it was only a minute or so before we were presented with our food options. We opted to try out the entree station and save the salads, sandwiches and other ancillary items for another day.
The Snob opted for the hand-carved roast beef ($5.25) with a trio of vegetable sides: peas, carrots and mashed potatoes (90 cents apiece). The roast beef was just a hair under medium rare – in other words just the way we like it. It was fall-apart tender and doused with a smooth brown gravy. Plated with buttery mashed potatoes and boiled carrots and peas, it was quite a hearty meal, perfect for the depths of winter. What a warmer-upper!
The Snob’s dining companion opted for the roasted vegetable lasagna ($3.95). Not only was it a heaping helping for the price, but it was chock-full of veggies! We are not exaggerating when we say that we have never had a lasagna quite so crammed with fresh vegetables. There were sliced red and green peppers festooned about on top, carrots, corn, squash and more mixed into the different layers. Of course, it was surrounded by plenty of melty mozzarella, though not so much that it became a cheese lasagna – this thing was veggie all the way!
Uncharacteristically enough for the Snob, we were so sated by our meal that we simply couldn’t have another bite. Not one to be dissuaded by the limitations of the human body, the Snob returned some days later to try out the tantalizing gelato bar.
We got a tiramissou gelato. It was custardy and creamy, topped with chunks of cocoa-coated savoiardi. We could really taste the boozey undertones (we weren’t complaining, either!). We suggest getting one of the smaller sizes if you go; the small one we had was still so rich and creamy that we could barely finish it.
If you find yourself at Concord Hospital – feel better! We wish you a speedy recovery. While you’re there, though, you should really give the cafeteria a shot. There’s nothing like some comfort food to start the healing process.
