Eating dinner at lunch

It’s healthier and less expensive

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Our ancestors were in the habit of eating a midday dinner, and taking their lighter soup and a sandwich at supper. The leisurely — and dinner-sized — midday meal, often followed by a siesta, is a hallmark of the highly touted Mediterranean diet. And as it turns out, enjoying our larger meal at lunchtime is thought to be a healthier practice. People who adopt this approach tend to achieve smaller waistlines and more even blood sugar levels throughout the day. When I mentioned to my doctor that I might like to try this, she was supportive, and pointed out that our digestion is strongest in the middle section of the day.

Eating dinner at lunch is more a lifestyle than a dietary change. Think of a noontime ritual that includes a pleasantly large, nutritious meal, preferably shared with company, followed by a short walk or even a catnap. And though most of us will find it difficult to incorporate a full Mediterranean siesta into the weekday, we can still manage a few days per week to switch things up so the larger meal is eaten at lunchtime — and even better if it is eaten away from our desks and with a friend or co-worker.

I’ve scouted a few Madison restaurants at which you can find nutritious and delicious offerings at lunchtime that go beyond the usual sandwiches, salads and pizza.

The prices may seem a little higher than normal for a lunch, but think what you’ll be saving eating lighter fare in the evening, when menu prices go up considerably.

My go-to place for years now has been Mediterranean Café, where owner/chef Faycal Belakhdar turns out lovingly prepared specials each day from the cuisines of Algeria, Southern France, Greece and Southern Italy. Generous servings of staples like moussaka, spinach pie, chicken chutney or stuffed peppers come with rice pilaf and Greek salad.

Or try the ever available, always satisfying shawarma plate, with your choice of chicken or Greek-style rotisserie lamb and beef. It comes with salad, pita and Belakhdar’s own creamy hummus. Do add a cup of hot Arabic tea, a sweet blend of black and mint teas that offers a perfect complement to the savory meal. Most of the specials are offered from $7.50 to $8.50, a bargain for so much tasty, home-style cooking.

And since this is your dinner, after all, add a lovely small bowl of soup for only $1.50 more. Two soups are freshly made daily, always one vegetarian.

While Med Café is not the place for an elegant dining experience — the restaurant is small and always packed at lunch (and it’s not even open at dinner), the counter service is unfailingly friendly and tables turn over quickly. Not that you’ll need to rush through your dinner. No one will hustle you away if you chew slowly, savor and enjoy a conversation with a friend or friends along with your meal.

Staying in the vein of flavorful Mediterranean-inspired food, let me recommend the platters at Banzo. For an additional $2.75 above the basic $7-$9, any of Banzo’s entrées becomes a complete dinner with chopped salad, a fragrant rice and lentil dish called majadra rice, and your choice of white or whole-wheat pita. For your entrée, choose from their superb falafel, marinated chicken, or succulent kebabs made from ground beef.

There is also an in-house smoked brisket that comes with horseradish sauce. Tahini, yogurt and hot sauces are also housemade, and they’re so good you may find yourself asking for extra.

Dine in at Banzo’s Sherman Avenue restaurant, or get your dinner platter as a take-out from one of their two carts (one is usually found on Library Mall, the other on Dayton Street at Union South or on the Square). Banzo also delivers from Sherman Avenue (a map of their large delivery area appears at banzomadison.com), and they’re fast.

The Nepalese tradition offers an entirely different set of flavors, and Himal Chuli, another long-time Madison favorite, is a fine place to savor them for a midday dinner. While there are a number of excellent non-vegetarian entrées on the menu, vegetarian fare is the specialty here.

Start by sharing a plate of four momocha ($8.70), steamed dumplings filled with a spiced peanut paste and served with a delicate tomato and cilantro sauce. A meat version, called momo, is also available, but the flavors of the vegetarian dumpling are brighter.

For the main dish, I always go for the tarkari with rice and dal ($10). Tarkari is the Nepalese vegetable stew seasoned with turmeric, coriander, cumin, garlic and fresh ginger. Vegetable and bean combinations vary daily according to season. It makes a light, yet satisfying meal, especially accompanied by a scoop of jasmine rice and a cup of the house dal, a thin flavorful soup using a variety of legumes. My daughter prefers her tarkari and dal with roti, a disk of chewy, grilled flatbread, available instead of the rice at the same price.

Himal Chuli is a small, unfancy restaurant, relaxed and quiet. Conversation over a cup of mint tea or chai is perfectly acceptable before heading back to more worldly responsibilities.

Over on the other side of the Square, Red Sushi Grill offers a “grilled lunch” menu that fits the bill for a larger noontime meal. Select the tenderloin medallions ($14), chili lime tofu ($9), or the generally excellent catch of the day (market priced daily). These grilled lunches come out with sauteed vegetables, rice and house made pickles. Order off the terrific sushi and sashimi menu if you’d like a starter, and by all means, add a cup of miso soup ($1.50 as an add-on).

Small, sleek and dark, Red Sushi is a lively place at the lunch hour. Yet something about the noise and bustle makes conversation seem intimate anyway.

When my husband and I are looking to make more of an occasion out of our noontime meal, we often choose Osteria Papavero. Especially on a cold, sunny day, we enjoy sitting at a window table and taking our time over a couple of courses. Chef Francesco Mangano posts his regularly changing daily specials (usually offered at $11) at osteriapapavero.com if you prefer to check ahead, but we never have trouble finding options that are delicious and filling. On a recent visit, we tried a chard parmigiana (a vegetarian entrée that we ate as a starter), a seafood stew with mussels and grilled octopus served over polenta, and a rich mushroom risotto. Papavero’s cuisine represents many regions of Italy, and there is an almost endless variety to Mangano’s use of meats, seafood and vegetables in his soups, ragus and pasta.

Papavero is a small place that feels large and open, with its tall ceilings and large storefront windows. The colors are warm and inviting, making it a great place to take your time to enjoy your food and the company of family or friends.

The dark horse entry in my search for the best places to enjoy dinner at lunch is, believe it or not, UW Hospitals Cafeteria. I discovered their fabulous “comfort foods” station while eating with friends who work in the Health Sciences complex. The cafeteria, open to the public, happens to be a popular eating place for those who work at the far west end of campus for a variety of reasons, though one of them is certainly the home-style pot roast ($3.45), cooked the way your grandmother made it: fall-apart tender and full of beefy flavor. The pot roast comes with roast carrots, and you can choose your sides ($1.45 a side), from mashed red potatoes (with or without gravy), corn, peas, and other vegetable choices like broccoli, string beans or cauliflower. On any given day, you might find the pot roast alongside a decent brisket with barbecue sauce, pulled pork or kielbasa ($3.45 per meat selection). Other weeks you’ll find slices of roast turkey instead of the pot roast, served (if you choose) with ladles of gravy and vegetables.

Yes, a hospital cafeteria isn’t much for atmosphere, but if you’ve been hankering for some old-fashioned comfort food, this is the place, and at incredibly reasonable prices. You might like to bike there with a group of friends, sit at one of the round tables, and have a long, leisurely meal. Seriously. It’s good for you.