Check it Out: Pret a Manger

This summer, as I have been making my first foray into the daily DC work-day routine, I have been growing more and more acquainted with the intricacies of the lunch in the city. What has stood out to me the most, is that with the bulk of the city’s considerable working population flocking to feed within a roughly two hour span, speed is king. Not fast food (which often makes you question the true definition of food) but food done fast.

Pret A Manger is perhaps the perfect example of that latter school of though. An Import from England, Pret is now found stateside in DC and NY, the Washington Location just outside of the Farragut West Metro stop at 18th and I St. All the food, which consists of soup, salad and sandwiches; those cornerstones of the mid-day meal, is prepared fresh daily from equally fresh ingredients and laid out on racks so that you need do nothing more than walk in, grab your grub and go. There is nothing complex about eating here, in fact seating is limited so you really cant, and the beauty of it lies in it’s simplicity. They had more swanky offerings, I bought a pretty standard ham and swiss and it was terrific. The fact that it was choose-what’s-there rather than made-to-order was actually relieving. Taking the guesswork out of what is so often a weary ordering procedure.

The name might imply otherwise, but Pret A Manger is nothing fancy. Just good, fresh food. So if you have limited time (or patience) and want to eat well I’d recommend you check it out.