Salt Lakers: Here’s your next destination lunch locale. South Valley-ites: Step inside your vehicle with your BFFs and prepare for cute/tasty/homespun goodness overload. Right now. (Except it closes at 4 p.m.)

We headed to Draper’s Food For Thought with high hopes. We had heard about the quaint Old Town Draper location and homemade desserts at this “luncheon boutique,” as it’s called. But we didn’t expect such flavor and fun as we enjoyed. Food For Thought is parked on the corner of a charming park and sports an old-timey facade, darling display cases and handfuls and handfuls of tasty seasonal delectables. (You’ve gotta see the them: click here.) Hot chocolate is served in a sizeable latte bowl, for heaven’s sake, and topped with a homemade custom-flavored marshmallow.

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The menu is stocked with signature salads like Strawberry Chevre (strawberries, chevre, mushrooms, toasted almonds with raspberry vinaigrette, $8.95) and Caramelized Pear and Gorgonzola (Gorgonzola, pine nuts, caramelized pair in balsamic, $8.95). We opted for the Executive Lunch because we like to mix and match. It weighs in at $10.95 and includes half of any salad paired with a choice of quiche, cup of soup, or half-sandwich with a mini dessert and a fountain drink or iced tea. They forgot to mention the roll that comes with when you order soup, and which shouldn’t be passed. They are perfection, in both flavor and texture.

Desserts include Pear and Almond Tarts and Triple Berry Cobbler. Dessert Bites included Raspberry Bars, Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies, Lemon Bars, Mini Eclaires and Mint Brownies, to name a few.

The best part is how everything feels and tastes so very homemade. And how you can take a tissue paper-topped jar of Chinese or Pasadena salad dressing home with you and trick your friends into thinking you’re the mastermind behind it.

{See It To Believe It:}

Food For Thought
12640 S. Fort Street
Draper
(801) 576-9161
Open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
www.foodforthoughtutah.com

Your PB&J, baby carrots and pudding snack just aren’t doing it for you anymore, are they? It’s a sad tale we’ve heard before: your lunch hour has lost its spark. Fortunately, you and high noon are not a lost cause. Here’s the Your Heart Out cure-all action plan:

One of the Millcreek area’s most choice restaurants, the Robin’s Nest, recently relocated from 3300 South to Main Street. Its half-sandwich lunch special is unbeatable: You’ll get a sizable half-sandwich (obviously); a side of yummy, basil-enchanced orzo pasta or chips; a dessert bite (brownie, mini cheesecake, snickerdoodle, etc.); and a drink for less than $7. That’s right, less than $7.

The Robin’s Nest whips up a bevy of specialty American-style sandwiches. We recommend the Not-So-Average Joe, the Rooster Call and the Madam. And don’t be afraid to give your ‘wich a “bath”—a dousing of Robin’s Nest savory balsamic sauce, not for the vinegar-weary.

With your recently-bathed sandwich and Diet Coke-with-a-lime in hand, stroll a block or two to the Gallivan Center, plant your suited self on a park bench, kick up your hills and enjoy the Lunch Bunch Concert Series at the Gallivan Center. Your cosmopolitan self will love the plaza atmosphere, your inner country gal will find a little toe-tappin’ hard to resist. Check the schedule here.

{Start loving lunch, again:}

The Robin’s Nest
311 S. Main Street
(801) 466-6378
www.therobinsnestcafe.com

The Lunch Bunch Concert Series
The Gallivan Center (239 S. Main Street)
Weekdays noon – 1 p.m., through Sept. 14

As the marketing plan for the “It’s Just Lunch” dating service shows, nobody can shy away from a good lunch date, meeting or get-together. For many working souls, lunch is the favorite part of the day. So relish in it, and try something new. Here are some of our favorite places for passing by the beloved lunch hour—long lunch hours with friends, in particular.

Bambara: (202 S. Main St.) Upscale dining experience takes a nice turn for lunch. Menu items include Pan-Seared Atlantic Salmon, Grilled Chicken Caprese Wrap and Beef Tenderloin Tip Fettuccini.

Cafe Trio: (680 S. 900 East) Quaint cafe puts a nice twist on regular lunch favorites with BLTs with parmesan aioli and club sandwiches with fontina and pesto.

Citrus Grill: (2991 E. 3300 South, Salt Lake and 219 E. 12300 South, Draper) Great half-size plates of pastas and salads. Tasty selection of wraps and grilled-cheese sandwiches, too.

Finns: (1624 S. 1100 East) This no-dinner diner has great little sandwiches. We’re especially fond of the Reuben.

House of Bread: (2005 E. 2700 South) Fresh deli sandwiches (served on freshly baked breads) and salads at a fair price. Soda served in the can, only.

Kyoto: (1080 E. 1300 South) Lunch specials include tasty tempura and must-have noodle bowls. Cute building, too.

Paradise Bakery: (1010 E. 2100 South) Get the tomato soup and Caesar salad. The meal comes with a chocolate chip cookie!

Red Rock Brewing Co.: (254 S. 200 West) Guys and gals alike can’t go wrong with a Red Rock Burger and a side of carrot chips.

Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta: (1063 E. 2100 South) Despite the name, we like to head here for the variety of sandwiches and salads—like the “Chopped” salad with salami, fontina, Cajun chicken and tomatoes in basil vinaigrette dressing.

Sawadee Thai: (754 South Temple) Cool new digs and a great lunch special, too.

Settebello: (260 S. 200 West) Um, did we mention how good the pizza is here?

Thai Siam: (1435 S. State St.) Serves up fantastic lunch specials for as little as $6.95. Fast service and ample portions of an authentic cuisine.

Zinn Bistro: (2020 E. 3300 South) A little finnicky place, call to make sure shop’s open before you head over. And making a reservation is never a bad idea. We love the bread selection.

Who’s hungry?