Let us now praise lettuce wraps
Every time I eat at Blue Koi for lunch, the food coma hits before I’ve even returned to work for the afternoon. My brain fills with television static, and my body feels like it’s going to melt off my chair, leaving behind a chili-spiced soy puddle.
I mean this as a compliment.
Friends have suggested that I eat only half of the tofu with black bean sauce and save the rest for later. That’s silly. The whole mountain of food is going in my face hole right now. Every last grain of rice.
But when I need to remain slightly more alert during the second half of my day, I look to the vegetarian lettuce wraps here. This is what moderation looks and tastes like: chopped tofu, peanuts, scallions, carrots and other veggies, served with a stack of crisp, fresh iceberg lettuce to allow a DIY assembly line for your tongue’s umami trigger. It’s a filling but relatively light affair; you won’t need a nap if you eat the whole thing.
Lulu’s Thai Noodle Shop also serves a good lettuce wrap. The spicy chopped tofu (also available mild) comes with full leaves of romaine, along with a refreshing array of carrots and bean sprouts and red cabbage, a lime wedge, and thick peanut dipping sauce that’s tasty enough to eat by itself. Blue Koi’s lettuce wraps would win in a fight, but this is a peaceful dish, and there’s room for both.
We’ve established that lying down for an after-lunch nap is perfectly reasonable, but sometimes even sitting down for a midday meal isn’t an option. So I was jazzed to discover that Westport’s Which Wich does a killer to-go lettuce wrap. This thing is not puny; in fact, I’m pretty sure it out-bulks many sandwiches I’ve eaten.
Like similar chain restaurants, Which Wich allows total customization of your sandwich, from fillings and spreads to toppings and cheese — and yes, such an array can be crammed into a lettuce wrap. My favorite version combines a black-bean patty (carnivores, there are plenty of options for you, too), hummus, pickles, olives, chili sauce and feta cheese, for a kind of veggie gyro wrapped in fresh romaine rather than stuffed into pita.
The result is a filling lunch that doesn’t knock me on my ass (and can even be eaten in the car — especially if I’m not driving). I may want to cut the coma-inducing carbs out of my lunch, but that doesn’t mean my lunch has to be petite.
