For a good while, Laine and I frequented Gourmet Gang once or twice each week. I was hooked on their California Cobb salad and Laine on their Greek. Then, something happened...first, the Greek disappeared from the menu. We could not figure out why a restaurant would remove a Greek salad. Then, Laine had some caramelized walnuts in their seasonal strawberry and walnut salad that just were not crisp. For me, I was just Cobbed out! As we do every Friday, last week we drew from the magic envelope for Monday and what do you know, Gourmet Gang it was, GG for short. We journeyed over to GG on this fine, sunny day and ordered our salads. The Greek was back on the menu. They must have known Laine was coming. For once in my life, I stepped out of the box and ordered something completely different, the autumn apple and walnut salad. My salad of mixed greens, caramelized walnuts, white raisins and Granny Smith apples, was SUPER. It came with blue cheese dressing, which was the perfect flavor to add to this mixture. I'm pretty excited about this salad. I hope they keep it on the menu for a while (at least through our autumn season). I had checked the online menu before we headed over and their weekly specials are up to date. Good to know. Sometimes, I don't think restaurants update their websites in a timely fashion, but GG does. There must be a good web master there. GG is back on our list. I have a feeling we will be in there again very soon. GG has a good variety of wraps, sandwiches and salads. They also have homemade cookies on hand. GG caters to many of the Downtown businesses and you can always find a large business crowd in the Downtown location. If you are limited by time, make sure to get there before noon. Some days, the line is out the door by that time. You can call or fax your order in as well. Calling in has been a success, but the one time I tried the faxing option, GG did not receive it. They did not make me wait in line though, as I brought a copy of the fax with me (Murphy's Law – I'm always waiting for something to go wrong and like to be uber-prepared for those chaotic times). GG is good to its customers. The folks there let you dissect and recreate a salad as many ways as you want to, which is huge for me.
~Alex
Chances are, if you work somewhere downtown, your office has had a lunch catered by Gourmet Gang. They have an interesting business history, growing from a door-to-door sandwich vendor to their current restaurant/caterer/delivery service model. I like seeing an independent small business not only survive, but thrive, especially when it is headed up by a woman. Having worked in various locations throughout Norfolk and Virginia Beach, I have had lunches from several different restaurant locations. The food is consistent in presentation, preparation and freshness from each location. The Main Street location our current haunt. To be honest, I didn't even know they had restaurants until I worked downtown. As Alex mentions, they can get quite packed at lunchtime with a line out the door for ordering and a line by the soda machine for those waiting on orders. This kills the ambiance for dining in. If you are seated at a table, someone will literally be standing on top of you while you eat. The menu offers a nice variety of sandwiches, wraps and salads. I am partial to the Greek salad, but I agree with Alex that their Cobb is extraordinary. Their portions are good sized for a salad and the ingredients are always fresh. Although there is a line to order, the food comes up fairly quickly once the order is placed. My salad on Monday was great. Their twist on the Greek is using sundried tomatoes vs. regular tomatoes. Their croutons are just okay, so I usually forgo them. The employees are very friendly, and I see the same ones over and over again.This is a good sign to me. The restaurant business can be quite chaotic, so it is nice to see happy, friendly people who apparently like their jobs. The food is prepared right in front of you, and these guys are really moving. Gourmet Gang is a safe lunch bet downtown.
_Laine
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