Yes, yes it is. But let’s start at the beginning.

Every now and then I look at my one-hour lunch break and I think, “What am I supposed to do with that?” Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to even have it considering I’ve held jobs that offered a whopping thirty minutes. That in some workplaces is the equivalent of walking to the break room, blinking, and walking back out. But when I look at the sixty minutes I’m given, I suddenly turn into a mathematician trying to figure out how I can nuke my lunch in the microwave, eat fire hot food, edit photos, nap, and still clock in on time. I never end up clocking in on time. This week, I was dying to have a burger from Morton’s in Downtown LA with a couple of coworkers and I knew I would be extremely late in returning to the office. I weighed the pros and cons to determine if it was worth it: a steak burger or coming back late? A steak burger or coming back late? I apologized to my boss in advance and we all went to Morton’s.

Even though I was planning to go back to work late, I had to come up with a game plan as to how I could best enjoy my “extended lunch”. My first thought was to take in the atmosphere of the restaurant and photograph as much as possible. Walking around with my camera in hand the sound of my shutter went off like bolts of lightening. A few shots of the exterior, one of the placard, a couple of the beautifully dark dining rooms, and of course I snuck at least one of guests dining on what could be the most delicious lunch. I can’t lie, my eyes squinted a bit at all the well dressed patrons wondering how long their lunch break was. “Wait, what if they don’t even have a timed lunch break???”

Well, that’s just unfair.

Focusing my attention back on the lunch at hand, I sat down with my coworkers and I looked over the menu. We all had settled on things we were ready to splurge on and I was beyond excited for mine. The first dish that I stuck my fork into was the Bacon & Onion Macaroni & Cheese ($11). A side dish that came at a high price tag,yes, but it was understandable as it is a steakhouse. Anyone walking into a steakhouse should already know they’re going to be paying a pretty penny for the meal, but the quality and portions will be well worth it. This ain’t high tea folks. Even for a side, the macaroni and cheese is stellar! The look of it is beautiful: gorgeously coiled macaroni noodles are submerged underneath a piping hot golden cheddar cheese. The smell of it is fragrantly intoxicating to the point that I was compelled to stick my fork in it involuntarily. Who am I kidding, it was voluntarily. The noodles are tremendously soft and each bite succumbs to the rich and melted cheese. The bacon offers a nice saltiness alongside a semi-firm texture which makes the side feel like it could pass as a meal if you decided to eat it all yourself. I didn’t because I was really there for the burger.

I quickly called it quits on the side dish as I saw the waitress bring over my burger. I could spot it from a mile away as if it had my name on it in flashing lights. The Filet Mignon Tenderloin Sandwich ($28) was just perfect! Although it’s really a burger, the switch of the name was neither here-nor-there to me; I simply wanted to have it. You may think the burger is small in width, but grabbing it with my hands, it was clear that it was stacked in height. Any attempt I had to look presentable while eating it went out the window. Biting through the buns my taste buds piled down on horseradish, white cheddar, grilled red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and a perfect filet mignon.

The chunks of steak were unbelievably tender and felt as of they would melt in my mouth if I didn’t chew it fast enough. Being wrapped around the soft bun, I quickly began to struggle with keeping it all in place as I ate it. At one point the crisp lettuce and fresh tomatoes started to slip out from the meat and then the horseradish smeared across the filet mignon, and the buns spread apart in my hands. I was a certified mess, but the sandwich was so good that I didn’t care who was looking at me. Even more, I didn’t care that it was almost a $30 burger! The quality of the meat was so delectable that the frugal girl in me was nowhere to be found. Maybe she was busy eating the crunchy and nicely salted house-made chips. Even I was shocked that I was gladly eating chips instead of fries. An almost an impossible feat under any other circumstance.

After the lunch was done, I wanted to go home and fall into a food coma. I didn’t, more like I couldn’t. I had to go back to work. Sure I clocked in late and my boss gave me the “Where have you been” look, but it was totally worth it. Not worth it to the point that I would continuously risk a job that I like, my income, and health insurance, but one time can’t be so wrong. Actually, if I’m being honest, there’s a good chance that I’ll do it again. But it’ll be last time, for sure.

I think.

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