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This week I discovered something very upsetting that I just can’t get out of my head. I work downtown, and being the little piggy I am, I’ve tried most of the eating establishments around the office. Most of them offer great lunch options and I assumed they had early dinner as well. The other day, fellow blogger Marissa Frayer and I left work a little later than usual, planning to find something to munch on before a committee meeting.

So we stop at our first choice, The Roux House. We walk in to see a bartender eating his dinner, a good sign. I ask if they are serving food. He’s polite, but tells me that the kitchen closes at 2.

Ok, strike one. Next, we try the new Boudreaux’s and Thibodeaux’s. We walk up the steep steps and turn a number of corners before finding the bartender. I ask her if they have food, thinking after all those steps, I certainly hope so. She looks at me a little crazy-like and tells me that they don’t serve food at all, but they have beer. Imagine that. Strike two, and I have to go right back down those blasted stairs again in my heels. Now I’m sweaty and annoyed.

So I stand on the street corner looking at the places that have already closed for the day, baffled as to why I can’t find some food with my beer. I’m greeted by a co-worker leaving the gym, who tells me that my only options are pretty much the restaurants at the Shaw Center, or the Wine Loft. I’ve been to the Wine Loft several times, and while the baked brie is oh so yummy with the lavender honey, it’s a little pricey. Plus they seem to frown upon beer (which is only my opinion, and I feel like it’s represented through the fact that they don’t carry any really good beer), and wine is not an option for me since I don’t like grapes. I eat too much at the Shaw Center restaurants, so those are out; I wanted something different. Can’t a girl just get some onion rings or cheese fries with her Abita?

So here’s my recommendation to all you downtown developers and entertainment district proposers: give me some food! What ever happened to good old greasy American bar food? Seriously. If I have to meet co-workers for drinks after work, why can’t I have a snack, too? I really like downtown, and I want more than anything to see it thrive. But do I really only have the option of going to a restaurant after work for food and drinks when the bars are all capable of serving it?

You might not agree. Perhaps you say that not everyone is interested in bar food after hours. It might require more staff, or more work. I don’t know what the reasons are. What I do know is that from now on, you might see me toting an economy sized bag of tortilla chips and salsa into bars so I can have a snack. When it comes to food, I’m certainly not too ashamed to bust out a bag lunch at Red Star. But feel free to help me out and keep me from looking like a freak, and serve me some food already.