Oh no!
As a college kid, I lived in DC for 8 wks for an internship, and lunched regularly at Au Bon Pain. I loved their turkey sandwich - on baguette. Tomato and honey mustard. They had a lot of pastries and coffee and such too. Pretty tasty place.
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My first “real” job was in Center City Philadelphia, with Au Bon Pain right where I got off the el. A chocolate croissant and coffee was the perfect way to start the day. And their turkey sandwiches made a great lunch.
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There was one in Union Station, too, right by the commuter trains. Always hit the spot - both the croissants and the sandwiches. I helped my self frequently.
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I had brought 3 or 4 suits with me. Everything was business formal at the time. And one lunch, I blobbed a great blob of mustard on a bright red suit jacket. I was so traumatized. In a new city, 20 yrs old, looking for a dry cleaner. And it never did come out. So I was down a suit for the remainder… Funny how when you are young things seem insurmountable.
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Reminds me of when I was older (business casual office). We had vendors coming in to pitch their product and I was having a bagel with butter. The butter dripped onto my blouse and left a mark that a coworker politely described as looking as if I was a nursing mom who had an “accident.” Fortunately I was able to leave the office, buy a new shirt and get back in time for the meeting. Probably would have been much more shook when I was 20.
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There was a korean bbq place in a hotel across from my highrise. I had a clamshell with an open chili sauce/gojujang something container on the lid. We were eating outside. Wind blew, lid flipped up, chili sauce splattered on my light grey top. Looked like I’d been shot. For some reason, no change of clothes in the office, and my husband and I were carpooling and he always had the car. My late 20s. I used an alligator clip to clip 2 pieces of fabric together to hide the splotch, which was in the general chest/torso area. That clip was mortifying to explain for the rest of the day, but better than walking around with a gsw. Law firm. Straightlaced. Embarassing!
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Glad you had the clip in the office.
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We had every office supply there, but yes. A solution!
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I’d never heard of Qdoba before this post. Apparently there are two in our area but they’re both 15+ miles from us. What’s special about them?
They don’t charge you extra for guacamole (unlike Chipotle).
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I tried Qdoba for the first time a few months ago. Pretty good quesadilla.
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I think their food has better seasoning/flavor. Their guacamole recipe is also superior to Chipotle’s – much more flavorful. I actually use their basic recipe from 15/20 years ago for my own with one minor variation, and I’m always being told by my Chicano coworkers that my guacamole is shockingly good for a gringo.
They’ve changed their menu a bit over the past 10 years, but the barbacoa, queso and guacamole have always remained delicious.
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When our Qdoba was in its prime ( the place has declined immensley), I would buy their vegetarian naked burrito with a huge whole wheat steamed tortilla on the side. Seasoned black beans, brown rice, a half ladle of their tortilla soup, grilled red and green bell pepps, red onion, zukes and crookneck made up the mixed vegetables, pico, seasoned corn salad, grated ‘Mexican’ cheese, a bit of sour cream, a bit of guac and a ton of cilantro. All in a paperboard bowl. With the tortilla on the side I could create my own burrito. This would be a two meal item. I ate half for lunch there and took the rest home or to the office. I’d grab a few lime wedges to squeeze over the bowl’s ingredients. I make this at home now because they no longer have the soup or the same grilled vegetables and the service line is horrible. The roommate loved their lime seasoned tortilla chips and pico. BP ( before pandemic) the naked burrito dish I’d get would cost about $9 all inclusive, no extra charges. They had Coca-Cola tap beverages, but fresh brewed iced tea. A year or so BP they had been having employee issues that made my visits less frquent. They had a great run for about 10 years. A Costa Vida, another Toxic Smell, another Taco del Sol and a Chipolte moved in and all were within about 1/4 mile of each other. Costa Vida has closed permanently, Chipolte is closed/open/closed/open, one never knows. They all have their issues. Qdoba is worth a try, but first do a little walk through and check out the food line before dining.
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Did a quick Yelp check (for whatever that might be worth) as I’m not likely to drive those 15 miles needlessly. I don’t put a huge amount of stock in Yelp reviews but one of the two Qdobas got 1 1/2 stars and the other got 2. Might have given it a try if I found myself in the area, but note that one is in our airport and the other on a local college campus. Odd…… no? At least I now know it exists.
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I still have all my business formal stuff. Sometimes I trot it out. I actually miss it. That mustard stain would have probably overwhelmed me as a Youth. Today I’d probably have run to a store and bought a blazer. Or a scarf . Or a lobster bib and claimed it was an accessory.
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I’m not convinced I had a credit card then. Maybe just a debit. Also it was an unpaid internship. And I was poor. Also none of those thoughts came to me ? at the time. Don’t know why. Again. 20. I still wasn’t terribly accustomed to doing everything without some help, guidance, or direction. And I’m jealous your business formal stuff still fits.
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Yes, so much easier to run out for a quick replacement shirt when you have a credit card and the money to pay it.
True, and I wouldn’t change that experience for the world. I mostly got to be a tourist in DC when I was young, exuberant, full of curiosity. It was March through May so a gorgeous time of year. I can’t complain. I saw and did everything (that was free 
).
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