Potbelly Sandwich Works, Washington, D.C.

There's something uneasy about eating at a restaurant called Potbelly Sandwich Works when a person is a little overweight wearing some clothes that are just a little bit too tight, especially when lunching with colleagues who are young and svelte. Nevertheless, there are limited options in the downtown area near the White House for people not on expense accounts, and we've done Cosí and Breadline far too often, so this afforded us a welcome change.

Our first problem, though, was going to luncheon at 12:45; that's still in the midst of the lunch rush. We found ourselves standing in line out on the sidewalk just to get in to order. The staff at Potbelly, though, was unexpectedly organized and efficient, and they were taking orders quickly and preparing toasted sandwiches in amazingly short time.

Potbelly is a national franchise sandwich shop with stores concentrated primarily in the Great Lakes area, with others in Texas and the VA-DC-MD area. They serve mostly toasted sandwiches and hot soups in small, comfortable stores with folksy decor.

I had a toasted tuna salad and Swiss cheese sandwich on a little whole wheat sub roll with a big, crunchy, dill pickle and a bottle of Orangina. It was a decent lunch for the type and price point of this kind of restaurant. My colleagues had a roast beef and provolone sandwich and a meatball marinara sandwich, plus chocolate and strawberry milk shakes.

Now, it's back to work. It's warmish out with a touch of wind, but the skies are a bit grey and overcast. Perhaps spring will come soon.