Schwab Plaza Cafe

News flash — Chuck does eat here. Seen it myself.
As of 2009, 211 Main St SF is the new corporate HQ location.
Can’t beat the $ 5 meal deals.

This is a company cafeteria. You have to work here to get to it. This is the one I wasn’t going to review, but Astrid X has already broken the silence. Prices are competitive, and clearly it is here just to feed the employees and contractors. I have to admit, I’m more alert during the day when I’ve had some scrambled eggs for breakfast.
Located high up in the building, the views are panoramic. As construction of the new San Francisco continues, the changing skyline is becoming more concrete and glass, but I am speaking from the perspective of having watched it for seven years.
They run a quarterly customer satisfaction survey, so we have a way to tell them our opinions directly. They publish a weekly menu, so I am occasionally drawn to specials such as the curried prawns. When it’s cold or raining, this is a good alternative to foraging on the city streets.

You won’t find Chuck here.
Unless you’re a time-​pressed consultant or Schwabbie, most likely you’ll manage to avoid eating at the Schwabeteria. Should you happen to find yourself here — -run, do not walk, to the nearest exit. Take your chances at the food truck around the corner.
The food. Rubbery omelets. Veggie burgers defrosting for hours in lukewarm water. The same prepared salad languishing in its sad little tub, day in an day out – for the better part of a week. The clumsy stabs at «ethnic» specials or swanky California cuisine. More often than not I’ve regretted thinking I had too little time for lunch, right about the time my stomach began rumbling and complaining less than an hour later. Blech.
One star is for the service which is warm and friendly and comes as rather a shock considering the setting.
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Update: ³⁄₁₆
So, I was starting to feel a little guilty about the incendiary review — it’s a company cafeteria not chez panisse, right?
So, take 2: playing it safe, made myself a sandwich at the sandwich bar — staying away from the scary spreads and sticking to the basics – cheese, pre-​sliced tomato, a swipe of mustard on toasted rye. How could I go wrong?
Half an hour later, stomache. one star it is.