The best lunch dishes at Time Out Market Boston

If you’re looking for an easy lunch on the go without having to sacrifice flavor, Anoush’ella has you covered. The Middle Eastern eatery offers an assortment of filling wraps that make eating on the run actually enjoyable—not to mention, neat. The beef kofta wrap is an obvious winner, featuring a spiced skewer of juicy ground beef, hummus, sumac onions, tahini and zhoug all nicely enveloped in pita bread (regular or gluten-free). It comes with a side of baba ganoush because why not?

Who doesn’t love a meatless, midday pick-me-up? BISq’s Swiss melt is an umami bomb of a sandwich that will fuel you to finish the rest of your workday. Packed with Swiss chard, ooey-gooey Swiss cheese, mushroom XO sauce and pickled jalapenos, this sando is so savory that even carnivores won’t care that it’s actually vegetarian (and if they do, they can always add some bacon for good measure). 

We love a bountiful bowl for lunch, and Inchu really delivers. While you can’t go wrong with the Asian-inspired eatery’s entire menu of rice- or salad-based mashups, we’re particularly fond of the Korean bibimbap here. Topped with a perfectly ​​fried egg, this dish is loaded with pickled daikon, carrot slaw, cucumber, bean sprouts, spinach and green onions. The sprinkle of sesame seeds and drizzle of gochujang-soy sauce only take this bowl over the top.

Sometimes, you just need something super substantial to keep powering through the day. Cusser’s comes through for you, with its hot roast beef sandwich. Piled high with rare wagyu beef, this handheld masterpiece can be consumed one of two ways: the 80 Thoreau, with cheddar cheese, pickled red onions and Thoreau sauce; or the North Shore Three-Way, with barbecue sauce, mayonnaise and jack cheese. Both are served on a griddled onion roll. Both make for an insanely delicious lunch.

Sandwiches usually get all of the lunch glory, but Clucks makes a strong case for soup stealing the spotlight when it comes to afternoon meals. An order of the spicy chicken and dumpling noodle soup will make any jam-packed schedule more bearable. The dish features a medley of hot ground chicken, ramen noodles and truffled chicken wontons, suspended in a bowl of flavor-packed bone broth that takes a full 48 hours to prepare. While a normal serving of this stuff will be sure to satisfy, you can always order more goodness by opting for extra wontons or more noodles, or by even adding some karaage fried chicken.

Veg out during lunch—not after. Obviously, Nu Burger offers plenty of beef-centric options for eager meat-eaters, but its spicy cauliflower burger can compete with (and even beat) the best of them. A veggie patty consisting of a cauliflower, quinoa and cheddar combo is topped with an avocado and pistachio pesto, bright red cabbage slaw and vegetarian “NuSauce.” It’s somehow simultaneously light and hearty, and we are here for it. 

Lunch is the perfect occasion for a quesadilla, and Taqueria El Barrio is the place to go. Frankly, any of the eatery’s cheesy tortilla creations will do—whether you get one crammed with carnitas, brimming with carne asada or done al pastor. We’d particularly like to vouch for the birria quesadilla, which is stuffed with tender beef and cheese, chopped onions and cilantro—all begging to be dipped into a cup of ridiculously rich broth. Just be sure to grab a stack of napkins.

Leave all of your work worries at your desk and grab a comfort food classic from Michael Schlow’s Italian Kitchen. The chicken parm sandwich from this spot is a thing of beauty. Cradled between two slices of ciabatta, you’ll find a crunchy yet still almost miraculously moist chicken, topped with a generous schmear of marinara sauce and melty mozzarella. If you’re more partial to fork-only food, you can always crush one of the many plates of pasta offered at this eatery. 

Everyone needs a sugary boost to get through that last stretch of the day, and a Union Square donut will certainly do the trick—and then some. Every season, there’s an entire selection of new confections to try, but you can never go wrong with one of the bakery’s tried and true flavors. When in doubt, go for the Belgian Dark Chocolate, a light and fluffy piece of heaven coated in a rich dark chocolate glaze. It’ll make all of the memories of the morning just melt away.

End lunch on a sweet note and make a stop by Gelato & Chill. This gelateria boasts a bevy of frozen Italian favorites, with traditional flavors like nocciola (AKA hazelnut) and stracciatella (like chocolate chip, but far better). While we can get behind any scoop at this spot, we’d like to give our stamp of approval to the Ricotta and Fig, a creamy, ricotta-based gelato with swirls of house-made, Mediterranean fig jam. It’s a little piece of paradiso that’ll help you forget you’re about to be back on the clock.