I am a food slut. I’m always on the hunt good food and any excuse to take off with a friend or two and talk crap over lunch. Particularly during the week at work. Before every “foodie” with a camera and a blog was religiously capturing and critiquing their every meal I was food slutting my way around Perth and Subiaco with my friends. Our objective however was to help answer the burning question “whats for lunch man?” Not to narcissistic-ly document food consumption.

As a food slut the everyday eating choices especially in the city can be hard work. It’s hard to find something reasonably healthy which is also good value for money. You can get great fresh food and produce,  it’s just expensive.

The costs mount up if you are spending more than $10 for lunch every day. What irks me the most though is the flood of imported foods and our food business from Woolworths down to your local takeway’s willingness to buy that crap to then sell to us.  But is it our own fault? We need to as consumers be not so conscious all the time of just always buying the cheapest. So there in lies my boggle.

Lets take Nandos for example – which actually is what has prompted me to write today’s food rant. There was a time where I was totally addicted to their delightful Peri-Peri chicken goodness. Nandos was always more expensive than your run of the mill Red Rooster or Chicken Treat, but it was hell more worth it! Hell also being the fiery belting of your tongue (and bum) the intensity  of which determined by the enthusiasm of the Nandos chef’s peri peri sauce brush!

Nandos for a while now seem to be using smaller sized chickens and skimping out meal sizes. I even used to want to buy a salad from Nandos for the lush portion of sliced chicken breast you would get on top of that other green stuff.  It’s about half as much chicken supplied now.  Paying $22 for their F#cking Fiesta meal with ya buddy is even more depressing as you both scrounge through your half share of the tiny chicken carcass like hyenas for any remaining flesh.

The last straw for Nandos for me was last weeks pigeon sized chicken we received which I swear must have been the smallest chicken ever raised in captivity.  I kid you not, the leg was literally  this big  |<————————————————>|   as it looks on your screen.

I imagine the franchise is squeezing the store owners who are also trying to max their profits.  Just like Subway, they have raised their prices and have gotten more and more stingey on quality and servings sizes. Subway being not even healthy as they make out they are for you anyway! food sluts compare v3.1 That’s another story.

The latest joke from Nandos is their mini-burger thingo for $4.95.  (in the picture above) This burger has a radius of your average single tomato slice.  I will give them some credit  – they do call it mini.

All is not lost.. I’ve found some great places to eat and also an awesome Nandos substitute.  Charcos Flaming Chicken is a charcoal chicken shop which also does a Portuguese style chicken.  Their servings are decent and they have burgers, wraps, kebabs, roast and cream potatoes and even big range of salads (for the Francis’s amongst you).

Home style burgers are all the rage these days now with new burger shops springing up everywhere.  Jusburgers,  Flipside and in the CBD –  The Burger Bistro. Even Macdonalds and HJS have lifted their games their Angus range of burgers.

My pick in the city for regular ‘grab your lunch at work stuff’ is Lunches Downunder in Allendale square. You will actually get real breast chicken from this place!

I know margins are probably tight for a lot of places, but please don’t skimp on the chicken man! Everyday, Lunches Downunder does a different hot meal ranging from chicken curry, to rump steak and to the famous Friday Roast Beef (rolls).