Listen up, this is important.

Since childhood, we’re trained to do things fast. We get rewarded for arriving on time, finishing tasks at school quickly, doing our homework effectively, and cleaning up after ourselves rapidly. Falling asleep without fuzz. Brush your teeth, put your shoes on, where’s your backpack, off you go. Efficiency is praised. So as we get older, we naturally expect everything to be efficient. Shorter, snappier, simpler, faster. We’re encouraged to be first. Be better. Drive change. Be original before someone else.

Then people wonder why we drive too fast. Why we choke on fast food. Why we burn the candle on both ends.
It’s just logical, right? That’s what we’re trained to do.

Anyway, here’s what we’re proposing: in today’s fast-paced world, the importance of taking a longer lunch break just once in a while cannot be overstated. It’s not a waste of time. By prioritizing your mental and physical health, nurturing social connections and promoting a healthy work-life balance, a slow lunch will ultimately make you feel better about yourself.

On average, a person burns roughly 60 Kcalories per kilometer when walking at a moderate pace (that’s 60 000 calories, which sounds more impressive). By taking the time to enjoy your meal and engage in conversation combined with some light exercise, your mind and body can recuperate. The increased energy and focus you’ll possess upon returning to work will make you productive all afternoon.

And who knows – a slow lunch might also foster creativity and innovation. Getting stuck in a routine or a stale thought pattern is easy. A walk to Backaplan might create the space for new ideas and insights to emerge. Maybe a mental reset can even lead to increased problem-solving skills? By spending more time with colleagues, you might also be happier. How about that?

But why bother with this self-evident rant? Why make so much fuzz over eating lunch like… the rest of Europe? The Swedish Way of Eating (SWEAT) might be justified if you’re a paramedic, firefighter, or escaping justice. Still, for a Lindholmen standard-issue white-collar IP breadwinner, there’s no excuse. Also, if you take the time, every now and then, to break the pattern and venture into the unknown, you might stumble upon something unexpected. We did.

The other day, we had the best lunch since June 2022. And if it hadn’t been for our conscious decision to find some room to breathe, we’d never found Backaplan’s crown jewel: Al Affandi. A good while back, we had a crushing experience trying to order skewers/kebabs. The food we received at Al Affandi was transcendent. Divine. Insane. Describing it would simply do the place a colossal injustice. Just look at the pictures. It’s a pretty long walk (20-30 mins), but it’s gonna be worth it. Not only gastronomically but emotionally, socially – and professionally. Carpe diem, friends!

• Name and address: Al Affandi, Motorgatan 1
• Cuisine: Syrian
• Walking distance from Zenseact: 25-30 mins
• Price: 125 sek (drink included)
• Rating: 5/5 NCAP stars (Norra Älvstranden Culinary Assessment Program)

We’ll return shortly with another review. In the meantime, heed the great Robert Frost’s advice and choose the road less traveled – a wise gastronomic approach and an outstanding professional mantra for every Zenseactian.