The savvy restaurateurs who brought you Dusek’s and the Promontory have leaped to the rescue of that most neglected of eateries: the office-lunch sandwich joint.
The name of this bright and airy fast-casual spot, just off Van Buren Street in the Loop, is a deep-cut reference to President Martin Van Buren, nicknamed Marty Van Ruin by his political adversaries. Its sandwiches are equally irreverent: The Buffalo Cauliflower ($8), for instance, features the eponymous vegetable, roasted until crisp-edged and tender, then doused in a housemade Buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing. It sounds questionable, but it’s a winning combination, as is the elevated take on the Gym Shoe ($10), a Chicago classic that’s like a cross between a gyro and an Italian beef.
The Ruin Daily has updated other downtown-lunch tropes by offering interesting grab-and-go salads and perfectly crisp chips. Less typical are the tasty salted butterscotch doughnuts ($2 each) from Mindy Segal. (Not an office drone on a quick break? There’s a nice selection of wines in the cooler.)
328 S. Jefferson St.