Best lunchtime getaways

With the rise of the 14-hour workday and the fall of the three-martini lunch, downtown office workers often find themselves dripping mayo onto their keyboards come noontime. But a counter­movement has emerged to pull us out of our chairs—and judging from the crowds at these events, we seem ready.

Lit & Lunch, sponsored by the Center for the Art of Translation, presents monthly readings by great writers and translators (Edith Grossman, W.S. Merwin, Robert Pinsky). Nourish your belly and your brain with one of the event’s box lunches. 111 Minna St., catranslation.org

San Francisco’s Noon­time Concerts bring the spectacle of an evening symphony to St. Mary’s, the state’s oldest cath­edral. Get your fill of Mozart, Beethoven, or Brahms just up the hill from the financial district, every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. $5 suggested donation. 660 California St., noontimeconcerts.org

Enjoy your sandwich in the sun at the Yerba Buena Gardens Thurs­day Lunchtime Concerts, with acts like the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble and the Marcus Shelby Trio performing from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. each week until September. Just beware of grass stains on your slacks. 760 Howard St., ybgf.org

The San Francisco Arts Commission puts on con­sistently innovative and inspiring exhibits. Drop by its next BYO Brown Bag Lunch to see the current show, “A Complicated Dominion: Nature and New Political Narratives,” about humans’ relationship with nature. Where else can you eat in a gallery without being kicked out by a docent? 12–1 p.m., July 23, 401 Van Ness Ave., sfacgallery.org

Play tourist in your own town with San Francisco City Guides. Take your pick of midday tours of Maiden Lane (Mon., 11 a.m.), downtown art-deco architecture (third Wed., 2 p.m.), and post-1906 reconstruction (first Wed., noon). No matter how long you’ve lived here, you’re bound to learn something new as you tour the inter­iors, rooftops, and underbelly of San Francisco. Just don’t schedule a postlunch meeting, as tours can run two hours. Donations sug­gested. sfcityguides.org

Lunch 2.0 started as a couple of guys cafeteria crashing in Silicon Valley, hoping to network and catch a glimpse of other companies’ corporate cultures. Today, companies like LinkedIn, Microsoft, and CNET have signed on to host speakers on modern tech topics and to provide web geeks with a free meal. The phenom has even spread to places like Germany and Shang­hai. lunch20.com

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