The best thing I ate this week was the reinvented power lunch at Vernick Fish

Wanna do lunch? Philly has finally seen the surge in mid-day options I’ve long waited for as a telltale sign our restaurant scene is in the final stages of putting the pandemic behind us. Most have been cool neighborhood spots for a casual meal, like the Portguese pastéis de nata charm of Gilda in Fishtown and Italian-themed Fiore, recently relocated to Kensington, or the Moroccan delight of Sofi Corner Cafe in the Gayborhood, or the South Philly destinations for cemitas at El Chingón, panzerotti at Paffuto and the rebooted sandwich temple of Paesano’s in the Italian Market.

But what about the fancy power lunch? If all those office workers ever do come back downtown in force as Mayor Cherelle L. Parker recently implored, Greg Vernick is among those eager and ready to accommodate them at Vernick Fish: “I like it,” the chef says of the mayor’s initiative. “I need it.”

The power lunch of 2024 is a different creature than its pre-pandemic form, says Vernick, whose staff dove into the analytics and trends to reinvent it for a new age. Gone are the multi-martini lunches of yore, in favor of zero-proof coffee tonics and house-made ginger sodas. The sharing format typical of dinner at this soaring modern seafood hall in the ground floor of the Comcast Tech Center is replaced by individual portions, so diners don’t have to awkwardly joust for the crudo with a colleague’s fork. Meanwhile, speed is of the essence, as Vernick Fish promises to seat a party and send them on their well-fed way within 45 minutes.

“It used to be that lunch was just a smaller version of dinner, but that just doesn’t feel like a lunch anymore,” says Vernick.

The swifter turnaround achieved through fewer service interactions and less complicated plates is only part of the formula. Vernick Fish’s success lies in its willingness to take on some iconic dishes of 21st century lunch culture — the poke rice bowl, the sandwich, the pick-your-protein salad — and elevate them beyond the mundane with prime ingredients and stellar technique. The kitchen rinses its sushi rice seven times before it’s dried, cooked, seasoned with vinegar and seaweed, and finally served warm for a donburi-style bowl topped with chilled sushi-grade tuna ($26). The yellowfin is dressed with a vinaigrette made from cured tuna XO, kimchi radish, a crunchy garnish of fried rice and shallots, and dots of sous-vide-cooked egg yolk jam that lend extra richness to the dish.

Vernick Fish’s take on a shrimp po’boy ($28) is more Philly than New Orleans, with the rustic chew of its ciabatta baguette and the breadcrumb coating (versus the corn-forward crusts typical in Louisiana). But these massive shrimp are hand-butterflied into luxurious crustacean steaks before they’re fried to a flavorful crisp and layered with thin-sliced tomatoes, chiffonade lettuce, and zesty Creole remoulade studded with fermented green tomatoes. There are snappy house waffle chips on the side.

This menu’s most impressive win, though, is the house salad ($17, plus protein) I nearly overlooked, having been numbed by too many build-my-own lunch bowls at Sweetgreens and the like. I’m glad I didn’t. The fish is gorgeous, of course, a brick orange Ora King salmon marinated in herbs before it’s roasted on the plancha. The salad is also a work of art, a colorful wreath of bitter red and green endive spears balanced with gem lettuce sweetness in a bright dressing that hums with mustard and fresh tarragon. You can opt for other proteins, but I prefer the delicacy of the moist fish ($16) against the crunch of those greens. (I’ll opt for the paillard one day if the chef ever opens Vernick Chicken.)

Yes, there are plenty of other distractions on this menu for a genuine mid-day splurge (ideally, on someone else’s expense account), from the extensive raw bar and hiramasa tartare lettuce cups, to a grilled branzino cameo from dinner. But Vernick Fish has proven that mid-day meal as you know it can be reinvented to knock your socks off, too. And that’s the ultimate power lunch flex.

Vernick Fish, Comcast Technology Center, 1. N.19th St., 215-419-5055; vernickfish.com