Sadly, we know of no restaurant where the wait staff offers free shipping. On the other hand, we did find an eat-and-shop spot on Walnut Street with its own drop box for overnight mail.
ING Direct Café, 1636 Walnut St. The e-bank ING Direct runs this bright little lunch spot as place for account holders to check their on-line balances and get live advice. The baristas are trained in both banking and food service.
Anyone can eat here, though. From noon to 2 p.m., a lunch special with a salad or sandwich plus chips and a drink costs a frugal $6. The bank also sells some well-priced gifts, including rugged backpacks ($24.95), stainless-steel travel mugs ($9.95) and discounted Bodum coffee presses and tableware: a classy sugar-and-creamer set, at $19.95, is 33 percent off the manufacturer's suggested retail price.
Many of the gifts have a banking connection, including books on finance and stress balls for riding out market fluctuations. A $9.95 sport bottle for Wall Street types has the motto "Thirsty? Stay Liquid."
In addition to eating and shopping, you can ship overnight mail and small packages at the café's indoor DHL drop box. You'll need your own account number and labels. The scheduled courier pickup time is 6 p.m.
Fork etc., 308 Market St. Hearty soups, sandwiches, salads and quesadillas are the menu highlights here. Expect to pay $4 for a wintry root-vegetable soup and about $7 for a hot pressed sandwich, and set aside another $3.75 for the house-special bread pudding that easily serves two.
Candlesticks ($4 to $18), serving platters ($30 to $80) and a bamboo-handled glass teapot ($45) are among the useful and elegant gifts sold at this casual Fork annex. You can also buy author-signed cookbooks, including Patricia Yeo's "Everyday Asian," Anna Tasca Lanza's "The Flavors of Sicily" and Fork owner Ellen Yin's new "Forklore."
