On the winged shoes of a god, May 31 brought the return of one of my favorite summertime traditions: Palace Cafe‘s temperature lunch. My office is just a few blocks away and the summer is traditionally slow for us, so a multi-course lunch at Palace Cafe is very doable. The beauty in the temperature lunch is its simplicity, just take 10% of the high temperature from the previous day and you’ve got your price for a two course meal at lunch. If yesterday was 95, your temperature lunch will run you $9.50. If we get a freakishly cool day, say in the mid-70s and you’re looking at a $7.50 two course meal from Palace Cafe. While the soaring August temperatures may make this deal a slightly less affordable, it has been my experience that the meals following sweltering days are worth those extra degrees.

According to my highly tuned weather sensing equipment, yesterday’s high was 90. Which means today’s temperature lunch should run you $9.00. For that $9, you’ll get your choice of soup or salad and follow that up with the chef’s entrée. Yesterday’s entrée? Tempura Fried Catfish over Tallegio Mac n’ Cheese. I’m expecting something equally delicious today.

The temperature lunch runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day on weekdays from 11:30 to 2:30. The daily special will be posted on Facebook and twitter by 10:30 or so.

For more information on the deal, check out the Chef’s Lagniappe, a blog from the Dickie Brennan Restaurant Group chefs.