A pang of displeasure struck Munch. The day was mild, the sun bright, the air sweet -- and Munch was chained to the desk, lunchless. On such a day, confined to the Downtown grid, Munch hoped that a rambling sunshine stroll would turn up good eats.

Munch wanted to feed on food as fresh and lovely as the day. Even grease-addict Munch occasionally craves a colon-busting lunch of all-natural, pesticide-free raw veggies and fresh-squeezed juices. Munch's Grant Street friends had spoken of Amazon Cafe, where the smoothies are thick, the oatmeal steaming and the wraps tight and fresh.

The cafe is tucked into one of Grant Street's most prominent architectural landmarks, the Omni William Penn Hotel. The facade is early 1900s; through the swinging glass door, the cafe is clean, sleek and brightly painted in the colors of tropical fruit -- orange, mango, lime.

Munch's marathoning FOM, a man half-beer and half-wheat germ, strolled in. He's a regular customer, and immediately ordered his usual: a chicken Caesar wrap and the Fred and Ginger, a concoction of fresh-squeezed celery, ginger and apple juice that tastes like cold Chinese soup, more tonic than treat.

Munch prefers something sweeter, like the Coldbuster smoothie, with its orange, peach and raspberry sherbet elements. It's a creamy, not-too-sweet pink drink.

A smoothie makes a light meal or -- if you add an herbal "boost" -- a potion for immunity, relaxation, energy, body cleansing and fat burning. But Piggy Munch needed more: a tuna salad platter heaped with romaine and fresh shredded carrots -- not those dried-out shards you find on many salad bars. The tuna is sweet with relish and the whole is drizzled with a respectable honey Dijon dressing.

FOM's wrap was warm and filling, neatly folded and flavorful. A flour tortilla encased chunks of white chicken, lettuce, black olives and feta. Munch got one bite before FOM wolfed it.

As you'd expect, Amazon Cafe offers plenty of good veggie options, soup to sandwiches. The cafe opens at 6:30 a.m., and breakfasts include homemade oatmeal, muffins, smoothies, breakfast wraps and bagels.

Munch, invigorated by all this healthy food, started back to the office at a jaunty clip. One block from Amazon is the tiny Sisters' Brew, the coffee shop Munch stepped into to purchase a rich cappuccino and a cookie-soft anise biscotti, just because it's nice to see an independent shop operating on a street lined with chains (Amazon Cafe included; the franchise extends all along the East Coast, from eastern Pennsylvania to North Carolina). Sisters' Brew has lined its sidewalk with cafe chairs, if you want to sit outside to escape the shop's Rat Pack soundtrack.

Passing through Market Square, Munch noticed another change: the green shine of Buon Giorno's neon sign is obscured by a flapping canvas banner that reads "Cafe Society." What, in the name of Christopher Columbus, is this? thought Munch. All the Buon Giornos are reliably good; the Market Square location is special, with its murals, popular outdoor tables and, especially, its liquor license.

Yet the same cruets of oil and vinegar, the same sticky menus, the same plastic-covered basket of bread stand at the ready on every table. Stepping into the balsamic gloom of the cafe, Munch inquired.

"Oh, we're still Buon Giorno," said one of the many attractive waitresses. "We just put up the 'Cafe Society' sign so people would realize we're open at night."

Aha, thought Munch, who later stopped by for a cracker-thin, saltless Margherita pizza and a perfect fresh lemonade: summer distilled into a pint glass, over ice.

Amazon Cafe is at 555 Grant St. (412-434-6830). Sisters' Brew is at 501 Grant St. (412-281-3381).