"We are social beings, and I think once in a while a lunch like above is healthy to keep us sane. But, doing this everyday for years at a stretch, is insanity !"
This is just bizarre to me. I'm not the worlds most extroverted person, but creating and maintaining social relationships at work has been the single most powerful thing I have ever done to: Learn new things, advance my career, form mentoring relationships (both as a mentor or mentee), try new foods (one of the great joys in my life)etc....
If you aren't getting anything valuable from lunch with other people, you are doing it wrong.