Work Eats

   There are some pretty good places near where I work to get food, including the usual fast food staples. I try not to eat at my desk, but sometimes I just need to finish up what's on the tasker and that requires a short drive and pickup to go. A couple of lunch meals I recently had seem to be my go-to's lately.

The fried rice pictured above from one place has wok hei going on. The flavor has that classic taste that can only be replicated in kitchens where the wok is the primary means of cooking. For this, I can call it in and in ten minutes, it's ready for pickup. Literally my drive out to the place. The owner even knows my name. 

My main go-to is a Filipino restaurant that my parents used to dine at when they lived here, and became a regular meet-up-for-lunch place when I worked at McChord AFB. The usual staples from Pancit and Adobo, Lumpia, Fried Fish, Pinakbet, Mechado and Dinaguan to name a few ...all the good stuff, are here. Simple order-eat-go place. Nothing fancy, and just good comfort food for me. This pic doesn't do justice to the flavor of the meal. Everything is good here. The owner is a veteran and opened the place up over twenty years ago shortly after he retired from the Army. What I like about the place is that I see young and old folks, retired, active duty, reserve and national guard Airmen and Soldiers, all ethnicities - dining and enjoying the food. 

When I feel the need to have something different, I go to another place that offers meatballs as the entree. Yep. When I first drove by there I thought, 'how is that going to stay in business?' But after seeing it featured on one of our local TV stations' evening magazines, apparently people like meatballs. So I thought I'd give it a try.

If I'm feeling the need for comfort food on a level of different sorts, I go here. The meatballs are flavorful and not dry, and they even have bacon-wrapped meatballs, like the ones in the picture. The green beans and fries are just right to pair with the entree and the whole meal is very filling. 

I got the vibe since my first visit that many customers are pouring in because of the place being featured on the TV magazine. I was there the day before yesterday and the owner was working the line and explaining to the couple in front of me how the entrees and sides can be paired up. She was also on TV. Very happy and even asked me if it was my first time there (she wasn't working the last visits I stopped by). When I paid for my meal she said, 'see you for dinner!' 

If I want to take the fried rice up another notch, I drive out further to a Thai restaurant I've been going to since my uniformed days. The cucumber for texture and the cilantro for heat are just a few things going on here. Their curry and spring roll dishes are excellent also. 

And if I I'm feeling the need really take it literally further, I go here and get the Mahi plate lunch. Ok - just kidding...sort of. But I did make it a point to go somewhat regularly when we lived in Hawaii. It seems to be the lunch spot for both locals and tourists, and I remember the first time I went there for lunch on how many people in uniform were in line to order. I had a concern when I initially went there for lunch at work that even coming out from Hickam AFB was pushing the lunch clock to the max. But aside from us Air Force types, the other uniformed folks were Sailors or Marines. If they were coming from Pearl Harbor or Camp Smith, that was even more time used than what I had for lunch, so that made it ok. Yeah, lame excuse. 

One time with the family after dining in, I was the last one out the door and behind me was none other than the owner/chef Nico walking behind me. I did a double-take and said 'great place and food!' or something to that effect. He smiled and thanked me, and that place we still go to when we're back on the island. ~