Wednesday, February 3, 2010

the regular

In the past I've had long-term field assignments in very small towns or very depressed areas; places with a minimal selection of places to eat. In those situations, you tend to become a regular fast.

It's nice to have people recognize you and know what you're going to order (as much as possible - honestly, if I'm eating at the same place more often than twice per week, I'm not ordering the same thing).

One of my fondest memories is of a tiny bar we used to eat at nightly during one of my long-term projects. The place had a two-burner kitchen that was likely not up to code, and we had a big field crew, so we made up most of their business. The field manager would call up mid-afternoon, tell the owner how many folks would be showing up and any special requests, and she'd have dinner waiting for us - something different every night. It was way better than anything I would have made...

5 comments:

A Life Long Scholar said...

Do these places not have grocery stores? (Or can you not bring food with you when you go?) I'm willing to eat restaurant food four or five times a year, if I must, but mostly I prefer the total control of eating food I make myself (and, usually, less time elapses between when I start cooking and when I start eating than would elapse between when I place an order and when it is served.)

Short Geologist said...

The only thing that gets old faster than restaurant food is frozen dinners. I almost never have access to anything more than a mini fridge and a microwave (if I'm lucky).

A Life Long Scholar said...

lol! I never, ever eat boxed or packaged food, and my "kitchen" here in Europe consists of a mini fridge, and two burner electric portable hotplate the apartment came with, a microwave I purchased, and a toaster oven my boss has loaned to me. Being one of those people who is only hungry during the day, I tend to do most of my eating at my office, where I have only a microwave and have to keep my food cold in a tiny portable insulated lunch box thing which, if I add a small bottle or two of frozen water, does the trick nicely.

It is amazing how many yummy, healthy, foods one can prepare with these limited facilities. I keep things like cous cous and polenta, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, and a few spices in my office to supplement my meals, and bring fresh veg to chop and add to the bowl just before I microwave it. There is an amazing variety one can obtain from combining simple ingredients like that, and total prep time is usually five to ten minutes. Tastes *way* better than that highly sugared and salted ick that one can purchase "ready to eat"...

A Life Long Scholar said...

(note: none of my comments are meant as criticism for how you do things; it is just me being surprised, yet again, that others do things so differently from the way I do them. I am also sharing what I do, on the off chance that something I say gives you (or one of your readers) an idea for a third option that neither of us have yet contemplated...)

Short Geologist said...

I always appreciate comments! One of the purposes of this blog is to see how common my experiences actually are.