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