I've been walking by a place on 3rd avenue almost every day for months and months, with a $4.35 lunch special advertised on the board outside... but was wary to give it a try, given the location - amidst social services centers, bail bondsmen, and smoke shops, and across the street from a giant hole in the ground. Today, I was feeling especially brave, and decided that I couldn't ignore a frugal lunch staring me in the face any longer. Today, I walked confidently into Happy Garden Chinese Cuisine at 615 3rd Ave, between Cherry & James Streets.
I went to Happy Garden for the "Rice Bowl" (aka the "Happy Bowl") - a 5" x 5" biodegradable container filled with steamed rice, fried rice, or chow mein noodles, topped with your choice of several hot dishes, like broccoli beef and sweet & sour chicken. For some reason, I couldn't say "No" to the day-glo red glaze of the sweet & sour chicken, which I ordered over steamed rice. In truth, my choice was because that tub in their steam table was mostly full, suggesting that they recently filled it with a new batch - a good strategy for navigating steam tables safely.
For just $4.35 + tax, I enjoyed a decent sized bowl of rice and chicken - plenty to satisfy my lunchtime cravings. I don't know if I'd call breaded, deep-fried chicken doused in sugary glaze, over bleached white rice the healthiest lunch, but it offers some variety at a good price.
(Frugal Fridays is a weekly series dedicated to finding Seattle lunch spots where you can walk in with a $5 bill and walk out with a fulfilling, preferably healthy, lunch. If you have suggestions of places in the Seattle area with a great lunch for under $5 after tax, post a comment - I'd love the help.)
No comments:
Post a Comment