Mein Menu, part 4: Chinese Express
"Chinese Express: $1.45." That's what it says in large neon writing in the window.
We are intrigued.
It took us a while to actually try it out though. I think it was Craig and I who first stopped in. It was a Wednesday night. In the Saykally group, Wednesday nights mean group meeting, which means free food. And when you're a first-year graduate student, opportunities for free food are very important. If you've never tried being a first-year graduate student in Chemistry, you may not fully understand how important opportunities for free food are. But they are. Trust me.
The thing is, this time we didn't get any food at group meeting. I don't remember why... it may have been a special guest talk or something like that. The important thing is that Craig and I were left without our free food option for the evening, and this was not cool. However, after spending most of group meeting thinking about the lack of food rather than actually listening to the talk, we felt we had come up with the solution. "Dude... Chinese Express?" "Yes."
The place is just a few blocks south of campus and is very tiny. When you walk in, there are newspaper clippings on the walls in which the cheapness and quality of the food of Chinese Express are lauded. If you come during lunchtime, the place is often filled with construction workers and the like, all of whom have the slightly smug look of those who are in the know about the best and cheapest places to eat. Of course, we did not come during lunchtime... more like 9 PM.
It turns out that the $1.45 is a little misleading. That is the price for a single menu item, of which the choices are clearly presented in a buffet-style counter. Most meals are actually "combo deals"... for instance, 3 menu items and a soda. You point out what you want, and they heap it onto a plate for you. The overall price for a meal is still very cheap though. Also, we had inadvertently discovered another advantage of Chinese Epxress... if you come close enough to closing time, they will give you a significant amount of extra food. "You want some of this?" the guy behind the counter asks me, after I've already ordered my meal. He also offers two or three more things to me. I don't think I need to tell you what the answer to those questions were.
Anyway, Craig and I find a table on campus and set to eating our incredibly large amounts of Chinese food. I got the Chow Mein as well as a bunch of other things. How is the Chow Mein? Not very good. The other dishes fare better though, and for the price we certainly weren't complaining. Because if you can't have free food at group meeting, large amounts of extremely cheap Chinese food is the next best thing.
We are intrigued.
It took us a while to actually try it out though. I think it was Craig and I who first stopped in. It was a Wednesday night. In the Saykally group, Wednesday nights mean group meeting, which means free food. And when you're a first-year graduate student, opportunities for free food are very important. If you've never tried being a first-year graduate student in Chemistry, you may not fully understand how important opportunities for free food are. But they are. Trust me.
The thing is, this time we didn't get any food at group meeting. I don't remember why... it may have been a special guest talk or something like that. The important thing is that Craig and I were left without our free food option for the evening, and this was not cool. However, after spending most of group meeting thinking about the lack of food rather than actually listening to the talk, we felt we had come up with the solution. "Dude... Chinese Express?" "Yes."
The place is just a few blocks south of campus and is very tiny. When you walk in, there are newspaper clippings on the walls in which the cheapness and quality of the food of Chinese Express are lauded. If you come during lunchtime, the place is often filled with construction workers and the like, all of whom have the slightly smug look of those who are in the know about the best and cheapest places to eat. Of course, we did not come during lunchtime... more like 9 PM.
It turns out that the $1.45 is a little misleading. That is the price for a single menu item, of which the choices are clearly presented in a buffet-style counter. Most meals are actually "combo deals"... for instance, 3 menu items and a soda. You point out what you want, and they heap it onto a plate for you. The overall price for a meal is still very cheap though. Also, we had inadvertently discovered another advantage of Chinese Epxress... if you come close enough to closing time, they will give you a significant amount of extra food. "You want some of this?" the guy behind the counter asks me, after I've already ordered my meal. He also offers two or three more things to me. I don't think I need to tell you what the answer to those questions were.
Anyway, Craig and I find a table on campus and set to eating our incredibly large amounts of Chinese food. I got the Chow Mein as well as a bunch of other things. How is the Chow Mein? Not very good. The other dishes fare better though, and for the price we certainly weren't complaining. Because if you can't have free food at group meeting, large amounts of extremely cheap Chinese food is the next best thing.
posted by Waltorious at 11:21 AM
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