Pot Luck

Rating: OK
Meal:  Lunch
Price: 1200 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Spaghetti with cream sauce stew
English Menu:Yes
Smoking:No

I have ridden and driven past Pot Luck too many times to count, especially back when I used to live in Kurihama and ride my bike most days to work.  It is right on my commute.  Now I live so close to base that bringing my bike is actually a bit more of a bother than it is worth most days.  I can walk in about as much time as it takes to ride, and if I ride, I have all the gear and manhandling of the bike down the elevator to do.

But the weather is finally turning from "jungle" setting to "pleasant."  Yesterday it didn't get much over 24 C and today it looks to be hitting 25 C and sunny.  Since Tuesdays and Thursdays are my new "go out for lunch" times, I thought I'd bring my bike in today and use it to reach a bit further afield and review a new place.

White stew on spaghetti

Over by Womble gate there is a block of buildings that is sandwiched between the base and a majorish road.  Within this block, there are several small restaurants that I don't get to very often.  I've already reviewed one (Uchida), and today I wanted to review the ramen shop next to it, but it didn't open until 11:30am and I was there at about 11:05am.  So I kept riding to see if Pot Luck might be open.  It was, but barely.  I got special authorization to come and sit down.

Earl Grey Tea

Their menu is quite simple and their schtick is a cafe that specializes in Navy Curry.  I didn't feel much like curry today, so I went for the other "set meal" which was the White Sauce Stew on Spaghetti noodles.  Not quite sure what it would be, I did know it would come with a salad and a drink and it was a bit spendy at 1200 yen.

Warning!  The only bathroom is a squatty!

The salad was nothing special really, and the dish itself, while good enough, wasn't all that great.  The "stew" consisted of a creamy sauce (fine by me) and potatoes and carrots that seemed somewhat from a can (though perhaps they were fresh).  There were a couple of tiny pieces of meat in there, but hardly any.  Overall, a bit disappointing really.

Then the tea came.  I had asked for hot tea, expecting the usual tiny cup of hot black tea they serve typically.  Instead, I got a small pot of earl grey (the tag said Ahmadi from London...neat).  I'm not a huge earl grey fan, but I like hot flavored liquid with milk and sugar, so I figured it would be fine. There were 3 cups of tea in that teapot!  It was very pleasant to sit there and drink my tea slowly as I passed the rest of the lunch hour.

While I was there, a small family came in and all ordered the Navy Curry set (also 1200 yen).  It wasn't huge, but the smells emanating from their plates were delicious!  I was regretting my choice and looking forward to coming back already.  Also, one of them had the coffee for their drink.  When I heard the grinder spin up, I knew this place probably knew what they were doing.  Sure enough, the delicious smell of coffee affirmed that intuition.

This place is a Cafe with an emphasis on that aspect I think.  For that, it is quite nice.  The meal I had today was just Ok, but I hope to come back some time and see if their curry merits a Very Good.  And to try the coffee.