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Tag: Food

  • Unboxing Two MRE Cases: MRE Case A (10/27 Inspection Date) and MRE Halal Case (6/27)

    I decided to dig into these two MRE cases that I bought last year: an MRE Case A (Menus 1-12) with an inspection date of 10/27 and an MRE Halal Meals case with an inspection date of 6/27.

    Both temperature reaction stickers were in good condition with no center shading.

    As shown below, I was surprised to see that the cases were not sized the same. The Halal Meals case was about 16 5/8″ long, but the standard MRE case A was about an inch shorter at 15 5/8″. The compression of the standard MRE meals explains the smaller box size, but as I’ll explain below, this spoiled some meal components in the standard case.

    MRE Case A (10/27)

    I was disappointed by this case for two reasons. First, there was one substitution from Case B menu options as listed below instead of my favorite: Menu 6: Beef Taco. Second, compacting some MRE menus to save space caused those menu’s jelly packs to explode and spoil those individual meal components–thankfully, there the contamination was limited to just those items and not the entree.

    This Case A had these menus and substitutions:

    • Menu 1: Chili with Beans
    • Menu 2: Chicken Stir Fry
    • Menu 3: Chicken Egg Noodles and Vegetables in Sauce
    • Menu 4: Spaghetti with Beef and Sauce
    • Menu 5: Chicken Chunks, White, Cooked
    • Menu 7: Beef Strips in a Savory Tomato Sauce
    • Menu 8: Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
    • Menu 9: Beef Stew
    • Menu 10: Chili and Macaroni
    • Menu 11: Pizza Slice, Cheese
    • Menu 12: Elbow Macaroni in Tomato Sauce
    • Menu 22: Beef Goulash

    As shown below, this was my first case with combination brown plastic with clear plastic backing. Perhaps this helps with inspections?

    I’ve already eaten the Beef Goulash, Chicken Chunks, Beef Strips in Tomato Sauce, Chicken Egg Noodles, and Meatballs in Marinara Sauce. All were tasty, but I did add extra tomato sauce to the Beef Strips and Meatballs, both of which I ate as a soup with bread.

    MRE Halal Meals (6/27)

    Each menu in the MRE Halal case was in a clear plastic bag. These are the menus included:

    • Halal Chicken Stew
    • Halal Chicken and Vegetables
    • Halal Beef Stew
    • Halal Saag Chole with Lamb
    • Halal Lentil Stew with Lamb
    • Halal Cherry Rolled Oats with Almond Flavor
    • Halal Vegetable Barley Stew with Lamb
    • Halal Lentils and Masala Sauce
    • Halal Saag Chole
    • Halal Jalfrazi with Lamb
    • Halal Beef Goulash
    • Halal Vegetable Barley Stew

    I’ve already eaten the Saag Chole (with Italian Breadsticks from a standard MRE case menu) and the Cheery Rolled Oats with Almond Flavor. I enjoyed both very much!

    I’m looking forward to trying the other Halal menus as the reputation of these having good, strong flavors is warranted.

  • Kyoto Express in Brunswick, Georgia Is My Favorite Americanized Japanese Food

    a white plate with plain fried rice, fried zucchini, teriyaki chicken, hibachi shrimp and broccoli,

    Another favorite restaurant of mine in Brunswick, Georgia is Kyoto Express. It carries on the tradition of Kyoto Restaurant (lovingly called Kyoto’s) that used to be the go-to celebration hibachi restaurant on St. Simon’s Island, which featured large hibachi grills you sat around, twirling knives, explosive fire cooking, and good times. After Kyoto Restaurant closed, one of the chefs opened Joe’s Japanese next to Glynn Place Mall, which recreated the Kyoto Restaurant experience without the same kind of atmosphere as the original. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long, but thankfully, Kyoto Express opened as a quick alternative without the show and atmosphere but with the same good food. It is located in the Publix shopping center next to the Super Wal-Mart.

    I went there several times during my last trip to Brunswick. My go-to meal is the teriyaki chicken and hibachi shrimp dinner (above). I also like the teriyaki chicken and hibachi steak combo dinner (below). If I’m real hungry, I’ll add on a side of extra veggies (stir-fried zucchini, onions, and sesame seeds).

    There are two key elements that keep me coming back to Kyoto Express besides the overall quality of the food. The first is the way that they make stir-fried rice. It’s simple. They begin with oil on the grill. Then dump the rice. After working it a little, they add a lot of butter while working it over the grill’s surface and then toss in some soy sauce for flavor and color. The second element are the sauces. While most folks tend to like the “white sauce,” I don’t. I only use two sauces: mustard sauce (a concoction I’m guessing of thick mustard and soy sauce) and ginger sauce (both seen below). I use the ginger sauce for shrimp and steak. I put mustard sauce on everything else–chicken, veggies, and rice.

    several plates: one plate of plain fried rice, hibachi steak and mushrooms, teriyaki chicken, stirfried zucchini, a bowl with extra stir fried veggies, and a small plate with three cups of mustard sauce and one cup of ginger sauce

  • Pizza Inn Thin Crust and a Box of Grandy’s French Fries is a Delicious Combination

    A family favorite meal when I was young was a box of french fries from Grandy’s and a thin-crust pizza from Pizza Inn. When I make my way back to Brunswick, I try to get this combination at least once. However, this past trip I went four times during my two week trip! Since my parents live about 30 miles from Brunswick now, my dad and I would eat our pizzas and fries in the car–sometimes in the Marshes of Glynn Overlook Park and sometimes in the back of the Pizza Inn parking lot. Nowadays, my dad prefers a double helping of hamburger on a pan pizza, and I get a handful of different toppings (hamburger, pepperoni, black olives, spinach, mushrooms, and onions) on my thin-crust pie. If you find yourself in Brunswick, both restaurants are recommended!

  • Amtrak’s 97 Silver Meteor from NYP to JSP in June 2025

    roomette side shot

    A few weeks ago, I rode Amtrak’s Silver Meteor 97 train from New York City to Jesup, Georgia. As I’ve reported before here and here, it was an enjoyable experience and recommended.

    I used this overnight journey to catch up on writing several letters, which I mailed from the Jesup post office after I arrived. I also made use of the on-board power to run my laptop to watch some shows and do some light Internet work. One problem on this trip was unreliable WiFi, so I relied on my phone’s limited data plan.

    The roomette was much quieter than on my last trip, which made my sleep much more restful. There was a delay at some point during the night, which made us almost three hours late (we were still on time when I had gone to bed around 1:00am). I’ve learned that delays should be expected.

    Since I was traveling alone, I asked my car’s steward if I could have dinner service in my room. I ordered the steak dinner with chocolate cake and a Heineken beer (one alcoholic beverage is included with the meal service).

    This particular car was like one that I had ridden on before with the roomette having a sink in the room, but the toilet was located at the end of the hallway by the exit. My roomette’s sink worked very well with the hot and cold water dispensing properly when I needed to wash my hands or face.

    Here are some pictures from inside my train car and roomette on this trip.

    interior hallway of a roomette train car
    interior hallway of a roomette train car
    train roomette doorway
    roomette sink and steps for the upper bunk
    right side seat with bags
    left side seat
    table folded out holding a writing tablet, pen, and laptop computer, train tracks are seen outside the window
    in-car dinner service, dinner packages are wrapped in foil and plastic
    beer in plastic cup and salad
    steak dinner with mashed potatoes, green beans, and carrots,

  • Remember to Ventilate Your Flameless Ration Heater When In an Enclosed Space

    water-activated mre heater warming an elbow macaroni in tomato sauce entree inclined on a window's sill and next to open window

    While its instructions state that “When ten or more heaters are used inside a vehicle or shelter, ensure the ventilation system is operating or a top hatch or door is open,” it gives me peace of mind to let my flameless ration heater (a water-activated magnesium, iron, and salt chemical heating device for MREs) do its thing on my supper next to a cracked window when I’m indoors as part of its reaction produces hydrogen. Also, it pays to remember that these things get HOT!