The Hungry Reader - Kelly - with opinions from Okinawa Japan

Kelly, a USMC wife from California, is the winner of the Hungry Reader contest for the week. Go here to enter your opinion for your chance to win!

Thanks, Kelly, for your opinions on some of the restaurants in Okinawa, Japan!
Your opinion will help people who may be living in Okinawa now, or in the future!
Congratulations!



The Hungry Reader
Summary:
Kelly talks about four restaurants in Okinawa, Japan near the Marine Corps Installations Kinser and Foster.

CoCo Ichiban-ya
Your Name: Kelly
Military Post the Restaurant is near: Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan
Miles from Military Post: About 1 mile
Restaurant Name: CoCo Ichiban-ya
Location: Chatan-cho, Okinawa, Japan
What You or Others love about this Restaurant: You can customize your dish, and their customer service is refreshing! Free, ice-cold water.

Anything else you would like to share about this restaurant, or yourself:
There's a lot to tell about "CoCo's" as it's typically called around the island of Okinawa. You're greeted with a friendly smile and a "Welcome!" in Japanese when you enter the restaurant. If they aren't too busy, you can sit where you like. You can customize your food to your liking. They offer Japanese curry - a much milder, more sweet version of regular Indian curry in levels of spice. If you don't like spice, you can go with mild or allergenic. Allergenic is for folks sensitive to spice, or children. Then there is "regular" spice. Not spicy at all, in my opinion, but your taste may vary :). After those, you have Levels 1 through 10. It's recommended that you try to at least Level 3 before venturing in to the world of Level 10. You can choose to have vegetables, cheese, a variety of meats, and your size of rice. You'll always get a fresh, ice-cold pitcher of water when you get to your table. CoCo's has a flavor you'll never forget.

Sam's Anchor Inn
Military Post the Restaurant is near: MCAS Futenma and Camp Kinser MCB
Miles from Military Post: About 4 miles
Restaurant Name: Sam's Anchor Inn
Location: Ginowan City, Okinawa, Japan
What You or Others love about this Restaurant: The atmosphere and delicious food

Anything else you would like to share about this restaurant, or yourself:
If you want a fun, romantic dinner date - head to Sam's Anchor Inn. You'll feel like you're in a ship! It's not your typical "teppanyaki/hibachi" style restaurant. Customer service, as with nearly anywhere in Okinawa, is incredible. You can choose from steak or seafood and a variety of delicious non-alcoholic or alcoholic beverages. It is a bit on the pricey side, but what do you think that overseas cost of living allowance is for? ;)

OnDish
Military Post the Restaurant is near: Camp Kinser MCB
Miles from Military Post: About 2 miles
Restaurant Name: OnDish
Location: Urasoe City, Okinawa Japan
What you or other love about this restaurant: The food is great!

Anything else you would like to share about this restaurant, or yourself:
Now that I'm back in the USA, I think OnDish reminds me of Sizzler. You order your food and your main dish comes to your table, but you take care of the desserts, salad, and soups yourself. There is a bar area where you can sit and order drinks, too. Their food is always great!

Arin Krin Garlic Restaurant
Military Post the restaurant is near: Camp Kinser MCB
Miles from military post: Less than 1 mile
Restaurant Name: Arin Krin Garlic Restaurant
Location: Urasoe City, Okinawa, Japan
What you or others love about this restaurant: The GARLIC! Garlic everything! Except garlic water or garlic ice cream.

Anything else you'd like to share about this restaurant or yourself:
If you love garlic, go here! They have a wide variety of dishes at very reasonable prices! It's most fun to go with friends, order a bunch of different plates and share. That's one of the main ideas behind the restaurant. Any of their garlic-based dishes are incredible. We usually ordered the garlic pasta (a huge dish and wonderful to share), garlic pizza, and garlic potato wedges, salted to perfection. They also had other pastas to choose from, chicken, beef, and vegetables. Very kid friendly, too!


Photos starting from top:
Kelly outside of Sam's Anchor Inn
Stewed Chicken Curry & Vegetables from CoCo's
Children's Meal at CoCo's
Outside of CoCo's Restaurant
Fancy drink in Sam's Anchor Inn
Hall of business cards in Sam's Anchor Inn
Wall art in Arin Krin
Menu and chopsticks in Arin Krin

Have you been here? Tell us about your experience eating at these restaurants!

The Four Winds, Home of the Ranger Burger in Cusseta GA

The Four Winds, better known as Ranger Burger, is famous for their varied menu of burgers. Their burgers cater to almost every taste. From mushrooms, bacon, and onion rings, to fried pickles and ham slices. There's plenty to pick from. All of them have fun Army names like Ranger Burger and Sniper Burger, each having their own unique ingredients. My husband and I really liked their fried pickles and the bacon cheeseburger. They also have home cooking, typical of the South, but my husband and I never tried anything but their burgers. One thing I do miss is the fried pickles and sweet tea, because it's a lot rarer to find those here in Oklahoma!

If you're ever stationed at Fort Benning, GA, you will most likely hear all about "Ranger Burger" from the Soliders around post. If you're willing to drive about 11 miles for lunch, you should definitely eat here. It is located in Cusetta, GA, in the country. Try it out, and let us know what you thought!


Have you eaten here? Please comment and let us know what your opinion is!
You can also email thetravelingwife@gmail.com to enter in The Hungry Reader contest.

Good Mexican Restaurants in the Lawton OK Area

I've been to many Mexican Restaurants in the Lawton area since moving here because my husband and I are huge fans of the cuisine. We met in Texas so we've had really good Mexican food in the past and are always hunting for more wherever we go. In GA, we found two that we were regulars in. Here are some of the Mexican Restaurants in OK and GA I've tried:

Arturro's in Anadarko, OK.
Try the fried fish, it's excellent! Also, the quesadillas are delicious and perfect for a hefty appetite.

Mexican & More in Elgin, OK.
This place was too expensive for sub-par food.

Temaczal in Chickasha, OK.
I like this place pretty well. I think my favorite here is their pickled veggies and chimichanga.

Los Tres Amigos in Lawton, OK.
They have really good carne asada and salsa. My mom even asked the owner for the recipe, and he was happy to share!

Chelino's in Norman, OK.
I really like this place's tortillas and cheese dip.

Los Amigos in Columbus, GA.
Very good!

El Vaquero in Columbus, GA.
Another of our favorites.


Please let me know if you have a Mexican Food suggestion for me to try!
Please comment if you've eaten at any of these places!

My Search for Great New York Style Pizza

It's hard to top my favorite pizza, Brother's Pizza in Spring, Texas. Of all the NY Style I've had, admittedly without going to New York, they're the best. I love pizza, and am always on the lookout for "real" NY Style wherever I am. Here are some of the places I've tried recently, and what I thought of them.

Napoli's in Chickasha, OK.
They had great pizza the first time I tried it, and the second time I found it doughy and mediocre.

Luigi's Italian Restaurant in Lawton, OK.
Their pizza was pretty good. I liked it a lot better than Napoli's, for sure. They also have great lasagna, and at their prices, you can't beat it.

Luigi's Gyros and Pizza Express in Lawton, OK.
This branch is owned by the same people as Luigi's Italian. They specialize in pizza and gyros to go, and although my Mom and I found their Gyros to be good, their pizza left us feeling apathetic.
It is possible their cook is not as trained in the "art" of pizza making, and perhaps giving it another try is in order.

Hideaway Pizza in Norman, OK.
My extended family loves Hideaway, and on numerous occasions they purchase it for our gatherings. I have to say, I have tried it many times but haven't found a pizza that was my favorite yet. I wouldn't say I am picky, because pepperoni is hard to screw up. I just haven't found anything to "wow" me here. That is not to say it isn't excellent pizza. Obviously I've heard great things from my family as well as others, so it's got to have something for you.

New York Pizza CO. in Norman, OK.
This is in my opinion, the best I've had in Oklahoma. Granted, I've only been around Lawton and OKC, but I thoroughly enjoyed this pizza place. It is a bar and pizza restaurant, and it specializes in the large slices of ooey gooey goodness that I love. Pizza and root beer can't be beat.

The Mellow Mushroom in Columbus, GA.
We really enjoyed the pizza and atmosphere in the Mellow Mushroom. Get ready for a trip!

And if your wallet's in a crunch, you can always order from Little Caesars $5 per pizza deal. It's a hit with the soldiers for sure. But you get what you pay for.

Trivet's Family Restaurant

Trivet's is one of the first restaurants my Husband tried when coming to Oklahoma to find a house before we moved here. He and his mother enjoyed some country cooking and delicious pies. He immediately called me to tell me about it.

At Trivet's, the food isn't amazing or outstanding. It's just a nice place to eat when you're hungry for some home cooking. My favorite thing to order here is the Richard's Grand Potato. It's a large baked potato with cooked onions, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and beef roast. I really like it, and sometimes it hits the spot when I want a hot meal.

They also have excellent pies, including coconut cream, pecan, cherry, and chocolate. All homemade. My favorite is the pecan pie. And people like chewy vs. creamy pie, and their pecan pie is creamy.

Trivet's is located in Elgin, OK in the middle of the main street going into town. You take the turnpike to the Elgin exit and then turn right and just follow the road into town.

Comment with pictures of yourself eating here! We would love to hear your experience at the restaurant. You might just make it on the front page of the blog!

And remember,
If it's not good, don't eat it!

Meers Country Store and Restaurant

My Family and I outside of Meers.



The Meers Country Store and Restaurant isn't much of a store, but it is a great restaurant. It has received many awards and high marks for it's Longhorn Burgers, and in my opinion has the best Banana Pudding ever. My husband and I were told about this restaurant by someone who had previously lived here.

Our first venture to Meers was a failure. We mapped the location on Mapquest, and drove for what felt like forever in the middle of nowhere until we finally turned around. We both agreed, there's no possible way there's a restaurant out here! We ended up eating at a sub-par restaurant close to the lake and I wound up with food poisoning. Ick!

We finally decided to go out there again, and lo and behold, they really were out in the middle of nowhere! After driving about 25 miles from our home, we arrived to a dead end right to the Restaurant. It's over 100 years old, and practically falling apart.

After we tried their Meers Burger, we were hooked. Since our first visit, we've taken our parents, friends, and siblings for a Meers Burger as well. We suggest it to all of our friends and anyone we meet who is new to the area.

Meers is located close to the Wichita Mountains, Mount Scott (the only mountain in OK!), and the Wildlife Refuge. There is a really neat Museum at the Visitors center, only a few miles from the restaurant if you head down the left side of the road when you're facing the front of Meers. If you head out there, take pictures of the beautiful scenery! You might see a buffalo along the way!

You can read and see a picture of the Meers Burger Menu Here.
You can read the story of the restaurant and the town of Meers Here.





Comment here with pictures of yourself eating here! We would love to hear your experience at the restaurant. You might just make it on the front page of the blog!

And remember,
If it's not good, don't eat it!