European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 17, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Review Chow that is main in a town by sgt ret Clement Lounder now the Buck is beginning to Ike in in the Palozey us americans living Over Here Are looking Al a moral question of titanic dimensions. Thai question is should we be secretly wishing Hal the Dollar will go Back up so we can maybe buy one of them big bummed Audi turbos and enjoy the Fine life Over Here or should we be suffering a Little to help our country get Strong again and whip them Island nations trying to Hammerlock our manufacturers simply put should we be longing for a new set of Crystal or worrying about preserving the american Way of life that s what we re faced with friends and i got to say i do not know what the answer is. I do know though that it is possible to get some gum tingling Chow Over Here without laying out Cash in amounts that is going to make you sigh and moan and Start looking for a stateside Swap. And As a True believer in the american Way yours truly is going to occasionally Point these places out to you. Those of you who can stomach chinese cooking might try out a line but downright cheap Little place in Kaiserslautern that Tony Nola and me lunched at the other week. The meal was actually a business luncheon because Tony is a seller of insurance one of them Guys that hangs around the front Gates of military posts wearing double Nils and handing out free calendars and inviting everyone to fish Fries at the Rod and gun club. You know the Type. Tony s major problem is that he is such a quiet retiring Type that most people Call him shy and not Many folks seem willing to buy a policy that right there at the Bottom of All the paperwork says shy can t say As i blame them. Taking this Little problem into account shy probably ranks a the worst insurance Salesman in Europe and that is no easy Honor. The truth of the matter is that he has t collected a Premium in so Long that he has started picking on his friends a group of people Hal includes myself and Aboul iwo others. Shy Mcl me at this chinese place in downtown k town wearing what looked to be his Best Gonna make the fire or of the China restaurant mandarin in kaisers Aii Forn. The decorations arc your traditional Tacky. A Sale outfit Lime Green Leisure suit wingtips and even though it raining sunglasses. And As is his style his hair had that Jerry Lewis at the telethon Shine comes from frequent and very serious use of a Petroleum product. He might As Well have just stamped the word Geek on his forehead if you get my Drift. Now there arc a few things you got to expect when you to out for chinese food. The first of those things is that the place is going to be named either Lade or mandarin or peking. These Are the Only names chinese restaurant owners Are allowed to use under the terms of an agreement thy sign when they leave the Mainland i think. Another thing you la find is that every chinese restaurant is decorated with your Sarno assortment of Gold and red Oriental stuff made i m convinced by a company in new Jersey. This place in a town obeys All Lam rules. In is called the mandarin restaurant and it is loaded with he full complement of Gold plaster dragons and carved pagodas and smiling Buddhas and those paper lamps covered with what looks like High school graduation tassels the kind you usually Finch hanging on Young people s rear View mirrors. Of particular note Here is a monster of ,1 chinese nature scene at least As big As a Sheet of ply Board which the owner claims is carved Wood but which i am convinced is really High Impact plastic. It is interesting nonetheless. Like most chinese restaurants the mandarin offers at iras 99 different dishes not counting combination meals like the Happy family dish for two or three persons or the things that have been pencilled in like your "9a shrimps we decided to Sample chinese shrimps Wilh chop suey Sweet and sour pork and eight treasures in hoi sauce. And since shy was buying i also went for some Fried won ton and a Spring Roll. What the hey right ? after we d ordered one a3, a g-9, an eight a 51, a 10 and iwo Beers shy Gol right Down to business offering me an engraved disposable lighter and a Little plastic shirt pocket protector Wilh Itsvo pens in it. I was still trying to get the pens to write when the won ton arrived. The mandarin serves the kind made with really big sheets of dough so the whole dish son of looks like a pile of handkerchiefs in need of a Little bleach. Tasty though and served with the Chunky kind of Sweet and sour sauce Thal sol pineapples and other Little fruits and stuff in in. Like i said very tasty. By the time i d finished the Spring Roll also very Good and jammed pack with All kinds of inter Sling stuff shy had the pens writing and was trying to figure out How to turn up the flame on that lighter. I went right for the Rice and the i Ighel treasures Whit h was very Good except they had made a substitution Lor the shrimp making in seven treasures and i Lam. It was Slit As Good As i be half in and Llic Lull was clone exactly perfect. Ditto for Tho Sweet and sout pork done Wilh Little croquettes of deep Fried pork swimming around with the pineapple chunks and the shrimp chop suey which had them Large shrimps slay kind of Cruz Why even Afler they be been slopping around in the suey sauce for some period of time. Shy Only picked at his food i am sad to re Poi i because in the end i had Lole a him i already carrying $75,000 Worth of term coverage in conjunction with a solid Little mix of Mulu als and some tax frees. Never forget i us old sergeants Are not As dumb As we look. Being a Good spoil though. Shy did let me keep the pens and the lighter. On the Way Back to his office we worked out our rating. For barters the mandarin serves Chow that is main but at minor prices. Our Bill was just Over $20 and i could t have squeezed Down one More Glass Noodle if you understand what i m saying. Also they got daily special lunches Hal run around $3 each and which Are served really Asl. Plus they Gol take out and Home Deli cry and they got a Bowling Alley in the basement. Are we talking full Seiske restaurant Here or what ? finally the Ingli h menu has Only four mistakes in it like priced Chic Ken which is pretty Good considering it probably went from chinese to German to English and Ihal is enough to foul up Damn near anybody. The China restaurant mandarin is Al 17 Pariser Straw in 0631-21210 for reservations take out or Home delivery. Shy and me give in three pointy lingers. Ratings s x i j 2 awesome cats. We re talking Paradise on a plate Here. V s 4 i very Fine dining. Crack service and memorable food and drink. S s 3 solid Chow. Good food of atmosphere and pleasant service. Ujj 2 decent. About equal to a Ponderosa Steakhouse. V path cult. Crummy Chow so so service Semi rally Interior. Of Forcer 17, 198s stripes Magazine 17
