Ellsworth, South Dakota
Sorry, no photo
Got an e-mail from Lt Pat Desmond, who writes:
Was just in Ellsworth last week, (17 & 18 May 04) unfortunately I
have no pictures to prove it. (unless a picture of the crew in front of
Mount Rushmore counts) But here's a word picture of what we got....
The Nav and I found the kitchen conveinently located around the corner
from the ops and wx counter, their exact hours escape me but unless
you're departing/ariving at 0430 you should be ok. We gave the crew's
order to the airman working behind the counter and he was able to put
together 6 box lunches from scratch in less than 10 minutes time.
Outstanding service.
On to the food. The Nav, AC and I all ordered the chef's salad; fresh
lettuce with fresh grape tomatoes, fresh celery, fresh cucumbers (not
100% sure if there were cucumbers, I ate it all too fast) and fresh
mushrooms. Did I mention it was all fresh? Topped with some grated
cheese, salad dressing (all the usual suspects were available), along
my choice of chicken or ham all made for a happy Co-Pilot. With the
meal we had our choice between approximately 5 supplements, which gave
you two 20 oz. drinks (soda, juice, sports drink, milk or water), fresh
fruit (oranges were the fruit of the day), granola bar, yogurt, and in
my case a box of raisins. I believe the final price for my entire lunch
came out to less than $2.00. All total it cost around $10 to feed the
entire crew. I never saw the sandwiches that the Loads ordered, but I
didn't hear anybody complaining so I can only assume they were consumed
as quickly as my salad. One word of note, the plastic utensils,
condiments, and napkins are on a self serve bar, all of which we forgot
to grab before stepping, so I ended up eating my salad with a MRE spoon
that someone dug out of their helmet bag.
I'm sure I'm leaving out more than a few details, I wish I had a
picture for you. None the less, I have no problem giving the Ellsworth
flight kitchen my resounding endorsement.
Herks Rule!
LT Pat Desmond
143rd AS RIANG
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Yet another testimonial from a C-9 pilot who had a similar experience...
Don't have any pics, but I used to go there in the C-9. AWESOME flight
kitchen! For a couple of bucks you walk out with a small grocery bag
full
of food. Good stuff too. They let you select what you want and throw it
all together right on the spot. Pick whatever drink you want including
full
sized (16oz) Power aid, and they have fast service. Took a crew of nine
into Ellsworth with a 25 minute ground time, and everyone was able to
walk
to Baseops/flight kitchen and have lunches made up while still having
an on
time departure. Sorry no picture, but these guys are great.
Rip
Maj David Glauner
121st ARW Wing Plans