For the final time, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s always-hungry reporter has lunch at a local restaurant and tells you about the experience.
By ANON E. MUSS, Journal Services
I haven’t run the numbers, but my perception is that we have just about as many Chinese food restaurants in Caddo and Bossier parishes as we do Mexican food restaurants.
It seems you can’t drive far before coming upon either a sit-down-and-order Chinese restaurant, or one that serves a buffet. I used to be big on my buffets in my younger days, but now, I’m more interested in enjoying one really good entrée, instead of piling on my plate a lot of different food that’s been sitting under a heat lamp.
On a recent Friday, I asked a friend if she had ever heard of Lin’s Kitchen (4717 Palmetto Road, Suite B, Benton). She had, but had never been there. So, off we went.
My friend and I arrived at 11:30, and as I walked in, I felt the need to walk back out to my car and get my flashlight. The inside of Lin’s was dark and, frankly, dingy. What I found interesting is that there were shades covering most of the windows on the front of the building, which if removed, would had let in much needed light.
Needless to say, I was hoping that old adage about the best food being served in some of the not-so-best-looking places would apply here.
At Lin’s, you order and pay at the counter. However, it took my friend and I a while to decide what we wanted. Lin’s offered so many choices, it would have taken us half a day to thoroughly read its menus. I say “menus” because in addition to Lin’s extensive printed menu, there was a hand-written poster board on the wall featuring 23 – that’s right, 23 – Lunch Specials. The selections were familiar – everything from Sweet & Sour Chicken or Pork, to Moo goo gai pan, to Mongolian Beef or Chicken. I found it interesting that there wasn’t a price indicated for any of the specials. I had to ask how much certain specials cost.
After attempting to digest all Lin’s offered, my friend and I were ready to order. I asked the nice, very hard-working lady at the register about lunch special #8—Pepper Chicken ($9.75). She explained it was white meat chicken mixed with onions and bell peppers. That sounded good to me, so that’s what I went with. Each lunch special came with my choice of fried or steamed rice (I chose fried), and my choice of soup, egg roll, or a drink. I ordered egg drop soup.
My friend wanted to sample a few different things, so she chose to have lunch special #20 – Chinatown ($10.55). That would be a combination of beef, chicken, and shrimp. My friend went with fried rice, and wonton soup.
Now, you can’t go to a Chinese restaurant and not have an egg roll, can you? Not in this case, as we added two pork egg rolls ($3.10). Also, I had a fountain drink ($2.35) and my friend had a bottled soda ($2.75).
In its dark dining room, Lin’s had seating for 26 people. By the time we sat down, the restaurant was becoming crowded with plumbers and electricians on their lunch break. It was obvious they knew all about Lin’s. I took that as a good sign. If all those workers chose to get their fill at Lin’s, the food must be good.
It wasn’t long before we found out for ourselves. The lady who took our order also brought our soup. There was so much white smoke coming from each Styrofoam bowl, I thought a new Pope had been elected. My egg drop soup was delicious. The broth was light and the beaten eggs were soft. My friend’s bowl had two large dumplings with meat. This was her first time to have wonton soup, and it won’t be her last. She said the broth had lots of flavor, the dumplings had good texture, and the meat had a touch of spice.
While I very much enjoyed my soup, there was one thing that made it hard to eat – the plastic spoon. In particular, the size of the spoon. It was way too small for soup. I found myself scooping up soup in quick-bite succession.
Our egg rolls were served with our soups. Each roll was well fried, stuffed with the good stuff.
My friend and I didn’t have much time to savor our soup and egg rolls before the same nice, hard-working lady served our meals. They came in Styrofoam boxes. My friend opened hers first, and I immediately said, “Oh my goodness!” I’m telling you, there was so much food, I don’t know how the container top closed. The container was filled – and I mean filled – with fried rice, beef, chicken, and shrimp. And, like our soup, there was smoke rising from the food.
My friend was impressed by the meat’s tenderness. She said the shrimp were much larger than what is normally served with a Chinatown entrée. She also enjoyed the fact the chicken, meat, and shrimp each had its own taste.
When I opened my container, I had the same reaction as when I saw my friend’s portion of food. My container was loaded with fried rice, topped with chicken strips, onions, and bell peppers. If you are a frequent reader of these reviews, you know I love my food hot. No complaints on this day, as my entrée was so hot, I had to blow on the first couple of bites so I could eat.
A staple of eating at a Chinese restaurant is getting a fortune cookie. At Lin’s, the cookies are up front with the sauces and utensils. You know how some fortune cookies are hard as a rock and taste like they were made years ago? Lin’s cookies were crunchy and tasted fresh. Neither of our fortunes were particularly inspiring, but the little pieces of paper did offer suggested numbers in case we wanted to play the lottery.
The cost of our meal before tax and tip (I tipped $3 when we ordered because I saw the lady we paid working so hard) was $33.43. That included a .91 surcharge for paying with a credit card. Also, I didn’t notice it until I was home, but we were each charged .50 for egg fried rice. The poster board did not indicate there would be an upcharge for fried rice.
Here’s the bottom line. I give Lin’s Kitchen Three Forks. The food was outstanding. The atmosphere, not so much. So, if all you care about is good Chinese food, I think you will enjoy your visit. The quality and quantity of the food was terrific. If you like your lunch experience with plates, silverware, and light (from bulbs or the sun), you will be disappointed. But the next time I want delicious Chinese food, and that’s all I care about, I would not hesitate to go to Lin’s.
1 Fork: Would rather eat a box of dirt
2 Forks: Will return, but only if someone else is buying
3 Forks: Will return and look forward to it
4 Forks: Will return and go out of my way to do so
Is there a restaurant you would like the Journal to visit for lunch?
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