Does this sign look familiar?  It does to me.  It resides just South of Tacoma by Fort Lewis.  You know that overpass that always has yellow ribbons flapping from it and Support Our Troops picketers?  That’s the one.  Any seasoned traveller of I-5 between Seattle and Olympia is familiar with this disheveled sign and wondered just how far one dollar goes on exit 119.  This blog is not typically a restaurant review but I’m making an exception for this Northwest landmark.

I attended undergrad at TESC in Olympia, Washington and played for a rugby team in Tacoma at the time.  With my practice commute alone, I’ve driven past this promise of sketchy frugality hundreds of times but I never considered it a legitimate piece of advertising.  Until recently, I thought of it as part of the landscape like the Tacoma dome, or the really bright sign in front of the Emerald Queen Casino.  My parents live in Olympia and my little brother is in Portland so I still drive past this sign regularly enough to get me wondering if this offer is legit.

This holiday weekend, with our bodies and minds still polluted with the trappings of yuletide spirit, my little family and I ventured to see just what $1 buys South of Tacoma.

Jackpot.

I was surprised to see that the Wok In Wok Out was open to the public much less busy but it was both.  The $1 Chinese Food sign implies the sketchiest Chinese Food Restaurant in history complete with a murky fish tank and red dank carpeting. In reality, Wok In Wok Out was a more like an Asian taqueria.  Everything on the menu isn’t $1, but for $6.14 the whole Pond family left satisfied.  Disregard the pained facial expressions below.  We are a solid 48 hours out and we appear to be clear of any volatile GI symptoms.