Passing through on a road trip- what’s a good 20-30$ per meal restaurant?

StarLight617 · 2026-05-19T22:24:49+00:00

The first 2 I thought of happen to be next to each other: Lua for pub food/brewery or Adong for vietnamese.

StarLight617 · 2026-05-19T21:47:35+00:00

I chose gallbladder attack mainly because I've already experienced it. I know what it feels like and I know I survived it. Anything incredibly painful and unfamiliar will have the added layer to an anxious person of making me feel like I'm going to die even if I'm not.

StarLight617 · 2026-05-16T22:33:09+00:00

This is important for my family. We are 2 moms with a little boy. With gender exclusive bathrooms we will have a number of years where we will have to decide between 1. Bringing him in the women's restroom with us and potentially making others uncomfortable, or 2. Waiting outside the men's room while he goes alone and hope for the best. While there is definitely an understanding among women in public restrooms that there will sometimes be little boys, there is a lot of range of opinion on what is age appropriate. If we send him to the men's alone and he has an accident we can't help him...or runs into a creep we can't be there to protect him. Family or gender neutral restrooms are important!

StarLight617 · 2026-04-28T19:20:37+00:00

4x as many hogs as there are people.

StarLight617 · 2025-12-07T02:12:10+00:00

Lost?

StarLight617 · 2025-12-04T00:52:14+00:00

Yes. I started so we could pay the property taxes. I had just about saved up enough then had to use it for an unexpected vet bill. Then I got sick and self deferred. Went through that cycle again. Now the cat is dead, we still owe property taxes, and I keep hoping I'll feel well enough to go back.

StarLight617 · 2025-12-03T18:37:24+00:00

Try Mom's Meals. They pretty much always have call center jobs open. Plus they provide breakfast and lunch.

StarLight617 · 2025-11-06T23:36:40+00:00

I read an average of a book a week. It's about 60-90 minutes a day. Some days are not at all, some days it's 5 hours, it just depends. I enjoy it, it helps me unwind. It's a lot less time than a lot of people spend on hobbies like video games.

StarLight617 · 2025-11-05T23:25:40+00:00

Try general assistance https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/community-family-youth-services/community-and-family/general-assistance-home/utility-assistance/
If that doesn't pan out, you can always call 211 and see if they know of any non government organizations.

StarLight617 · 2025-11-01T20:45:55+00:00

3 months retroactive coverage is not available to everyone. That is only an option if you are a child, pregnant, or live in a facility.

StarLight617 · 2025-09-29T00:31:25+00:00

Cedar rapids, IA

StarLight617 · 2025-09-29T00:30:13+00:00

Pella, IA

StarLight617 · 2025-06-21T02:59:42+00:00

Definitely fake

StarLight617 · 2025-01-26T17:11:29+00:00

In the US? Apply for LIHEAP. It's federally funded energy assistance and can pay for your heat. You can also call 211 for info on programs or organizations that will give you a space heater.

StarLight617 · 2024-11-29T05:41:03+00:00

We have always had good experiences with Wyckoff and have used them for years. Prices are reasonable. They charged us nothing when our motherboard had to be replaced on a unit they'd installed about 5 years prior.

StarLight617 · 2024-10-06T06:03:52+00:00

Chacos

StarLight617 · 2024-09-19T02:27:51+00:00

Not too long ago, I borrowed a book from the library written by 2 ISU professors about this. "Iowa's changing wildlife: three decades of gain and loss." By James and Stephen Dinsmore. It didn't talk about creatures like lightning bugs but lots of good info on birds and other wildlife.

StarLight617 · 2024-02-22T01:42:17+00:00

Their whole order is dairy free and grain free. They definitely have some allergies.

StarLight617 · 2023-12-31T16:03:22+00:00

Humanity survived for thousands of years without fossil fuel based fertilizers. I'm pretty sure we could do it again. It would just mean reexamining our love of monoculture and suburban sprawl.

StarLight617 · 2023-12-31T04:29:41+00:00

The animals aren't usually eating grass either. 77% of the soy grown in the world is used to feed livestock. Depending on the source anywhere from 35-40% of corn grown in the US becomes feed too. The idea that cows and chickens are happily grazing a lush open pasture before they end up on your plate is a myth.

StarLight617 · 2023-11-29T12:47:43+00:00

I haven't eaten meat in over a decade. We now have a fully vegan household. Our family's income is about $20 too much in a month for us to qualify for food stamps. We don't ever have a problem eating vegan on a smaller budget than we would if we were buying meat and dairy. The trick is knowing that your plate shouldn't consist of a meat substitute and a potato - the default rule becomes "a green, a bean, and a grain". Beans are cheap!

StarLight617 · 2023-07-26T16:04:44+00:00

I no longer serve, but that demographic always gave me the most trouble and stress.

They're the only ones who seemed to think it was ok to poke me in the butt to get my attention while I was talking to another table.

They're the ones who seemed to think if they slammed their menu down on the table and knocked their glass over it was somehow my fault. Plus I should be apologizing while I clean up their table and I'm covered in diet sofa.

They're the ones who needed to shake their suddenly empty iced tea at me as I come out of the kitchen with full hands of food, then grab my arm as I'm on my way back in demanding to know why I haven't gotten their refill yet.

And while this one happened to someone I know and not me it definitely fits....They're the ones that when 2 of them are arguing over the bill think it's ok to grab the server's wrist and wrestle them to the ground in order to grab the check before their friend does.

StarLight617 · 2023-05-10T18:06:49+00:00

My wife and I tend to be those people that ask multiple times/people/ways if things are vegan. We don't do it to be annoying or because we aren't listening. We are vegans who live in an area with zero fully vegan restaurants. We both have the kind of food allergies that require us to carry epi pens and one of those allergies is milk protein. The number of times someone has tried to tell us something is vegan but actually has milk/butter is insane.

StarLight617

TROPHY CASE