Chinese with no frills, low bills

It's easy to drop most of a 10-spot on a lunch buffet, so it was certainly refreshing to get change back from $5 when I stopped in recently at Food King, a little no-frills spot in Nora.

When I say no frills, I mean it. Styrofoam plates, plastic utensils, ice that's stashed in a cooler on the counter near a pitcher of tea -- this ain't fine dining, folks.

But for $3.99, the lunch buffet isn't bad at all. Eggrolls, rangoons, dumplings, lo mein, fried rice, several varieties of meat and vegetable combinations, a couple of soups...there's plenty to fill up on. I liked the crispy, vegetable-filled eggrolls and the peppery hot and sour soup (egg drop was pretty bland).

There's a carryout counter too, and plenty of people were picking up orders to go while I was there. Choices seemed typical with prices on the low side of average.

There's no atmosphere to speak of (a little TV perched atop the buffet was tuned to the local noon news) but that's not the draw. What you get at Food King is a quick, tasty, low-cost lunch. And change.