For quite a few years now, we have rounded up a group of friends for Tuesday Steak Night at the VFW in Vista. We’ve enjoyed a pretty good cut of meat, a baked potato, a salad and for $1 more, a dessert. The tab is $6.
The diligent group has also catered our Senior Park’s Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Not wonderful, but pretty good for the price.
Now comes lunch. On Friday and Saturday at noon, the veterans are cooking cheeseburgers, steak fries and a drink for (are you ready for this?) $4.50. What a deal, as my favorite uncle used to say. Note: We always tip because the cooks and servers work for free.
We gladly support the VFW, which as you probably know stands for Veterans of Foreign Wars. They’re located in a rental clubhouse on East Vista Way in the same complex as El Asandero Mexican restaurant, if you need a landmark. Hard to find, the VFW runs along Arcadia Street. I love to ask the cooks and servers what war they represented, and the answers span the gamut. John, a Korean War vet, loves to chat it up with those remaining warriors. I just admire them all.
Located in three large rooms, the clubhouse smells of beer but the dining room is set off from the bar and is not offensive. The ambiance? Well, if you want atmosphere, we don’t know where in the world you can get it for $4.50 a head. The club is clean and spare with linoleum and Formica with both large and small tables for perching.
The bar is usually populated with guys with stories and is a fun place to hang out and listen. They even rent the club to groups for an economical amount.
Displays of ribbons and medals constitute décor. It’s an honest place with an honest purpose. And we feel pretty darn good when we patronize it.
The Post 7041 VFW Clubhouse can be found at 1717 E. Vista Way, suite 117. An official points out that 76 percent of their income goes to veteran’s charities such as the VA hospital and Veterans Home in Chula Vista and the wounded warriors at Camp Pendleton.
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