Living in such close proximity to the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, we have all seen men and woman in military uniforms, at the bank, the stores, the post office, living amongst us. Today, I got to meet some of these men and woman on their turf at the base. The Fiddles Green Pub in building 19 is open to the public and anyone with identification can drive on the base to dine at the pub.
Having never been on a military base, today was an adventure for me to drive into the Los Alamitos joint training base. After merely showing my drivers license to the guard at the entrance of Yorktown Ave, I was given directions to take a winding road across the barren landscape of the base to Building #19, which houses the Installation Club, officers clubs, facility offices and the famed Fiddlers Green pub.
The menu at the pub is full of typical pub fare with many given catchy military names, such as, the Black Hawk patty melt with sweet potato fries, Huey Philly Cheese Steak, The Cobra Turkey Club and several others. Lunch menu is served with bottomless iced tea and chocolate chip cookies. In addition to the regular lunch menu they also feature a daily chef’s special. Lunch items are served with a choice of French fries, season fruit or coleslaw. I chose the Black Hawk Patty Melt with sweet potato fries ($6.50). My friend had The Cobra Turkey Club sandwich with onion rings ($7.50). My sandwich arrived hot with lots of grilled onions, melted Swiss cheese and a side of honey mustard sauce to add to my already juicy sandwich.
My sweet potato fries could have been a little more crisp and a bit warmer, but the main focus of my plate was the Patty Melt. I was impressed that the Patty Melt was full of flavor and not too greasy, as many other are. The flavor was rich and juicy with a loads of sweet grilled onions smothered in melted Swiss cheese mixed with a fresh hamburger patty on rye bread. This was just what I had expected and more in a patty melt. I found Fiddlers Green and the base an experience with reasonably priced meals for the entire family to enjoy.
Fiddlers Green is also known for their evenings dinner of “Grill Your Own.” Customers can choice from chicken, steaks, sausages that they can grill themselves on the patio gas grills. The evening “Grill Your Own” I am told is very popular as the beer is flowing and the meat is sizzling. I look forward to coming back to Fiddlers Green to grill up some steaks and mingle with more men and woman in uniform.
The Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base is as close to a scene from “Top Gun” as one can get. The day spent walking around the buildings, looking at old Black Hawk helicopters, watching exercise drills and work outs of various youth organizations; I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride as I watched folks in uniform go about their work all in a grand effort to keep us safe.
I found the Fiddlers Green a great place to mingle with men and woman of the armed forces, have a few laughs and eat some good food. The base and Fiddlers Green is very busy and active on days that there are drills or flight demonstrations. Fantastic place to sit have a cold one and watch military planes take off and land during training exercises.
