Mochas Cafe & Grill

In my quest to find decent eats at the loin (that’s not phở or Vietnamese sandwiches), I survived security check to visit the cafeteria in the State Building. Everyone has to go through airport like security to enter the building. That means you empty all you worldly metallic goods into a plastic bin and let it roll through the X-​ray. You will also have to go through the little security door frame too. Lucky for me, I didn’t have a lot of stuff on me.
Once you pass security, you head toward the stairs to your left. You walk through the double doors and turn left. There’s the cafeteria!
Prices are higher than the fed bldg cafeteria but food tastes better. I ordered the pesto turkey sandwich. They toasted the bread which is a big plus for me. The turkey was real turkey — not Oscar Meyer. It was moist too. They really fill up the sandwich. Side of fries same with the meal.
All food is freshly made so there will be a bit of a wait.
Not bad!

Summoned for jury duty. Café closed in courthouse building. Did I mention it’s raining? As you can see it was a bad start for a Tuesday… so I was looking for the nearest spot to eat with some choices. A little hard to find, but just walk in the state building next door on McCallister, up the stairs and you’re in a fairly large cafeteria down the right. Obviously, lots of state employees… cute $ 1 items on like cookies. but you can geta serious meal at a decent price. Welcomed with a smile and super nice staff, I opted for the lasagna combo meal. A little wait for it, but the place is busy. You get a salad, garlic bread and a nice serving of lasagna. It would have been perfect except that it was a bit salty and I forgot to get a cup of water… doh! I didn’t want to get the cup before my food arrived because I didn’t want to leave my table open to be snatched and I didn’t get it when my food came because I didn’t want it to get cold. Oh well. Satisfied and full, I got a vanilla latte to wake me up for the second half of jury duty. Good espresso, but wouldn’t get a flavor next time as she put too much (too sweet). Wouldn’t go back unless i had to, but looks like the burrito is the way to go next time (if you like burritos).

A few weeks ago I brought leftovers of neck bones, black eye peas, greens, candied yams for lunch. However, I did not have any cornbread on hand, and out of convenience I stopped in the cafeteria to see if they had any available.
This cafeteria is in the Ronald George State Building on the second floor (east wing) and I’m on the same floor (west wing). They did have some cornbread sticks available — dimensions of 1″ (width) x 4″ (length), shaped like a miniature cob of corn. I bought two of them, placed them in a plastic container and 1 (16.9 oz) bottle of Honest Ade tea. For those items, it cost me $ 4.25…rip off!!! That price is worse than getting a filet of fish sandwich from Micky D’s ($ 3.99), two veggie tacos from El Castillito ($ 4.72), a banh mi sandwich from Balo (ranges from $ 3.92 to approx. $ 5.00 or so) or a chicken pot pie from KFC (regularly $ 3.99; Thursday it’s $ 2.99). Even Lucky’s bakery section has cornbread (14 oz) in a container going for $ 3.49.
A shout out to Jasmin, and thanks to her, one can get a tofu banh mi at Saigon for $ 3.50; 2 hot dogs from Street Food for less than $ 4.00.
Mocha’s, y’all ain’t gonna ehva, ehva, ehva see my face in yo place.