The exterior is not exactly what anybody would call inviting, with screened windows and a well-worn blue sign, but the Taiwan-style diner called Old Country Cafe remains an enduring classic thanks to their high value comfort food and at least from my perspective, a serious commitment to pork.

Their deep-fried pork chops ($5.50) appear with either steamed white rice, dry noodles or noodle soup. My pork chop experience resided behind door #2. The chop looked brittle and dry, but in fact, the puffy, blistered batter protected the meat from the heat, allowing the thin-sliced chop to retain its juiciness. The plate appeared with a welcome vegetable trio: cabbage, Chinese broccoli, and vinegary mustard greens. That would have been plenty of food for $5.50, but Old Country continued to pile on the pork, providing a bowl of onion-rich, well-spiced “spaghetti Bolognese” with crunchy bean sprouts and scallions. The spaghetti-like noodles weren’t as good as the chop, but considering they were included in the price of the meal, no problem.

Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.