Linda’s cafe used to be a small shack at the west end of 19th street in Lubbock, Texas. The place wasn’t much of a restaurant but it was a precious place for us. Back then, when we were so busy trying to juggle our time, we relied on its home-style cooking for a ready-fix meal.

Domeng used to be the chef. Too bad he had to go back to his hometown. He was not only chef for most of us. At times, when I drop by to order some food, I saw that he was a talking buddy to whoever was there. We dropped by several times after Domeng left but it didn’t feel the same without his presence and his style of cooking.

Recently, we were back in town and we were craving for home style cooking but didn’t have time to cook it. We wanted the authentic Filipino dishes. We sought out Linda’s cafe and found out that it had moved out of the shack. It is now located on the southeast corner of the loop 289 and 19th street. A place that is much more spacious and comfortable for a relaxed meal.

It was still a quick meal for us. The food was ready in minutes and we sat at a corner table that wasn’t cramped to the other tables this time. The place looked clean and comfortable now. More like a restaurant than the old cafe.