I had been wondering why there were always cars parked at the Taco Bell on Whitney Way/Odana Road each morning as I drove by. Well, I recently saw this commercial and it all became clear:
I have to say, Taco Bell does a pretty mean breakfast. I’d still rank it behind McDonald’s, but it’s certainly better than Burger King’s and Arby’s. Everything is pretty cheap, too. I ordered essentially everything on the breakfast menu, and it came to a total of $13.88.
Here’s a rundown of the new menu, which is served as early as 6:30 a.m.
- Breakfast burrito ($1.69 with sausage or bacon; also a steak burrito). This was a pretty average burrito filled with meat (barely any bacon), eggs and cheese. It desperately needed something else, like tomatoes, onions and/or green peppers, to liven it up–in other words, it needed to be more like McDonald’s breakfast burrito.
- A.M. grilled taco ($1 with bacon or sausage) was the worst of all the breakfast items. It’s pretty much the breakfast burrito pressed into a taco. Thank goodness for Taco Bell’s fire sauce.
- Cinnabon Delights (2-, 4- or 12-pack). These moist, cinnamon sugar balls are dangerously delicious. You could easily polish off a 12-pack, only to then realize you just consumed 930 calories, 53 grams of fat and 104 grams of carbs.
- Premium hot coffee ($1.49). I was surprised by how good this coffee was. I hate to admit it, but it’s as good as the coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts.
- Hash brown ($1). Crisp and firm, just the way I like it. The flavor reminded me of the potato oles at Taco John’s, minus the seasoning.
- Waffle taco ($1.99 with bacon or sausage). It was odd how bland this taco was, especially the waffle, but then I poured in the accompanying syrup, and suddenly the taco became alive.
- A.M. crunch wrap ($2.69 with bacon or sausage, $2.99 with steak). Taco Bell simply stuck a hash brown into its A.M. grilled taco and added seasoning, and those two upgrades made this into my favorite item on the breakfast menu.
- Sausage flatbread melt ($1). I thought this was a good value. Both the sausage and flatbread were tasty, although it seemed like it needed more filling.
I remember as a kid visiting relatives in Green Bay and having Godfather’s Pizza, thinking it was a local pizza place. With more than 600 locations nationwide, the chain opened quietly in the Madison area in late 2012 with 
Godfather’s has plenty of sides, though at no time did they ever have monkey bread when I ordered. The bland breadsticks ($2.99) are saved by a marinara dipping sauce, and the cinnamon sticks ($2.99) need more frosting and cinnamon flavor.
I had to experience for myself 
If you visit KJ’s on the weekend, you also have the option of getting the “weekend special,” which on one particular weekend was the Sri Lankan Authentic Lump Rice ($15.99). It’s yellow rice, chicken, fried onion, a fish ball, plantain, egg plant and a fried-boiled egg baked in banana leaves. Although these items are separated, it’s best to eat them together. For example, the caramelized onion complemented the chicken well, and the chili flakes piled in one corner added a nice kick to the plantain.
