Archive for the ‘Restaurant and Bar Reviews’ Category

Cheba Hut

Sunday, August 4th, 2013

You certainly don’t have to be high or drunk to eat at Cheba Hut, located on campus, but you’d probably feel right at home if you were, plus there’s beer if you want to keep partying. More on that later.

In following their theme, they sell “toasted” subs here. The three sizes for the sandwiches are Nugs (4″), Pinners (8″) and Blunts (12″), all of which come with the standard veggies and your choice of white, wheat or “herb” bread.

From the Old School list, the Endo (reuben) was fairly standard (8″ for $6.09). I ordered it without all the toppings to keep it pure. My guess is that the bland pastrami was not made in-house, but that wouldn’t be surprising. I probably should have gotten the Dank (pizza), filled with genoa salami, pepperoni, home-grown marinara, provolone cheese and parmesan cheese.

On a cashier’s recommendation, I got the Jamaican Red (4″ for $4.49). It comes with spicy grilled chicken, cheddar cheese, jalapenos and black olives. The chicken itself was tender and tasty, but it didn’t mesh well with the other ingredients–it was like a salad gone wrong. I think I would have preferred the Acapulco Gold, which is chicken breast, home-grown BBQ sauce and swiss cheese.

One I probably won’t order on a future visit but worth mentioning is the Schwag, which is bologna, chopped onions and cheddar cheese and described as “out of stock.” That just conjures up an image of a late-night food binge and you’re slapping together whatever ingredients you have in your fridge.

Besides the sandwiches, you can find salads, soups and “Incredible Munchies” on the menu. From that list, I enjoyed the Goo Ball ($1.99), which is Rice Krispies, peanut butter, honey and cocoa. Others include Sticky Icky (PBJ) and Hemp Brownies.

Cheba Hut is open every day for lunch and dinner and past bar time Thursday-Saturday. It also has happy hour from 4:20-6:20 p.m. at its beer-only bar ($2 taps).

Cheba Hut on Urbanspoon

JB’s Eat-A-Bite BBQ

Saturday, July 6th, 2013

The south end of Park Street has been seeing some new businesses sprout up recently, including JB’s Eat-A-Bite BBQ, which opened in the winter. It took over for the space once occupied by Mario’s Pizza and is adjacent to 7-Eleven.

The menu is full of wonderful southern items, from chicken gizzards to frog legs to candied yams. Of course, it has the staples, many of which are found in the sandwich section.

The BBQ pork shoulder ($5.99) was my favorite. It was tangy, tender and had just the right amount of fat. That made the BBQ beef brisket ($5.99) surprising, as it didn’t have any gristle and was a bit tougher than I would expect. Even without the right texture, the right flavor was still there. I also had the chopped steak burger ($6.99; it’s actually in patty form) and adored it. I was pleasantly surprised how tasty this was–it was a  like super soft sirloin steak.

From the “single orders” section I had the macaroni & cheese ($2.49), which was fairly ho-hum, and the alligator bites, which were fine on their own but needed some kind of dipping sauce.

The catfish fillets ($9.99), found on the dinner menu, were crispy yet moist. They were good straight up, though I added some hot sauce. The accompanying cornbread was disappointing, however, as it was dry and didn’t taste like or resemble cornbread.

Last but not least, the ribs ($17.99 for a full rack). You could taste the smokiness of the ribs through the tangy sauce. I appreciated that there was plenty of meat on the bones. It wasn’t fall-of-the-bone good, but these are still worth a try.

JB’s Eat-a-Bite is open Tuesday-Sunday for dine-in or carryout. I recommend calling ahead, as sometimes they are out of ribs.

JB's Eat-A-Bite BBQ on Urbanspoon

Jordandal Cookhouse

Sunday, June 23rd, 2013

I was familiar with the meats of Jordandal Farms through its stand at the Dane County Farmers’ Market, so I was intrigued by the restaurant the farm’s owners opened late last year in Verona. Called The Cookhouse, it’s take-out only, although there is one table outside, and all meats come directly from the farm while other products are locally sourced (e.g. ice cream from Sassy Cow Creamery).

There are about a dozen items on the menu, plus daily specials, which range from pizza to tacos to Banh Mi. I was a fan of the Patty Melt ($9) for its bacon mayo and raw milk cheddar. A juicy quarter-pound beef patty centered two buttery pieces of rye bread. You certainly don’t need to add ketchup to this flavorful sandwich.

The Braised Lamb Pita ($10) grew on me. At first, I was thrown off  by the shredded pieces of lamb since I’m used to the sliced variety in a typical gyro, but the creamy cucumber sauce and hummus made me realize I was eating an upgraded gyro. Another standard item, the Cubano ($9.50), was just fine save for the slow roasted pork, which was a bit dry. At least the ham and Swiss were stellar.

If you don’t like kimchi, you could learn to like it via the Korean Beef ($8.50). It’s miso chili-braised beef chuck topped with Ssamjang mayo and a much milder (re: less pungent) version of kimchi. It was a creative sandwich, but I probably wouldn’t order it again.

On other hand, the White Cheddar Mac ($8.50) is something that I would recommend. It had just the right amount of creaminess, and you can add bacon or polish sausage for a small fee.

All the sandwiches I ordered came with a side. I had the quinoa salad (good), the salami and cheese (tasty), the sweet potato salad with bacon (I may never get regular potato salad again) and the coleslaw (too dry).

As for desserts, I enjoyed the M&M cookie and loved the decadent caramel cheesecake.

Jordandal Cookhouse is open Tuesday-Saturday. You can find its daily specials on its Facebook page.

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See more photos on our Flickr page.

    North Italia Urban Air

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