Posts Tagged ‘Mexican’

KJ’s Curry Bowl

Sunday, March 2nd, 2014

I had to experience for myself KJ’s Curry Bowl‘s diverse menu, which boasts Asian, Mexican and American cuisine. I mean, where else can you get chicken Marsala, a chipotle chicken burrito and  Bourbon Street chicken in one sitting?

First, a note on the service. The servers are all extremely friendly and eager to help patrons navigate the menu. I was curious why they all wear Bluetooth earpieces, but I didn’t ask.

Let’s start with the appetizers. I enjoyed the meaty potstickers (six for $6.95), and even  more so with the spicy teriyaki sauce on the side, though I thought the price was too high. Compared to other restaurants, you should be able to get six for about $5.

Another appetizer, the Baja BBQ Chicken Quesadillas ($6.95), also was a hit. Lots of meat, lots of flavor, and it comes with a side of rice, for some reason. You also can choose four-cheese, teriyaki chicken, cajun chicken and chipotle chicken quesadillas.

Heading to the “Southwest” portion of the menu,  the Award Winning Chili Cheese Burrito Bowl ($9.99) sounded good. It’s steak with smoked sausage served over rice and a tortilla, but surprisingly, the ensemble was bland. I couldn’t discern much seasoning, such as chili powder or cumin, and I had to douse this dish with hot sauce to get any flavor. Other items in this section include fajita bowls and burrito bowls.

You can get any of the curry dishes mild, medium or spicy. Do yourself a favor and order the white rice, not the brown rice, as it absorbs the curry much better. The chicken and potato curry ($13.99) is certainly a dish I would order again. It had a tantalizing aroma and all the ingredients were well balanced.

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.

Other weekend specials include the Idiyappam Kottu (steamed noodles with vegetables and chicken) and the chicken biryani (tandoori chicken over rice).

KJ’s Curry Bowl is open for lunch, dinner and carryout Monday-Saturday. Visit KJ’s Facebook page for its weekend specials.

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See more photos in our KJ’s Curry Bowl Flickr set.

KJ's Curry Bowl on Urbanspoon

Get Some Burritos

Sunday, December 8th, 2013

There’s yet another place on campus to get your burrito fix, and that’s Get Some Burritos, located near the Plaza where Mad Dog’s used to be. I was invited to check out the place.

Nick Baertschy, formerly of 8 Seasons Grille and Aura in Cambridge, Wis., said he was approached by some people in California to run this operation and bring SoCal cuisine to Madison. Their goal is to have locations at all Big Ten campuses, with Ann Arbor slated to open in early 2014.

That means Get Some Burritos is geared toward the college crowd, but I think non-undergrads will like the place as well. Either the carne asada ($8.11 with tax) or chicken burrito ($7.06) is the place to start. Both are filled with diced onion, tomato, lettuce and guacamole, all of which complement the juicy and flavorful chicken. I’m so used to eating the oft-over-grilled chicken found at Qdoba that this was a welcome change of pace, plus I’m a big fan of diced onion in tacos and burritos.

You also can’t go wrong with the well-seasoned and tender carne asada, which I had atop an order of fries, cheese, tomatoes, guacamole and sour cream ($6). Two or three people could share this large appetizer/side.

The third meat on the menu was beef, and I was pleased it was pulled, not ground. I must admit that it was a bit bland, especially compared to the chicken and carne asada. I had the beef in a what turned out to be an average-tasting flauta ($3.89), topped with a generous helping of cheese and sour cream.

The tacos (2 for $4.95) were nice and crunchy, full of meat instead of filler vegetables. You can choose chicken or beef, and I would recommend the chicken for the reasons above.

My main disappointment in the meal was the sauces (hot and green chile). Both had little flavor and were too watery.

Get Some Burritos is open every day, including late-night Thursday-Saturday. The space is small so you should probably order to go (expect up to 10 minutes for your order). You’ll find meter parking across the street.

Get Some Burritos on Urbanspoon

New items at Bison Jack’s, Taco Bell, Sonic

Sunday, June 10th, 2012

Here’s a look at some new items on menus around town:

2012-03-01 12.03.02In March, Bison Jack’s invited me to try some of their new sandwiches; most of its menu was heretofore bison dogs.

I love reubens, and I was actually impressed by Bison Jack’s version. If you didn’t know the corned beef was actually bison, I would dare you to say that you could notice the difference. General Manager Matt Brink told me they go through all the same steps of corning the meat, and it shows.

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2012-06-09 19.19.11Taco Bell has been advertising the hell out of its Doritos Locos taco. The taco itself is fine, but I was disappointed the bland shell didn’t taste more like a Dorito. For instance, you don’t get any of that cheesy residue on your fingers, part of the fun of eating Doritos.

(As an aside, my favorite flavor of Doritos was the Taco Bell version, until it was replaced with the less tasty taco version. Funny how the two companies reversed its cross promotion.)

I also tried the new beefy nacho burrito, which has nacho chips inside. While that may seem like a good idea on paper, the chips are soggy from all the nacho cheese. I would have preferred a crunchier chip, but that’s what happens when you put chips inside a burrito.

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2012-06-10 11.53.22Sonic has some great burgers, but now I’ll be sure to order its hot dogs, too. I tried the new Wholly Guacamole Dog, which comes with jalapenos, tomatoes, diced onions, cheese sauce, pepperjack cheese and of course, guacamole. Lots of flavor here. I would definitely get it again, though next time I would hold the pepperjack cheese, as I didn’t feel it added anything to the final product (weird texture, too).

For some reason, Sonic doesn’t list this dog on its website, so I couldn’t find nutritional info. Maybe that’s a good thing …

    Park Hotel Urban Air

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