Great Taste of the Midwest

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Freshii

April 19th, 2015

Freshii strives to make “healthy food affordable and convenient.” The chain seems to be doing both well, as there’s enough demand that Freshii is located in more than 60 cities and 12 countries.

The menu is comprised of salads/wraps (you can convert a salad to a wrap), bowls, burritos, soups and smoothies. While all the items are vegetable-based, you can add proteins such as chicken, steak or tuna. Note that one of my visits was by invitation for the restaurant’s pre-opening.

My favorite dish was the Fiesta wrap ($7.49; field greens, black beans, avocado, aged cheddar, corn, pico de gallo, cilantro lime vinaigrette). When you bite into this, your mouth will be greeted with bright, fresh flavors. The tuna ($2.49) I added made this one of the best tuna wraps/sandwiches I’ve ever had.

The Buddha’s Satay bowl ($7.24) seemed promising, but I felt like a rabbit eating it with its overdose of carrots and broccoli. Frankly, the crispy wontons were the only item that gave this salad any flavor, as the rice noodles were extraordinarily bland, and there were only minuscule pieces of steak ($2.49) included (you can’t even see any in the photo).

I liked the density of the Smokehouse burrito ($7.99), which is made with brown rice, black beans, red onions, tomatoes, corn, aged cheddar and a surprisingly wonderful BBQ sauce. I ordered my burrito with falafel ($1.49), and I longed for a side of that sauce in which to dip the burrito.

Out of all the three soups, I tried the Southwestern ($6.99), a soothing concoction of chicken broth, brown rice, broccoli, tomatoes, corn and aged cheddar. All the vegetables were tender.

When you’re thirsty, quaff a juice or smoothie ($5.99). The ones I tried–the Green Energy Juice (apple, cucumber, kale, lemon, carrot, romaine, spinach), the Strawberry Banana Smoothie (strawberries, banana, low-fat frozen yogurt) and the Mighty Detox Juice (pineapple, ginger, apple, celery, cucumber)–were surprisingly not too thick and had semi-sweet, non-grassy flavors. I’d get the strawberry version again if it weren’t for the price.

Freshii is open Monday-Saturday for breakfast, lunch, dinner and carryout. Catering and delivery are available.

***

See more photos in our Freshii Flickr album.

Freshii on Urbanspoon

New items at Little Caesars, Taco Bell

April 12th, 2015

Three-and-a-half feet.

That’s how much bacon Little Caesars uses for its generically named Bacon Wrapped Crust Deep! Deep! Dish pizza. At $12, it’s more than double the price of other pizzas, but with good reason. Note, these pizzas are not “hot-n-ready,” so be prepared for a 10-minute wait after ordering.

I appreciated that Little Caesars gives you two four-slice pizzas instead of one eight-slice pizza so that you get eight corner pieces, meaning more bacon. There’s also bacon pieces sprinkled on top, along with the standard pepperoni (no other toppings are available).

To no surprise, each bite was very bacon-y; or in other words, delicious. The deep dish pizzas don’t have a true crust, which is nice, since you get to take bites of the strips of bacon with the main parts of the pizza. I would likely order this pizza again if it weren’t for the fact that each slice is 450 calories (and yikes, I ate three!).

***

Taco Bell has further expanded its breakfast menu with biscuits shaped like taco shells, called biscuit tacos. Inside, you can get eggs and cheese, sausage/bacon and eggs or fried chicken (the latter two cost $2.49 each).

The sausage and eggs biscuit taco tastes exactly like McDonald’s version (that’s a good thing). Meanwhile, the bacon is served in bits in the bacon and eggs biscuit taco, which can make for a lot of crumbs. You’ll need coffee, juice or milk to wash these biscuits down, as they do get fairly dry in your mouth.

I particularly enjoyed the chicken biscuit taco. The chicken itself is perfectly fried on the outside and moist on the inside. (It seems Taco Bell could be in line to take on KFC.) Although the sandwich doesn’t need it, you can get it served with a rich, flavorful gravy, or a sweet Asian sauce-like jalapeno honey sauce. What a delicious and unhealthy way to start your day!

The ramen craze

April 4th, 2015


I grew up eating ramen (real ramen, not instant noodles) without realizing it was considered by many as a poor college student’s staple (e.g. you can get a 24-pack of Maruchan ramen for less than $10, or less than 50 cents per bowl).

Today, ramen seems to be a trendy meal item as well as restaurant theme. Nationwide, check out places such as Bassanova Ramen in New York, Slurping Turtle in Chicago (and Ann Arbor) and  Johnny Noodle King in Detroit.

Here in Madison, you can get your fix at places like Hong Kong Station, Umami and Sujeo. We even had a Ramen Smackdown last summer. My guess is there will be more places serving ramen–either as the main focus or as a part of the menu–in the near future because Madison always goes all-in with trends/fads (see: gastropubs, cupcakeries, frozen yogurt shops, etc.).

My opinion on why ramen is “in” is because chefs can take the simple premise of noodles in broth and take it 10 levels higher. For example, Sujeo’s Shio Ramen is made with double stock, grilled pork belly, duck fat and pork fat. In a similar vein, look what Dlux has done with burgers and Salvatore’s with pizzas (I mean, tomato pies).

Just remember, when in Rome … slurp your noodles. There’s no cutting your noodles or twirling them into a ball. In addition, eat your noodles as quickly as possible. The longer they sit in the broth, the more overcooked they become.

Next time you’re about to fix a bowl of instant noodles, try this easy recipe (it uses cheese!):

Want to learn more? Read this guide to ramen on Serious Eats.

    Madison Symphony Orchestra Urban Air

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