CoCo's is a relatively new contender in the Grandview area. This was my second venture into the restaurant, and again they did not disappoint. However, I find their lack of spring rolls disturbing! But enough about that, on with the chicken!
Restaurant: CoCo's Grill
Location: 845 W 5th Ave
Call: (614) 429-0790
Chicken: Soft, but not soggy. A little chewy in spots. About half chicken and half breading, so there is room for improvement, but overall well prepared.
Veggies: No veggies in with the chicken. I think I'm noticing a trend... however, there were peas and carrots in with the rice so I'll let it slide!
Sauce: Tangy, spicy, and thick. Very close to a perfect sauce for a General Tso's dish. A litle lacking in quantity, but the taste is spot on.
Rice: Fried rice with peas and carrots, and some traces of egg. The rice itself is quite soft and pleasant. This is the best fried rice I've had thus far on the quest!
Spiciness: 7/10. You know your General Tso's is packing heat when you have to refill your drink before you're even halfway done. I give the spiciness of this dish a 10/10 in tastiness, but for clarity I've given it a 7/10 in spiciness (10/10 being an experience where you can't down enough water fast enough). It was right on target for a General Tso's dish in terms of spiciness.
Amount of Food: More than satisfying. Plenty of delicious fried rice, plenty of soft spicy chicken. Enough for two meals? Probably. Will you want to stop eating whats in front of you in order to save it for later? Probably not!
Price: $5.95, about average for a lunch-time Chinese meal.
Overall: 7/10 - I was really a fan of the sauce that came on this chicken. It was hot and tangy, two excellent qualities for General's Tso's. In addition, I enjoyed the peas and carrots that came in the fried rice. The chicken was a little lacking, but overall a very pleasant experience from CoCo's Grill.
Cookie: Very sweet, but sadly stale. Brand: Winner (Unknown Origination)
Fortune: "You are interested in public service and would make an outstanding statesman"
Showing posts with label best general tsos in columbus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best general tsos in columbus. Show all posts
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Quest for the Best: Happy House
When I think cheap Chinese, I think Happy House. That's not necessarily a bad thing; it's just quick and dirty, like my love. And that can never be a bad thing.
Restaurant: Happy House
Location: 1267 W 5th Ave
Call: (614) 488-2088
Chicken: Equal parts chicken and breading. Crispy and chewy, but not chewy in a good way. A bit overcooked. However, there is a LOT of it. Half the box is chicken!
Veggies: None. None? Surprising, but it doesn't take too much away from the dish. Still, I can't help feeling a bit like a hedonism bot, only eating chicken and no veggies, but my guess is I'll get over it.
Sauce: Thick, hot, and some decent kick to it. I'm putting my official endorsement behind this sauce!
Rice: Fried rice with no add-ins. Traces of egg and carrot present. Can't complain or lavish praise here.
Spiciness: 3/10. One day I'll find a Chinese place that knows how to make a spicy General Tso's without me explicitly asking for it. It is not this day.
Amount of Food: A lot! Both the chicken and rice are overflowing their respective compartments. Enough food for two meals, no question.
Price: $4.95, and this also includes a drink! When I said cheap Chinese I wasn't kidding!
Overall: 5/10 - I can't say too much bad about this dish, but I also can't say too much good. It has it's ups and downs, but in the end it comes out pretty average. Can't beat the amount of food and drink for the price though.
Cookie: Somewhat stale, not very flavorful. More like fortune styrofoam. Brand: Golden Bowl (New York)
Fortune: No harm in putting all your eggs in one basket - just watch it closely.
Restaurant: Happy House
Location: 1267 W 5th Ave
Call: (614) 488-2088
Chicken: Equal parts chicken and breading. Crispy and chewy, but not chewy in a good way. A bit overcooked. However, there is a LOT of it. Half the box is chicken!
Veggies: None. None? Surprising, but it doesn't take too much away from the dish. Still, I can't help feeling a bit like a hedonism bot, only eating chicken and no veggies, but my guess is I'll get over it.
Sauce: Thick, hot, and some decent kick to it. I'm putting my official endorsement behind this sauce!
Rice: Fried rice with no add-ins. Traces of egg and carrot present. Can't complain or lavish praise here.
Spiciness: 3/10. One day I'll find a Chinese place that knows how to make a spicy General Tso's without me explicitly asking for it. It is not this day.
Amount of Food: A lot! Both the chicken and rice are overflowing their respective compartments. Enough food for two meals, no question.
Price: $4.95, and this also includes a drink! When I said cheap Chinese I wasn't kidding!
Overall: 5/10 - I can't say too much bad about this dish, but I also can't say too much good. It has it's ups and downs, but in the end it comes out pretty average. Can't beat the amount of food and drink for the price though.
Cookie: Somewhat stale, not very flavorful. More like fortune styrofoam. Brand: Golden Bowl (New York)
Fortune: No harm in putting all your eggs in one basket - just watch it closely.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Quest for the Best: Mark Pi's Express
Today's installment of QftB takes me to Mark Pi's, a staple of "americanized" chinese food. Typically Mark Pi's is a flagship for tasty chinese food, but today they seem to have missed the boat. Read on for more detail.
Restaurant: Mark Pi's Express
Location: 1290 W 5th Ave
Call: (614) 488-6336
Chicken: Crispy! More breading than meat, but still good.
Veggies: Carrots, Celery, Water Chestnuts, Green Peppers, bamboo shoots. I'm glad to see bamboo shoots make an appearance, but what really dominates the veggies is the celery, cut length-wise isntead of in cross sections. Actually it's more of an angled cut, but I don't see the purpose. It just makes it hard to eat.
Sauce: Not quite enough sauce for the amount of rice. This may be due to the fact that the dish was poured over the rice instead of being on the side like many chinese restaurants do. Also it's not very flavorful nor is it any kind of spicy. More like any traditional brown sauce than a general tso's sauce.
Rice: Plain white rice.
Spiciness: I'd give it a 0/10 on spicyness. Very mild, and that takes away from the flavor of what General Tso's should be.
Amount of Food: Not the most food I've gotten in a meal, but more than ample still. There seems to be an excess of celery, or maybe it's just the odd way they've cut it (length-wise, why?)
Price: $4.95
Overall: 2/10 - The sauce really did this dish in. It was lacking at best, and bland at worst.
Cookie: Overcooked, dark, and dry. A sad experience Brand: Golden Bowl (New York)
Fortune: There will be many surprises; unexpected gains are likely
Restaurant: Mark Pi's Express
Location: 1290 W 5th Ave
Call: (614) 488-6336
Chicken: Crispy! More breading than meat, but still good.
Veggies: Carrots, Celery, Water Chestnuts, Green Peppers, bamboo shoots. I'm glad to see bamboo shoots make an appearance, but what really dominates the veggies is the celery, cut length-wise isntead of in cross sections. Actually it's more of an angled cut, but I don't see the purpose. It just makes it hard to eat.
Sauce: Not quite enough sauce for the amount of rice. This may be due to the fact that the dish was poured over the rice instead of being on the side like many chinese restaurants do. Also it's not very flavorful nor is it any kind of spicy. More like any traditional brown sauce than a general tso's sauce.
Rice: Plain white rice.
Spiciness: I'd give it a 0/10 on spicyness. Very mild, and that takes away from the flavor of what General Tso's should be.
Amount of Food: Not the most food I've gotten in a meal, but more than ample still. There seems to be an excess of celery, or maybe it's just the odd way they've cut it (length-wise, why?)
Price: $4.95
Overall: 2/10 - The sauce really did this dish in. It was lacking at best, and bland at worst.
Cookie: Overcooked, dark, and dry. A sad experience Brand: Golden Bowl (New York)
Fortune: There will be many surprises; unexpected gains are likely
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Quest for the Best: Nong's Hunan Express
All epic journeys start with but a single step. Starting today I vow to find the greatest General Tso's chicken in Columbus. I will not falter, I will not fail. I will be judging the dish on many facets, which are listed below. Without much more further ado whatsoever, I present to you the first installment!
Restaurant: Nong's Hunan Express
Location: 1634 Northwest Blvd & King Avenue
Call: (614) 486-6630
Chicken: Off-taste for chicken, like more dark meat than usual? Not sure, just tastes a little strange. Not very much of it either, which I suppose isn't such a bad thing since it's not that great.
Veggies: Carrots, Broccoli, Mushrooms, Cabbage, Water Chestnuts, Snow Peas. Ample and crisp!
Sauce: Thick, darker than some other Chinese places, appropriate level of spiciness.
Rice: Fried rice, no add-ins, small traces of egg. Standard fare.
Spiciness: Right on target. Not too spicy, not too mild. Made my nose water just a tiny amount. Perfect.
Amount of Food: Rice was more than sufficient, in fact I threw some away. As I said, there was a bit of a shortage of chicken (only got about 4 pieces) but the meal as a whole filled me up. Good amount of veggies.
Price: $6.95
Overall: 4/10 - On a General Tso's chicken dish, it's all about the chicken. While I couldn't complain about the veggies, rice, or sauce, the chicken was both odd tasting and minimal. And for $6.95 at lunch, that's not going to cut it.
Cookie: A little thicker than most fortune cookies I've had, and much more flavor. THIS is what a fortune cookie is supposed to be! Brand: Fortella Co, Inc. (Chicago, IL)
Fortune: You will live long and enjoy life.
Restaurant: Nong's Hunan Express
Location: 1634 Northwest Blvd & King Avenue
Call: (614) 486-6630
Chicken: Off-taste for chicken, like more dark meat than usual? Not sure, just tastes a little strange. Not very much of it either, which I suppose isn't such a bad thing since it's not that great.
Veggies: Carrots, Broccoli, Mushrooms, Cabbage, Water Chestnuts, Snow Peas. Ample and crisp!
Sauce: Thick, darker than some other Chinese places, appropriate level of spiciness.
Rice: Fried rice, no add-ins, small traces of egg. Standard fare.
Spiciness: Right on target. Not too spicy, not too mild. Made my nose water just a tiny amount. Perfect.
Amount of Food: Rice was more than sufficient, in fact I threw some away. As I said, there was a bit of a shortage of chicken (only got about 4 pieces) but the meal as a whole filled me up. Good amount of veggies.
Price: $6.95
Overall: 4/10 - On a General Tso's chicken dish, it's all about the chicken. While I couldn't complain about the veggies, rice, or sauce, the chicken was both odd tasting and minimal. And for $6.95 at lunch, that's not going to cut it.
Cookie: A little thicker than most fortune cookies I've had, and much more flavor. THIS is what a fortune cookie is supposed to be! Brand: Fortella Co, Inc. (Chicago, IL)
Fortune: You will live long and enjoy life.
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