Zoës Kitchen

I had a Groupon to  Zoës Kitchen that was near expiration, so I recently stopped by.  Unfortunately the downtown location is only open at lunchtime, which is why it took me so long to get here.  I arrived for an early lunch and was able to order right away.  However, there were so many delicious-sounding items on the menu that it took me a few minutes to scan and figure out what I wanted.

I decided to go with the steak rollups (I crave steak frequently... including right now.), which came with a side of my choosing.  Since I'm on Weight Watchers (Yeah, I'm pretty sure no one would believe me based on the reviews of what I eat.), I opted for a side of fruit.  The rollups were a good size with good meat--not too much but plenty of food--and the fruit wasn't anything crazy, but I would say it was probably better than your typical fruit cup.  I didn't really care for the sauce that came with the rollups, but no biggie.  A bonus is that they have nutrition information online.  It was a bummer however when I looked up the info for those steak rollups...  yikes.  There are plenty of healthy options on the menu though, which is nice if you are trying to plan a meal in advance with nutrition in mind.

My order was "to go" since I needed to get back to work.  With a $20 Groupon to spend, I also got an extra chicken kabob meal I gave to a coworker.  I didn't ask her what she thought about it, but it looked good.  That meal came with a Greek salad.  The variety of sides and options are near perfect--plenty of options but not a huge overwhelming menu.  I also picked up an extra order of hummus and pita.  It's pretty yummy, though I was admittedly stuffed with my rollups, so I still have some in the fridge.

Oh, and back to my "to go" order, it was quickly prepared, and they kindly brought my order,  nicely boxed and bagged, over to me.  The service was great, and the facility itself was very clean.  The bright colors are a bonus; it looked fresh and fun.

Zoës Kitchen offers a different option for lunch with a good variety of dishes.  I am between 3 and 4 stars on this review.  There was nothing "bad" about it by any means; I would just like to try it out and taste different things before I up it to 4 (or 5??) stars.  All-in-all, it  Zoës offered good food and a solid experience, and I would gladly go back.

I was hoping for more, I really was. I wanted so badly to like Zoes Kitchen because I liked the whole concept of good wholesome ingredients, prepared fresh from scratch. However, I ended up feeling like I paid way too much for the mediocre meal I received. I ordered the steak roll up after reading the menu description. What I ended up getting was a lot of dry bland tortilla and a tiny amount of meat and onions. It certainly was a disappointment after ho good the description made it sound. The potato salad that was served with it was tasty, and that saved this review from being a one star bomb. The only reason I would go back to Zoes kitchen at this point would be the awesome chocolate cake. It was excellent and quite possibly will be the reason I even contemplate going back.

A pretty sterile, regional chain but a fine lunch spot.

The best thing it has going for it is that much of the menu seems pretty healthy. And while a healthy meal for $10 doesn't seem much to ask for, it's not a possibility in a staggering number of downtown places.

And the food is pretty good. After eating here, I don't generally feel like I have to go work out. Or take a nap. Or swear off food.