Following the success of bringing Pastabilities to the Landes Dining Room at Read, tonight's dinner menu advertised Wok This Way, a create-your-own stir fry cooked right before your eyes.Wok This Way is incredibly similar (nearly identical) to Wright's Pacific Rim, but the value and experience is improved greatly by the perks that make Landes so great--all you can eat, all the drinks you want, free fortune cookies, and access to items at Classic Comforts, Eat Right, and grill items.
The best thing about Wok This Way is the array of choices diners are presented with. Diners initially are offered the choice of either chicken or beef, which is cooked on the spot on small wok with oil. The issue here is that cooking up chicken or beef takes quite a while, and the wait was a little bit on the long side which led to quite the line. Wok This Way might have benefited from preparing the meats beforehand in a larger wok, although I suppose that might take away from the thrill of having it prepared right in front of you. While your meat is cooking, you get to choose your vegetables. The fresh choices are abundant; cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, carrots, bok choy (Chinese cabbage), and green peppers are all available. Once your vegetables have been grilled up with your meat, you have the options of four sauces: teriyaki, sweet and sour, szechuan, and stir fry sauce. Matt and I both took advantage of the opportunity to experiment with mixing two sauces. I combined szechuan with sweet and sour to create a sauce that was sweet and tangy but also had a decent amount of heat to it. Lastly, a choice must be made between white rice and fried rice. Seeing as Wok This Way was a special occasion, I went all out and got fried.
Looking down at the steaming hot plate of made-to-order stir fry, complete with two fortune cookies, I was amazed that this meal was being served up in none other than the Landes Dining Room. Landes regularly offers up great food, but nothing like this. My creation--chicken with carrots, onions, bok choy, and peppers, was genuinely delicious and incredibly satisfying. The dish could have used a little bit more meat, but I had no problem with the abundance and variety of fresh vegetables. There certainly was no shortage of flavor, and I'm willing to be that other combinations, such as beef, mushrooms, and teryaki sauce, could be even better. Given the price and convenience, I would definitely argue that Wok This Way was comparable to restaurants such as Dragon Express.
~~~~~~~FRESH PICK OF THE WEEK~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All of IU's campus dining options will be closed for spring break. In the meantime, check out up and coming Bloomington "no-fi" duo Ivory Wave. Named after the group's experience with bath salts, a new legal high that singer Josh Menashe described as "like staring at my own grave", the duo's debut EP chronicles the soaring highs and crushing lows of a week long binge.
All of IU's campus dining options will be closed for spring break. In the meantime, check out up and coming Bloomington "no-fi" duo Ivory Wave. Named after the group's experience with bath salts, a new legal high that singer Josh Menashe described as "like staring at my own grave", the duo's debut EP chronicles the soaring highs and crushing lows of a week long binge.
