choo choo - (athens, ga: east side)

"Hunger is the best sauce in the world." - Cervantes

Okay, I want to make this clear before I start. This isn't real Korean food and this sure as hell isn't Japanese food. Shocked? Relax, breathe and repeat. I'm sorry to burst the bubbles of so many college students but it shocks me when I read reviews on Urbanspoon and Yelp saying "Best Korean/Japanese restaurant in town!". This is as authentic as Taco Bell gets to Mexican food but for the price and the amount of food you get, I can see why this is a student favorite.

Located off Gaines School Road on the East Side, Choo Choo's serves up what they call Japanese and Korean grill food. A meat of your preference on a bed of fried rice for $4 - $8 depending on what protein you choose. While the amount of meat on each dish isn't great, you get a lot of rice. Really, a LOT of damn rice. I'm talking like 2 cups minimum of shortgrain rice stir fried in soy sauce. To their authentic credit, they do offer bibimbap, LA galbi, bibimnoodles and yakitori which are real Korean/Japanese dishes. But I knew better than to order these dishes which probably aren't very popular compared to their rice bowls.

 (lose Yankees lose! - Sorry Tony)

I ordered the Teriyaki Chicken entree which came with a side of sauteed vegetables. Partner-in-crime Roseberry got the shrimp bowl which, as you can clearly see from the picture, still have their shit sack intact. The chicken was kinda cold which tells me it was sitting out for awhile but to be honest, I've had worse chicken breasts. The rice is sweetened if you get the teriyaki dishes because of the glaze they put on top of the meat. The vegetables are a mushy mixture of cabbage, zucchini, carrots and broccoli. What does this mean to you? Skip the entree, pay a dollar less and just get the rice bowls because the vegetables just aren't worth it.

(chicken teriyaki entree)

(shrimp bowl)

The bowls and entrees are accompanied by 2 sauces which I was told you dip your meat in or smear all over your food. The brown sauce is simply soy sauce with grated ginger and the yellow sauce tasted like a watery Chinese mustard mayonnaise sauce. I didn't find either sauce too appetizing but I was told that kids go crazy over these 2 concoctions. Whatever. Pass and do not collect $200.

 (I'll take hunger over you two)

I can't say that I'm a huge fan of this place (or that I'll come back and eat here again by myself) but you know, it's not that bad. I've seriously had worse at other restaurants and for the price, you get a lot of food. Combined with the sheer quantity, late delivery hours and students trying to sober up at 1am in the morning - it's an ingenious goldmine. In a college town where quantity and price are more important than the quality of food, it's no wonder Choo Choo's is a UGA favorite.