2008 Woodie Awards
Hy-Vee doubles as dine-in, carry-out
Dylan Herx
Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: TruLife
I've expanded my borders this week. No longer am I solely a restaurant reviewer. I have branched into any location that sells food, which is why this week I had the pleasure of eating at the Hy-Vee grocery store.
I suppose it's not really fair to compare Hy-Vee to other establishments whose only purpose is to provide a scrumptious dinner. On the other hand, though, many Truman students might not even know Hy-Vee has a dining area. And it doesn't simply serve dinner - it takes care of all three meals. I don't see why I should really be surprised. After all, the Hy-Vee near my hometown has a similar setup. I guess I never really gave it a chance. That is, until one of my friends strongly recommended the breakfast.
I started with dinner. I ordered up a serving of the seasoned pork loin. Correction - I ordered the rotisserie dinner, which I assumed would be rotisserie chicken. It turns out that Hy-Vee has a different rotisserie item nightly and that night, pork loin was on the menu. I accepted it. Let me start by saying that Hy-Vee's dinner is very meat-and-potatoes oriented. They have a healthy choice of sides, and even a salad bar, but the menu mainly sticks to the conventional: pork, chicken (fried or rotisserie) and fish. This isn't so bad, and it seems to be popular among the townspeople. The pork loin had a multi-herb flavor and was extra juicy near the edges. The mashed potatoes were smooth, and the gravy was thick and quite delicious. The corn, sadly, was sub-par. The meal suffered a typical deli travesty: overexposure to the heat lamps. Hy-Vee does, however, provide good portions for the price. My meal was $6.50 and the portions were fully satisfactory.
However, it was the breakfast that was recommended to me by a friend, so I returned to Hy-Vee late one morning to verify the claim. I ordered a breakfast skillet, mainly because I had a coupon from last week's Hy-Vee circular. Breakfast skillets are right up my alley - a medley of flavors that all belong together. In this case, I went with the country variety, which included breakfast sausage, hash browns, onions and green peppers, topped with two over-easy eggs (you can order them scrambled if it's to your liking), all served with a side of toast. Once again, I was impressed with the quantity. Because this meal was made to order, I didn't have to worry about the curse of the heat lamps. Each ingredient fully represented its flavor, and the blend was great. Sure, the ingredients probably came directly from the Hy-Vee brand products on the store's shelves, but I wasn't expecting extreme freshness. I left Hy-Vee with pockets that were only $5 lighter and felt all the better for it. Hy-Vee also has the typical breakfast selection: omelets, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, etc. Each is well-priced for a made-to-order breakfast, and with deals like all-you-can-eat pancakes for $4.59, I'm definitely not complaining about the price. And, for most of March, coffee is free with any breakfast entrée.
Hy-Vee dinners are served on a paper plate and their utensils are plastic, but I didn't really expect much more. As a matter of fact, it kind of made me feel like I was at a family barbecue or get-together. Hy-Vee also is a hot spot for senior citizens. Both times I dined, I was without question the only customer under the age of 45. It's not a bad thing, though. I'm a proponent of becoming an active part of the community, so Hy-Vee may be a good place to start. Besides, it's a good place to sit and have a quick dinner while marking the best discounts in the grocery circular. It's not going to replace Northtown Café as my number one choice for breakfast, but it can certainly share a spot at number two.
I suppose it's not really fair to compare Hy-Vee to other establishments whose only purpose is to provide a scrumptious dinner. On the other hand, though, many Truman students might not even know Hy-Vee has a dining area. And it doesn't simply serve dinner - it takes care of all three meals. I don't see why I should really be surprised. After all, the Hy-Vee near my hometown has a similar setup. I guess I never really gave it a chance. That is, until one of my friends strongly recommended the breakfast.
I started with dinner. I ordered up a serving of the seasoned pork loin. Correction - I ordered the rotisserie dinner, which I assumed would be rotisserie chicken. It turns out that Hy-Vee has a different rotisserie item nightly and that night, pork loin was on the menu. I accepted it. Let me start by saying that Hy-Vee's dinner is very meat-and-potatoes oriented. They have a healthy choice of sides, and even a salad bar, but the menu mainly sticks to the conventional: pork, chicken (fried or rotisserie) and fish. This isn't so bad, and it seems to be popular among the townspeople. The pork loin had a multi-herb flavor and was extra juicy near the edges. The mashed potatoes were smooth, and the gravy was thick and quite delicious. The corn, sadly, was sub-par. The meal suffered a typical deli travesty: overexposure to the heat lamps. Hy-Vee does, however, provide good portions for the price. My meal was $6.50 and the portions were fully satisfactory.
However, it was the breakfast that was recommended to me by a friend, so I returned to Hy-Vee late one morning to verify the claim. I ordered a breakfast skillet, mainly because I had a coupon from last week's Hy-Vee circular. Breakfast skillets are right up my alley - a medley of flavors that all belong together. In this case, I went with the country variety, which included breakfast sausage, hash browns, onions and green peppers, topped with two over-easy eggs (you can order them scrambled if it's to your liking), all served with a side of toast. Once again, I was impressed with the quantity. Because this meal was made to order, I didn't have to worry about the curse of the heat lamps. Each ingredient fully represented its flavor, and the blend was great. Sure, the ingredients probably came directly from the Hy-Vee brand products on the store's shelves, but I wasn't expecting extreme freshness. I left Hy-Vee with pockets that were only $5 lighter and felt all the better for it. Hy-Vee also has the typical breakfast selection: omelets, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, etc. Each is well-priced for a made-to-order breakfast, and with deals like all-you-can-eat pancakes for $4.59, I'm definitely not complaining about the price. And, for most of March, coffee is free with any breakfast entrée.
Hy-Vee dinners are served on a paper plate and their utensils are plastic, but I didn't really expect much more. As a matter of fact, it kind of made me feel like I was at a family barbecue or get-together. Hy-Vee also is a hot spot for senior citizens. Both times I dined, I was without question the only customer under the age of 45. It's not a bad thing, though. I'm a proponent of becoming an active part of the community, so Hy-Vee may be a good place to start. Besides, it's a good place to sit and have a quick dinner while marking the best discounts in the grocery circular. It's not going to replace Northtown Café as my number one choice for breakfast, but it can certainly share a spot at number two.
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