Kitok Restaurant

Location: 1815 North 18th Street, Waco, Texas 76707
754-1801

Hours:

Ability to Loiter During Lunch: 4/10

Quality Rating (scale of 1-10): 7/10

Value Rating (scale of 1-10): 7/10

Staff Rating (scale of 1-10): 7/10

Recommended Items: Double lip-locker, Oriental fries

“Off the Menu” Items:

Health Conscious Selection(s):

Review:

Kitok’s is both well-known and a hole-in-the-wall. How to accomplish both? Well, the location is a non-descript white building with parking in the rear, off of 18th Street in Waco, yet, the presence of our esteemed Commander-in-Chief has drawn global mention of this diner in national newspapers. Not to mention the Polaroid of Jessica Simpson, a Waco native, eating at the restaurant, located at the entrance!

While Kitok’s offers a unique melange of both Korean and American food, and also offers a delightful array of both Korean and American staff, the true magic of Kitok’s lies in the cheeseburgers and Oriental fries. Do not shy from the “Double Lip-Locker”, an amazing double cheeseburger, where you can add your mayo and ketchup tableside. The Oriental Fries are finely shredded veggies, including carrot, potato and herbs, in a light tempura batter, fried to golden brown and served in a mound of crunchy goodness. If you are not a fan of this Asian delicacy, try the onion rings or fries, although I try to eat Asian as often as is possible.

While the location is small, and somewhat hard to find, the excellent food, unique Asian offerings, and lovely staff make this a “must-visit” for not just those who are fond of the Pacific-Rim, but any food fan.

Chinese Kitchen

Location: 416 N. Valley Mills Drive, Waco, Texas 76710

Hours:

Ability to Loiter During Lunch: 7/10
Quality Rating (scale of 1-10): 5/10
Value Rating (scale of 1-10): 6/10
Staff Rating (scale of 1-10): 5/10

Recommended Items: Crab Rangoon (crab puff), General’s Chicken

“Off the Menu” Items: It is buffet style, what you see is what you get

Health Conscious Selection(s): Nice “salad” bar, and plenty of low-carb options

Review:

Chinese Kitchen is located in an out-parcel building at 416 N. Valley Mills Drive, sharing shopping center space with Tractor Supply and the discount theater. An ornate fountain greets you in the foyer, and you are quickly seated by an efficient, and all-Asian staff.

As a fan of Asian cuisine, I eat it as often as possible, I find the Chinese Kitchen to be a good place in terms of volume, and acceptable quality. The crab puffs are excellent, as is a nice chicken-skewer BBQ item. Ample seafood offerings are available, including boiled shrimp served cold in shell, and sauted dishes. While the sweet and sour sauce is disappointing, regardless of pork or chicken, the noodle dishes and broccoli and spicy beef are tender and fantastic.

Surprising to find is a solid salad-bar, with green salad, hard-boiled eggs, many dressings, and other sides.

Some American items are offered, including fajita fixings and pizza, among others, but the food on this section of the buffet frightened me. I chose to stay Asian, and I recommend the same to you.

Do not lose sight of the dessert buffet, including Blue Bell ice cream, cookies, cream puffs, and macaroons.

All in all, the Chinese Kitchen is as to Asian cuisine as Michna’s is to BBQ. Decent, but not super-quality, but great volume and a nice diversion from the norm.