Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Stone's Restaurant

It's closed, it's open, it's closed, it's changed owners. Who knows what's all going on with this famous Marshalltown eatery. But your humble hungry glutton of a food reviewer happened to stop by one day, and found the open sign up, and the door unlocked. Can this storied restaurant live up to the legend?

The Looks
Credit to the new owner, the inside seems to have been remodeled with a modern yet respectful look. Gone is the dirty old salad bar and cluttered interior. Wood covers the walls, and real table cloths cover the tables. In general, an inviting atmosphere. The old chairs seems a little scary for a mightily massed individual, but they seemed to hold up (this time).

The Cost
Cost is about on par with local competitors Applebee's and the Treemont Grill. There's not much over $10, and plenty of food for your money. But no great deals.

The Grub
Self-described as home cooked Midwestern style meals, the food is about average. Nothing to excite your taste buds here. I had the lasagna, which was respectable, but lacked zing. Other options include Fried chicken, sirloin steak, beef and noodles, breaded cod, fish and chips, tenderloins, Rubens, burgers, chicken salad, tuna salad, and the usual entree salads. In general, if you're collecting social security, you'll leave here happy. Gone is the famous mile high chiffon pie, to which this customer says good riddance.

Stone's Restaurant
507 South 3rd Ave, Marshalltown, IA 50158
(641) 753-6400

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

KFC Taco Bell

This strange fast food love child, sired by Colonel Sanders and born in a pool of grease, somehow combines the standard KFC menu with a Taco Bell. The unholy result is the ultimate selection of bad-for-you awesomeness.

The Looks
Does anyone actually go inside this type of place? If so, you'll find a recently remodeled interior. Mostly clean, with a modern colorful look. There are big windows, which keep the dinning area well lit, which could be a plus or a minus. The booths are awfully tight for the horizontally gifted.

The Cost
About as cheap as you'll get for prepared food. The Taco Bell side has a value menu with several items at 89 cents, and incredibly, a few $2 meal deals. If fried chicken is more your forté, the KFC part of the menu also has a value menu starting at 99 cents going up to $2. Whatever you order, you'll most likely get more food then you can eat for $5 to $8 (and if you can eat more, you'll leave not respecting yourself).

The Grub
As noted above, there is a lot to choose from here. There is of course the legendary fried chicken with the closely guarded blend of 11 herbs and spices. And all the classic crack cocaine addictive sides such as potato wedges, mash potatoes and gravy, green beans and biscuits. Also snack wraps, snacker sandwiches, popcorn chicken, and hot wings. Anything that can be wrapped in a burrito is also for sale, although this gluten's preference for Mexican leans towards Taco Johns. The Taco Bell side also has the Big Value Box ($5 box, it rocks), the tasty new chicken flatbread sandwich, and a Hungry favorite, the spicy volcano taco/burrito/nachos.

KFC Taco Bell
3007 S Center St, Marshalltown, IA 50158-4713
(641) 752-7766