Chicken Boss & Top That! Pizza Are Open…Blush Champagne Bar Coming Soon


The Chicken Boss has opened next to The Bacon Boss HQ & offers hand-breaded tenders (& sandwiches), plus delicious waffle-cut regular & sweet potato (shown) fries. (Below left)

When we last updated you about everything happening at The KRATE at The Grove Container Park, The Chicken Boss had not yet opened next to The Bacon Boss HQ.

Since then, Bacon Boss owners Josh & Christy Norlandā€™s new Chicken Boss (top photo) has opened and they have another local favorite on their hands. The Chicken Bossā€™ nicely spiced, hand-breaded tenders (left), new chicken sandwiches and waffle fries are served hot and crispy, the chicken is juicy inside and there also are several tasty house-made sauces from which to choose.Ā 

Top That! Pizza has added NY-style pizza & wings to the menu at The Fry Room, which it replaced.

Also now open, in something of a surprise, is Top That! Pizza & More. The surprising part is that Top That! opened so quickly ā€” and still carries many of the same food items ā€” in the former location of The Fry Room, although its new menu items ā€” including some really good NY-style pizza and wings ā€” have replaced The Fry Roomā€™s popular (and tasty) apple cider donuts. Ā 

Another newcomer at the KRATEs, in the former location of the shuttered Tonellaā€™s Flowers, is MM Kicks, which owner (and long-time ā€œkicksā€ collector) Will Mendez (photo below) says is your place to buy, sell and trade vintage and sought-after sneakers.Ā 

With the impending release this month of ā€œAir,ā€ the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck movie about how Nike built its athletic shoe brand around one man ā€” Michael Jordan, of course ā€” MM Kicks is likely to get an instant boost in popularity.Ā 

In other news from the KRATEs, neither the new Blush Champagne Bar (above right) next to Urban Sweets (in the former location of CenterEd tutoring center), nor the Tutti-Frutti CafƩ (in the former location of Valiart Designs/Jewelry, next to Life Essentials Refillery) were quite ready to open, but both were hopefully only a couple of weeks away from doing so.

And finally, when we told you about the new 3Eleven Aroma candlemaking shop in the KRATEs, we neglected to tell you that the retail store it replaced ā€” MaeBerry Co. ā€” did not close its doors. Instead, MaeBerry moved a few doors down, to the former location of the DĆ©cor by ZC balloon shop. 

For more information, visit MaeBerry.com or ā€œ@maeberry.co on Instagram.

So Far, These Are My Favorite Dishes At KRATE Restaurants

So, how many of the restaurants at the KRATE Container Park at The Grove have you tried so far? I have tried all of them, although I definitely havenā€™t tried every dish at every KRATE eatery yet, so below is a list ā€” in alphabetical order by the name of the KRATE ā€” of my favorite dishes so far at the now-18 open restaurants and bars at the KRATEs. I plan to keep on sampling everything I can at these mom-and-pop eateries, and I will list my favorite KRATE desserts next issue, so stay tuned! ā€” GN 

Bacon Boss HQ ā€” Although I have them put the BBQ mayo on the side, my favorite menu item at the Bacon Boss is the Bugsy Siegel Burger, which features a grilled-to-perfection burger topped with two slices of American cheese, crispy bacon, lettuce & tomato. So good.

Blush Wine Room ā€” Despite its billing as a wine bar, this is definitely one of my favorite KRATE restaurants. I already love the bruschetta, beef & pork meatballs with spicy marinara and the chicken with vodka sauce flatbread (photo, left). The wines (including wine flights) also are great, but my favorite drink is the strawberry frosĆ© ā€” perfect on a hot day.

Cachapa

Chamo Bites Venezuelan Cuisine ā€” Iā€™ve always been a fan of arepas, and Chamo Bites tops them with a great variety of meats and cheeses, but Iā€™m absolutely addicted to the Cachapa (a sweet corn pancake) filled with queso de mano, or ā€œhand cheese,ā€ which is like mozzarella only better.

El Prince Mediterranean ā€” The meat shawarma sandwich, which is delicious, marinated sliced ribeye beef roasted with Middle eastern spices in a pressed pita-style wrap, topped with onions and tahini sauce (that I had them put on the side) is still my favorite at El Prince, although the diced El Prince salad is also a delicious option.

La Creacion Express ā€” You donā€™t have to be a fan of Puerto Rican cuisine to enjoy La Creacion, although I havenā€™t yet tried the more hard-core items like octopus or alcapurria (green bananas & taro root) empanadas, I love the tripleta sandwich (with steak, ham and pork).

Mojo Grill Latin Fusion ā€” The menu really is a mix of so many Latin favorites you really canā€™t go wrong, but my favorites so far are the steak chimichurri sandwich (thinly sliced skirt steak, caramelized onions, melted cheese and house-made chimichurri sauce on a toasted baguette) and the build-your-own bowl with grilled chicken, cilantro rice, black beans and Cuban slaw.

Palaniā€™s Hawaiā€™i Noodles House of Saimin ā€” To date, the only dish Iā€™ve tried is the saimin noodles in a savory clear broth garnished with barbecued char sui pork, kamaboko and crisp green onions, but it definitely makes my list of KRATE favorites. I suggest paying $4 for additional Chinese-style char sui pork. So good.

Shake-A-Salad ā€” Since it was one of the first KRATE restaurants to open, Iā€™ve tried more than one option of all three parts of the menu ā€” the salads (my favorite is The Cobb), the wrap sandwiches (the Chicken Caesar is my fave) and the signature rice bowls (I absolutely love the Asian Marinated Chicken Rice Bowl).

Tacos El Patron ā€” Already a family favorite, we love the savory pastor quesadilla filled with marinated pork, the huge carnitas burrito (filled with pork chunks, rice, beans and cheese) and the asada (steak) taco salad. 

Tasty Ramen ā€” Although Iā€™m not as much into the variety of ramen bowls as I am the appetizers, I definitely love the pan-fried gyoza dumplings and crispy spring roll.  

TJā€™s Hot Dogs ā€” Although TJā€™s has a great variety of topping for its gourmet hot dogs, I only really have one favorite type ā€” a kosher-style dog with brown mustard and sauerkraut (above) and TJā€™s satisfies that craving for me. I plan to try some of the other options…eventually.