Hy-Vee Kitchen
From Rofflehaus
| Lincoln Center Hy-Vee Kitchen |
|---|
| 640 Lincoln Way, Ames, IA 50010 |
| (515) 232-1961 |
| http://www.hyvee.com/StoreDetail.asp?lStoreId=6 |
[edit] Introduction
Hy-Vee's homestyle food area is also called the Hy-Vee Kitchen. As the name implies, you'll find the majority of the food is "all-American" comfort food.
[edit] Food Offerings
While the selection generally varies, some everyday menu items include:
- Fried Chicken (Tyson brand)
- Meatloaf
- Pork Tenderloin Sandwich (hand-cut, hand-breaded)
- "Rotisserie" Pork (actually baked, thus the quotes)
- "Rotisserie" Turkey (see above)
- Chicken Strips / Chicken Fingers (Tyson brand)
- Big Bob's Belly Buster (big piece of fried cod)
There will also be a few other entrees, and these change daily. Some of the more common ones include:
- Salisbury Steak (Think Meatloaf, except in a ball)
- Mediterranean Chicken (Lightly breaded chicken breast with julienne zuchinni, squash, and bell pepper)
- Barbeque Shredded Pork
- "Rotisserie" Beef (again, actually baked)
- Stuffed Green Peppers
- Enchilladas
In addition to the main entrees, you'll find the following assortment of sides:
- Mashed Pototoes with Chicken / Beef Gravy
- Green Bean Casserole
- Party Potatoes (aka Hash Brown Casserole)
- Scalloped Corn
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Macaroni and Cheese
- Baked Beans
The Kitchen also offers a full salad case full of belt-tightening and artery clogging goodness. It includes the usual suspects:
- Old Fashioned and Mustard Potato Salads
- Cole Slaw
- Many Pasta Salads (Italian, Summer, Milli's, Parmesan Peppercorn, Macaroni, etc.)
- Oreo Cookie Delight (aka Oreo Creme, Oreo Fluff, Cookies and Creme)
- Watergate Salad
- Herb Tomato Salad (tomatoes and other veggies in a light italian dressing)
[edit] Tips, Tricks, and Deals
Half-Price Chicken Night
Chicken packs (4, 8, 12, and 20 pieces) are half-price on Tuesday nights from 4 PM to 8 PM at Lincoln Center (East) Hy-Vee. With three fryers at max capacity, only 96 pieces of chicken can be pumped out roughly every half-hour. Because of this slow cooking time, they normally get a running start and begin to hoard chicken around 2 PM.
If you want the freshest chicken, your best bet is to arrive early (between 2 and 4) and to ask nicely. They almost always do not honor the 4 PM start time and will give the discount early if you're pleasant. Or, alternatively, you could wait until after 6 PM. The chicken supply is normally exhausted by this point and all customers are served with fresh-from-the-fryer chicken. However, plan on doing your other shopping as well, because there is normally a queue at this point. Just give your name and desired amount of pieces, and the employees should give you a pretty solid estimate of when to stop back by.
Also, most of the sides and salads are availible with the purchase of a chicken pack for $1.99 for a pint container. This can be a pretty decent discount on some salads.
When to Go
The food is at its quality peak from 11 AM to 1 PM. It is very fresh and there are many choices availible. As the day wears on, the choices will thin, and the quality will decline. Some days are better than others. The exception is Tuesday night. On Tuesday night, the emphasis is on chicken, and chicken only. Do not expect any of the other food to be in good shape on Tuesday nights, the employees simply do not have time to worry about it.
Fresh Fried Food
It's never a big deal to ask for any of your fried food fresh. Tenderloins take 5.5 minutes to cook. Chicken Strips take 7 minutes to cook. Fried Cod takes 14 minutes. No fryers are availible on Tuesday nights, so this is the sole exception.
