Down at Doc Chey's

Doc Chey's Noodle House is a stretch from what I usually eat and enjoy. Usually, when I eat any kind of Japanese/Chinese/Anything-ese, I have the reliably delicious fried rice and tend to stray away from the slimy looking noodles. However, when I recently went to Doc Chey's I decided to try these elusive noodles, since Doc Chey's is the "noodle house," and I have to say, Doc Chey's has really broadened my horizon on the noodle front.

I decided to have the japanese teriyaki udon, (recommended to me by a friend) which is udon noodles stirfried in teriyaki sauce with carrots, onions, and bok choy. I was told that it was a great choice for people who are not used to eating noodles but wish to try something new. I'm not really sure what bok choy is, but I can tell you the meal was excellent. I even found myself scraping the bottom of their dark tan plastic bowls in hopes of savoring the taste. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Dining with me on this occasion were my good friends Kristi and Bree (Kristi is the one in the picture.) Now I know some people will deny this, since it is usually impossible to do, but we actually got parking RIGHT in front of Doc Chey's, right where Clayton St. and Jackson St. collide! I know what your thinking, "There is no possible way someone could get a parking spot directly in front of the place they want to be downtown." Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but it happened! After this monumental occasion, Kristi, Bree, and myself stood in line to decide on and make our order. I activated a Doc Chey's membership card at the counter so I could start accumulating points towards free food, and then I was handed a table indicator with a nice little proverb on it so the waitress could bring the food to us when it was done. It wasn't long before my japanese teriyaki udon, Kristi's sesame stirfry, and Bree's general chey's meal arrived.

The only thing that was a little annoying is that Kristi and Bree ordered an appetizer, japanese edamame, that arrived at the same time. We were hoping that the appetizer would come first so we could enjoy each others company longer, but it couldn't be avoided.

The most interesting food we had was the japanese edamame. The edamame is steamed soybeans sprinkled with kosher salt. Now I say interesting because the edamame wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly good either. The steamed soybeans were still in the pouches you find on bushes and the pouches were covered with hundreds or tiny hairs. To properly eat the edamame you have to put the pouches close to your mouth and suck the soy beans out of it. This allows you to taste the kosher salt that is sprinkled all over the pouches. If you like soybeans then you should really try the japanese edamame. If you don't like soybeans then don't order the edamame unless you are with someone who does. The reason being that the plate was so huge it was really intimidating. We literally sat there for 30 minutes longer than we would because Kristi was still working on finishing the edamame. If you want to try the edamame I would ask for a sample. Luckily, I showed the foresight to hurry Kristi along at the end. We just narrowly avoided being issued a ticket for parking over the two hour limit. Did I mention how badass the parking was?

Pros:

Something new to try, good amount of food for the money, and inspires you to keep coming back to rack up your points towards free food.

Cons:
Almost every meal comes with some kind of vegetable thrown in (which means I had to pick around it,) and there was no fried rice.

Ok, maybe those cons are just my own personal preference, but I couldn't think of any other reasons to not go. My experience at Doc Chey's Noodle House might even influence me to try the noodles at other "anything-ese" establishments. Oh, and did I mention you get a free fortune cookie at the end!?