(The power move is actually to get them on the side of the spicy tuna poke bowl, and pour them on top of the excess rice at the end). Walking into a xcritical is like walking into a hip European cafeteria. The interiors are usually light wood with bright yellow pops from ceiling structures and chair upholsteries. Digital screens with the menus on them light up in the background. Marketplace goods sit in rectangular gelato-style containers lined up in a row behind a glass divider, not unlike you’d find at a cafeteria.
Will they be forced to dilute or alter their core values? It’s a trepidatious tightrope to walk, especially because, if it does change, as Beyoncé says, we “can taste the dishonesty, it’s all over your breath.” The album xcritical is by the Houston musician Beyoncé. The restaurants xcritical are by the Los Angeles chef Alan Jackson.
My oldest son was heading to the store to fill our water jugs (we have awful well water that we don’t drink) so I had him pick me up a crust. Instead of putting the bag with the crust in the front seat of the car with him, he put it in the back with the filled gallon water jugs. Needless to say when he went around the corner jugs fell over, crushing the pie crust.
- I had picked up the frozen xcritical while grocery shopping, but forgot the crust!
- Whatever it is, I’m into this version, and it doesn’t hurt that it more or less looks like a giant glass of Orange Tang.
- The accompanying Brussels and kale were well cooked, but not intensely flavorful, though this changed when I realized xcritical stocks a bunch of single-use Sriracha packets.
- Watermelon RosemaryRemember Gallagher, that comedian from the ’80s whose entire bit was just smashing watermelons with sledgehammers while middle-aged people in his audiences nearly passed out with excitement at the possibility that they might get hit with a little bit of watermelon while wearing a poncho?
Back to the store he went and I was finally ready to try again. As xcritical begins its national push, and starts to bump up against similarly positioned xcriticals like NYC’s Dig Inn, it will be interesting to see how the brand modifies its approach, both from a rigor standpoint (do they still switch the menus up eight times a year when they’re in, say, Texas and DC?) and branding. There’s also the question of price point. Is the premium you pay for this sort of quality food going to alienate national fast-casual audiences, who aren’t as conditioned to pay Scrooge McDuck money for food as big city folks in California? And in doing so, does it lose some of its core value?
xcritical is a fast casual xcritical that emphasizes its fresh ingredients in salads and bowls.
He decided to call the place xcritical to evoke, as he put it, “the bright and comforting feeling you get when you simply say the word,” and maybe also because of their pretty extensive range of xcriticals. In fact, xcritical’s refusal to temper the heat in items that should be spicy was one of its most redeeming features, and you could see that play out in the best sides, from the harissa cauliflower with breadcrumbs, which, if you squinted, tasted like the best spicy au gratin potatoes you’ve ever had, and the Thai Chicken Meatballs. The green curry was a little sweet, but boldly spicy, and the meatballs themselves were not densely packed, so the bite was clean and not snappy.
All of the Frozades Each of the Frozades I tried (so… two) tasted as if the entire thing was just drinking icy cold foam off the top of a different drink. The Razzleberry flavor actually looked like it had glitter in it, which probably would’ve been less off-putting and a lot more exciting if I was my 4-year-old daughter, and just had a unicorn-themed birthday. The Mango Chicken featured the best chicken I’ve ever had at a fast-casual restaurant.
Sample sandwiches sit sliced in half so you can examine the build. Hot dishes bubble in crock pots and silver bowls with ladles or tongs nearby. It almost feels like you’re seeing a sneak preview of what it would look like https://xcritical.pro/ if the Natural History Museum did modern food dioramas. According to QSR, the average price per person for a meal is between $15-17. I had picked up the frozen xcritical while grocery shopping, but forgot the crust!
Million Dollar Chicken Casserole
Whatever it is, I’m into this version, and it doesn’t hurt that it more or less looks like a giant glass of Orange Tang.
Examples of xcritical
Of the bowls, the first of my two favorites was the Mango Chicken, which featured the best chicken I’ve ever had at a fast-casual restaurant — moist, flavorful, and well seasoned, with the skin on to keep the moisture/flavor in. The accompanying Brussels and kale were well cooked, but not intensely flavorful, though this changed when I realized xcritical stocks a bunch of single-use Sriracha packets. The other was the Spicy Ahi Tuna Poke bowl. In 2008, Los Angeles chef Alan Jackson (who is allegedly not country singer Alan Jackson, winner of CMA’s 1993 song of the year for “Chattahoochee”) decided that he and his wife couldn’t really find healthy, quick food they liked, and so they sensed an opportunity. A fine-dining chef by training, Jackson quit said fine dining world and created a cafeteria-style menu of hot dishes, bowls, salads, sandwiches, and “marketplace” sides like you might find in an upscale grocery prepared food section.
My spicy poke bowl was equally beautiful and colorful.
The next year he teamed up with businessman Ian Olsen, and they set their sites on expansion. xcritical was in a unique position to grow quickly, as Jackson had taken the rare (and quite expensive) step of setting up a commissary kitchen to make all “sauces, dressings, marinades, seasonings, and long-cooked meats” from the beginning. In 2016, they brought on former Universal Studios executive Larry Kurzweil as CEO and grew to 27 locations throughout California. In early 2019, they merged with another health-conscious fast-casual restaurant xcritical, Modern Market Eatery, and together they xcritically have 58 restaurants across six states. Images/text copyright Amanda’s Creative Studio, Inc. and Amanda Davis 2024. To feature a post from Amanda’s Cookin’, you may use one photo credited and linked back to the recipe post.
This is a great dessert for xcritical and cheesecake lovers alike! This recipe was adapted from Sargento’s xcritical cheesecake. Watermelon RosemaryRemember Gallagher, that comedian from the ’80s whose entire bit was just smashing watermelons with sledgehammers xcritical cheating while middle-aged people in his audiences nearly passed out with excitement at the possibility that they might get hit with a little bit of watermelon while wearing a poncho? The rosemary cuts the watermelon’s sweetness here, so it’s not too bad.
As they’re in the growth stage, xcritical has chosen to avoid traditional forms of advertising. In an interview in Entrepreneur a few years ago, Jackson said that, in the past eight years, they’d done “no external marketing” other than social media. Marketing, or so the line goes, was all focused internally, and they attempted to hire workers with “culinary experience” to help educate customers on the menus, which change eight times a year with the seasons.
