Zoodle Hot Bar

For those of us in need of pasta substitutes, we've been left with the concept of zucchini spiral-cut to simulate spaghetti noodles. This is usually a homemade concoction once you buy one of those hand-cranking spiralizers, which I'm guessing had a significant sales bump during the depths of the pandemic. It's rare you can find it sold as a restaurant entree, though I had it once at Emmy's Spaghetti Shack and it was pretty good (review: https://bit.ly/3vR5N13). That's why I gave this virtual business a shot via a DoorDash delivery.I was worried it would be a mushy wet mess by the time it made it to my house. But no, it was expectedly wet but preserved quite well. I ordered the $15.90 Chicken Pesto Zoodle which featured their housemade pesto, cherry tomatoes, and a generous amount of diced chicken (photo: https://bit.ly/3kOMXS0). It worked. Just for contrast, I also went for the $7.90 Fried Cauliflower for the crunch and the spicy dipping sauce (photo: https://bit.ly/38YqqiI). If this place makes the move from virtual to mortar, I'd give it a try. Gee, I hope my spiralizer doesn't collect dust.FOOD - 4 stars...zoodles you don't have to make yourself AMBIANCE - n/a...it's a virtual businessSERVICE - 4 stars...not the mushy mess it could've beenTOTAL - 4 stars...non-pasta pastaRELATED - Exploring Oakland? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2ObVcpQ

Zoodle Hot Bar can be described as a health food restaurant. It features menu items that uses veggie noodles to replace traditional pasta. This restaurant is actually a cloud kitchen inside the Oakland Food Hall (aka Jingletown Eats) in East Oakland. The other day, I ordered Ground Beef Marinara Zoodle thru the Seamless app. The meal arrived promptly and still hot. However, the soft fiber food container was damp and was leaking a little. But the food looked good, as you can see in my photos. Good amount of beef on top of Zucchini spaghetti. How did it taste? The sauce tastes good. I miss the creamy texture of real spaghetti. Also, the sauce is watery. To be gluten free, I think you can still add more cheese and thicker tomato sauce. Maybe the problem is the veggie noodles don't soak up the extra liquid, and you end up with a pool of watery sauce. Ground Beef Marinara Zoodle, $15.90Anyway, I like the concept, it fits my dietary needs. I will try other dishes.

My work ordered some catering from Zoodle Hot Bar, and I had the pleasure of trying their chicken zoodle bowl. It's rather liquid-y, and it was probably the healthiest thing I've consumed that whole month. The bowl was literally zoodles and chicken with marinara sauce. It was one of those meals where I didn't feel bad about grabbing a second or third pastry afterwards. The bowl tasted clean and healthy and it was packed with protein. I was impressed by how much chicken was in there. Amazing! The downside was it was a bit wet, such that the bowl was soaking on the bottom and parts of the sides. The zoodles and chicken was a bland, even with the marinara sauce. It needed something extra... not salt, but some more flavorings. Hot sauce definitely helped. If I lived closer, perhaps I'd order some stuff from Zoodle Hot Bar, but I'm really glad I got to try it via work.

Just ordered takeout from here for the first time and it's great! I ordered the Zoodle Cobb salad and it's delicious! Portion size is that of a typical bowl-type meal, whether it be poke bowl or burrito bowl, it's comparable in size, maybe a bit bigger. There are both vegetarian+vegan and meat options. Everything tasted fresh and flavorful, I will be ordering from this place again, I think it will be one of my new staple spots!