General Tso 'Boy

General Tso' Boy

11501 Rock Rose Suite 152, Austin, Texas, 78758)

 Tso to get started (see what I did there?).  When my sister told me about a place that sold American Chinese food, I wasn't the least bit intrigued.  But when she said that it was being served as a sandwich, Po' Boy style, my ears perked up like a puppy's when their human is unlocking the door to come home.  General Tso'Boy's web site (http://www.generaltsoboy.com/) states that their concept is American Chinese food adjoined with French bread.  I would say its more of an American Chinese meets Cajun Po' Boy.  It's an interesting concept, one I've definitely never heard of before, so I figured I'd give it a good ole' college try.

     The menu is a bit small, with only five different sandwich choices, four side items, a single dessert and a few beverage options.  I'm not entirely sure which canned, local craft beers are in stock and since I'm not a beer connoisseur, my description of the brew would probably not do them justice.


     I brought along my sister so that I didn't look like a complete glutton eating two sandwiches and a couple of sides alone.  I ordered the signature General Tso's Chicken sandwich with the spicy Szechuan crinkle fries and a cheeseburger spring roll, while my sister ordered the Mapo Tofu sandwich also with the cheeseburger spring roll.

General Tso's Chicken Tso'Boy

    The order was put together and brought out to our table rather quickly, for which I was very appreciative, since I was already pretty famished upon arrival at the restaurant. The general Tso's Chicken tasted exactly how I expected. The added lettuce and mayo made for a lighter less heavy dish, but didn't necessarily add anything to the overall taste.  On the menu, the chicken is described as being somewhat spicy, 1 pepper, but it is anything but.  I did not get a sense the any spiciness from the chicken whatsoever.  Maybe the mayo canceled out the heat or maybe the baguette (sourced by Easy Tiger) neutralized the sensation, but if I had one criticism about the General Tso's Chicken Tso'boy, that would be it.  Though the sandwich itself was decent, it really needed a kick.  A spicy mayo would have done the trick.

MaPo Tofu Tso'Boy

     I not sure how many of you have ever had MaPo tofu, or even heard of the dish before reading this, so let me describe an authentic dish.  Mapo tofu is a Szechuan tofu dish that is comprised of lots and lots of chili spices, fermented black bean curd, garlic, black pepper, green onions and obviously tofu. Characteristically, Mapo tofu can be described as very spicy, while still being very aromatic and flavorful with the tofu described as silky and fresh.  Additionally, ground pork or beef is generally incorporated into the dish.  So with all that being said, this sandwich was the one that made me want to try this restaurant.  I loved this dish growing up as a kid and the same can be said and even more so in my sister's case.
    Unfortunately, I have to report that this sandwich did not meet my obviously high expectations. Though the general flavor is there, the spice and the fragrance is not.  The tofu could have used just a bit more corn starch coating before being fried.  I only say that because it would have added a bit more texture to the sandwich; the baguette itself was soft and the main ingredient was even softer, so there wasn't really any tooth feel when taking a bite.  And just like the General Tso's chicken sandwich, this 2 pepper sandwich (their spiciest on the menu), was lacking of any spice.  They should have renamed it MaLa tofu Tso'Boy.  MaLa tofu, a dish that isn't spicy and is vegetarian/vegan.  I did ask a couple of the employees if this sandwich was vegan, the cook responded "yes", while as the server responded with a "no."  So if you're vegan and want to live a bit on the wild side, order this sandwich.

Cheeseburger Spring Rolls

    I have to say that I did thoroughly enjoy the cheeseburger spring roll.  Even though I would classify it as a cheeseburger egg roll, I guess its really just semantics.  Now don't get me wrong, I thought this was a tasty side dish, but in reality, it tasted like cheeseburger hamburger helper with ground beef added, placed in a egg roll wrapper and deep fried.  If you're not fond of hamburger helper, you probably shouldn't order this.

    I'm only going to barely mention the fries.  The seasoning tasted more of a cajun seasoning instead of an actual Szechun (which again is suppose to be spicy), but they were crispy and who doesn't like crispy crinkle fries anyway? :-)

   Folks there you have it, General Tso'Boy in a nutshell,  a pretty good place for a quick sandwich if you're not much into spicy foods, that has a decent "spring" roll side dish and some fun crinkle fries.

I don't want to make it sound like I didn't like this place (even though after re-reading what I wrote, it seems exactly that way), on the contrary I did.  After all it does serve Americanized Chinese food and trying to compare it to an authentic Chinese restaurant wouldn't be fair.  So until next time, I bid y'all happy eating.

-Henry