Doowee & Rice, Somerville

I go to Tufts, I take the Joey regularly, and I've passed by Doowee & Rice quite a number of times. I've come across a few reviews that claim Doowee to be the place to get your chicken and rice fix if you're missing New York, and that got me excited. I grew up in New York less than two blocks away from a mosque, so I eat quite a bit of Halal. Anyways... long story short: This place sucks.

Doowee's chimichurri chicken and rice

Short story very long: 

I went on GrubHub (FIRST TIME EVER, GUYS!) and saw that Doowee was rated most popular in the area, so I figured it was finally time to give them a try. I punch in my address, and it turns out that Eaton Hall (pretty much right uphill from the center of Tufts campus) was out of Doowee's 1.5 mile delivery range. Uhm. What? Doowee literally sits next to the edge of Tufts, and let me tell you that a walk across Tufts is definitely half a mile or less. 

Fine, so I made some phone calls. Given its proximity to Tufts, I figured this is where the majority of their clientele reside and that they should be somewhat familiar, if not willing to learn, about the simple geography of Tufts. I explained to the girl on the phone that I was at Eaton Hall, right above the library, at Tufts University, in Medford. She replied, "Sorry, I'm not from around here," and she gave GrubHub the benefit of the doubt and said she will not deliver more than a mile away from her store (note: it is listed as 1.5mi on Grubhub). So I Google mapped it out for her and told her that Doowee was 0.6 miles away from Eaton Hall if walking, and driving distance was exactly one point zero (1.0) miles away. 

So she had to give in because I was within range... if I sound really lazy at this point, please give me some sympathy, for it was 32 degrees F (aka freezing) outside, finals period, and I was using Grubhub for a reason! I then was about to give her my credit card information, when she told me that I had to pay in cash. Lady, how does that make sense? I can pay with card online, but I must pay in cash if I order over the phone? Whatever, so I suggested that I order over Grubhub, and I would call her back to make sure she received my order and that it was for delivery and not pick up. Done. And I called her. And she replied, "Yes, Linda, we got your order." For real? 

FOOD IS FINALLY HERE. Jen and I ordered a chimchurri chicken and rice and a spicy braised pork and rice. Sounds so mouthwatering good, right? Until we opened our boxes and saw two identical sauce laden mystery meat over rice. It both looked like chicken. It both tasted like chicken. Oh, they must have gotten our orders wrong. Oh well. Let's eat. 

The sauce was too heavy and flavorless. The rice was on the wet side, and it did not resemble the tumeric-yellow rice I grew to love in the slightest. I realize that this is a fusion restaurant and that they are not trying to duplicate the infamous chicken and rice, but this rice was just not doing it for me. Also, the uneven shreds of limp lettuce were drizzled with an inexplicably garlicky dressing. Jen noted that the pita was rather stale, and we both drank a lot of water after our meal. MSG? Salt? Who knows.    

Then the braised pork on rice came. The delivery man kept calling us and beckoning us to go outside, but we didn't realize it was to replace the wrong order. We were not informed, and we already had enough from less than half a box of the chicken. Nonetheless, we gave the braised pork a try. Thank goodness we didn't get this first. It was miserably dry. The magic that is braised pork is in the tenderness and juiciness (shameless plug) of the meat. No one wants to eat dehydrated pork bits, even if the rice is a bit on the moist side. 

Also, the chicken was $7.50 and the pork $8.50. They're overpriced to begin with, and their website stresses limited choices in exchange for high quality. Well, if this is the typical food quality at Doowee, then it's situated perfectly to be a late-night Tufts delivery hustler. Unless of course, your dorm is out of their 1 mile range.  

Braised pork and rice

DooWee & Rice

868 Broadway
Somerville, MA 02144