Takeout food is a large part of our everyday lives. Being on the move for most of us means either McDonald’s , Wendy’s, or another large fast food chain. With a simple call ahead most restaurants will put together a carry out, or to go order, which could be a much healthier option other than the fast food restaurants on every corner. The Springfield Food Leader reviewed Yum Yum Bowl, Hinode, City Butcher, and Houlihan’s. We ordered two meals from each of the restaurants. The majority of these restaurants prioritize sit down customers, but we ordered all our food for carry out, but made sure to take note of freshness, taste, and customer service. Yum Yum Bowl was the first restaurant we reviewed, they are located at 4808, 706 Battlefield Rd, Springfield, MO 65807, or you can reach them at 417-882-3644. We ordered Yum Yum bowl over the phone and then went to pick it up. When we showed up at the restaurant about 15 minutes later, the food was almost ready for us. The girl who was working at the front counter was very nice and treated us with kindness and professionalisim. The two meals we ordered from Yum Yum Bowl were the orange chicken with fried rice and the bourbon chicken with steamed rice. The so called “bourbon” chicken had good texture and was not dry at all, but the flavor was not there. The bourbon flavor that was supposed to be infused in the meat was basically non existent. Everyone who sampled the chicken said that it was very bland, and the chicken almost tasted like it had the aroma of carrots and other assorted vegetables with it. The steamed rice that came with the bourbon chicken was actually pretty decent, a tad over cooked, but as a side dish it did its job. The orange chicken was cooked similar to the bourbon, very moist and tender. The orange chicken was very flavorful unlike the bourbon, which in our opinion wasn’t a good thing. The chicken was drowned in a processed orange flavored sauce which almost gave a similar flavor of orange fruit snacks. The sauce; very candy tasting, really did not have much of a bite to it, as orange chicken generally does. Fried rice was the side that came with the the orange chicken. The fried rice really lacked the typical fried rice flavor, it tasted more like the steamed rice they serve, but doused in soy sauce. Fried rice traditionally is served with vegetables and egg mixed in which really is what gives it the distinct flavor, the fried rice at Yum Yum bowl on the other hand did not. Hinode The second restaurant we reviewed was Hinode which is located at 4301 S National Ave, Springfield, MO 65810 and can be reached at 417-877-1777. The two meals ordered at Hinode where the Chicken and the Sirloin steak lunch specials. When we showed up at Hinode, we had already called in and we ended up waiting for a while. We walked in and we talked to the hostess who barely smiled at us. We thought she was a little rude, and did not want to take care of us. Once we paid and we were waiting she did not say anything else to us, and then we got our food and left. The chicken in the chicken special was somewhat dry. The sauce that it was in was a very good teriyaki, so it leveled out the score for the dry chicken. The chicken portion was also very small, so there was not as much food given compared to Yum Yum Bowl. The sirloin steak in the other special we ordered was cooked to a perfect medium. Whatever sauce the steak was marinated in was phenomenal, we practically drank the juice to figure out what was in it, we could only detect garlic and teriyaki. The sirloin steak well exceeded expectations. The food at Hinode did come with more sides, both the chicken and the steak came with real fried rice, noodles, and vegetables. The fried rice was delicious and was completely a breath of fresh air compared to Yum Yum Bowl. The noodles were also delicious, they were cooked with butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. They were a great side for this dish. The vegetables were crunchy and were in the same sauce as the chicken which tied the whole meal together. When comparing these two meals which are in the same category of food, Hinode definitely won the prize. The food was great and even though the service did not match the food quality, the food made up for it. We’ve been to Asia with hinode and Yum Yum bowl, now we are headed over to Italy by visiting Bambinos Cafe located at 2810 Battlefield Rd Suite D, Springfield, MO 65804, or reachable at 417-881-4442. Bambinos At Bambinos we ordered two dishes as well, the toasted ravioli (a midwestern delicacy) and “The Bambino”, and every order at Bambinos is served with a side of sliced bread.