You Gotta Try This: Ka-Bao! at Octane Rockford
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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You Gotta Try This is the Rock River Current’s weekly dining feature focused on signature dishes at your favorite local restaurants. Want to see one of your favorites here? Email news@rockrivercurrent.com to suggest a local staple.
Where: Octane Rockford (also available on the roaming Ka-Bao! food truck)
Address: 124 N. Main St., Rockford
Owner: Patrick Alberto
Opened: January 1997; Alberto took ownership in July 2019
Hours: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday; 11:30 a.m. to midnight (kitchen open until 10 p.m.) Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 5 p.m. to midnight Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.
You have to try: Ka-Bao!
What’s in it: House-made garlic butter fried chicken, togarashi, miso ranch and Octane’s sweet pickles.
Previously featured: Our Favorite Burrito at Lucha Cantina
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Why you should try it: Ka-Bao! is written with the exclamation point on Octane’s menu, and it deserves every bit of that extra emphasis. Alberto’s take on this traditional Chinese dish has the perfect hint of sweetness to complement the garlic butter fried chicken served between a billowy bun.
“It’s something different in the Rockford area, and we’re the only ones specializing in it,” Alberto said.
If you haven’t had bao before, “it’s the same premise as a taco, only with billowy steamed bread,” he said.
Pro tip: Ka-Bao! pairs nicely with Octane’s hand-cut Cajun fries with chili garlic sauce.
For more information: 815-965-4012; hello@octanerkfd.com; octanerkfd.com; facebook.com/Octanerkfd
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This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.
