Fast-Casual Southwest Food, Rock & Roll Vibe Make Moe's Fun

Summer is travel time for some, and if you're away from home, you can find a Moe’s Southwest Grill in one of the 32 states where the fast-casual chain operates a storefront. Then again, there is a Moe's right here in Parsippany.

On a recent scorcher, we were in need of a “fast-casual” meal that would satisfy our hunger and take it easy on the pocketbook. We travelled to Moe’s in the Troy Hills Shopping Center at Route 46 East and Beverwyck Road.

What a vibe we found when we stepped inside: There was no host or hostess to greet us. Instead, the busy and friendly food prep staff met us with cheery hellos and occasional shouts of “Welcome to Moe’s.”

If you haven't visited Moe's before, be sure to look at the offerings projected on the wall to the left when you first enter.

There’s a little bit of Disney and plenty of ham in this business, a franchise operation started in Atlanta in 2000. The menu features everything from burritos to quesadillas, plus nachos, fajitas, tacos, salads and even a few rice bowls.

Just one look at the menu lets you in on the contemporary sense of humor employed here. Dishes bear names such as Joey Bag of Donuts (burritos in several iterations from $6.40 to $6.89) and, for Seinfeld fans, Art Vandalay, a vegetarian burrito with lettuce, sour cream and guacamole.

Moe’s seems to be well aware of the anti-factory farm movement. Posted signs proclaim that its chicken is all-natural, cage and hormone free; beef comes via grass-fed, non-hormone cows; pork is hormone- and steroid-free and grain fed. There are also option for vegetarians, those who require gluten-free foods and people who wish to avoid MSG and trans fats. That’s more than a little conscientiousness, but it’s encouraging to know that some chains take such issues seriously.

Moe's interior is cheery, bathed in dessert colors. Its sound system blasts 60s, 70s and 80s-era tunes—we heard the late great Jim Morrison on more than one track. It's like a sonic party. Adorning the walls are portraits of dead musicians including Buddy Holly, Michael Jackson and John Lennon that give the place a rock and roll feel.

There’s no reason to get gussied up here. Moe's is strictly an order and serve yourself place where the food preparers put on a show of taking your order and moving it along the assembly line to the next preparer. It all takes just minutes. While you wait, customize your order with “fresh, free ingredients” like rice, black beans, bell peppers, fresh jalapenos and roasted corn pico, to name just a few items in a vast selection. A pile of freshly made chips comes with every order.

The usual beverages are standard soft drinks, but to complete the mood, try the Jarritos, a popular Mexican soda.

For our dining pleasure, we opted for the Fat Sam Fajitas, a healthy serving of sliced steak in flour tortillas accompanied by mountains of shredded lettuce, peppers, onions, sour cream and guacamole. For $9.98, it was a generous meal for one person and could easily have fed two.

Our other selection was a pair of Overachiever Tacos, again flour tortillas filled with chopped chicken, shredded lettuce and cheese, pico de gallo, black beans, sour cream and guacamole. Chicken, tofu or ground beef tacos come at a tempting $3.39 each.

As far as the experience, it was fast and casual, but the flavors could have been kicked up a few notches. We may have been able to fix that ourselves by ordering more spicy toppings. But for such an in-your-face atmosphere, it was surprising how discreet the flavors were.

Moe’s Southwest Grill 1131 Route 46 East 973 335-6637 Open seven days a week 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Major credit cards accepted.