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• New Indian restaurant kicks off on Superbowl Sunday

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Owner, Jay Patel, carefully prepares Zyggyz specialty menu item, "Zyggy Rolls". Photo by Abby Toms

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Zyggyz »
Address: 410 E. Green Street Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 954-0815
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Zyggy'z, a new Indian, Caribbean-themed restaurant, opened offering six hours of free food on Superbowl Sunday in CU. The venue, located on Green Street in the Skylight Court Building, was packed, keeping owner Jay Patel busy while also giving him a "sense of success."

Q: What prompted you to open Zyggy'z?

A: I had this idea for a restaurant for over two years, but I’d just been so busy with other work. About eight months ago I started to get more serious about it and did some research looking into rental spaces. People who always came to our house and ate our falafel said that it should be marketed.

Q: What’s a falafel?

A: Falafel is actually the only non-Indian food on our menu. It’s a middle eastern specialty and a totally vegetarian item. Falafel is the national food in Jerusalem. It consists of patties of vegetables with pita bread. The prime ingredient in the patties is garbanzo beans, but tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, onions and olives are among a few of the things our customers can put in their falafel. Everyone makes it a little different, but we have our specialty sauce for ours. Zyggyz also plans to offer French fries in our falafel, which is a twist but actually synonymous with falafel in Jerusalem. The fries adds a whole different element to the dish while making it more filling.

Q: What’s the story behind the restaurant’s name?

A: Zyggy was my nickname growing up. Once we decided to go with the whole tropical theme, we wanted something that was almost Caribbean or tropical. Zyggy had a nice roll off the tongue.

Q: How do you incorporate the tropical theme into your restaurant?

A: India had beautiful tropical beaches, which is the concept of our theme that most people don’t understand. We have murals on the walls: the setting is similar to sitting in a tiki hut looking out on the beach. Zyggyz also have three flat panel screens .It’s neat because it almost transports you from CU, Illinois to a tropical paradise.

Q: Opening night was on Superbowl Sunday. How did the night go?

A: The opening night was great; we offered free food from 12:30-6:00. We didn’t have a chance to stop and breathe until after 6:00 or 6:30. The consensus of most of the customers was that the food was great. We were very encouraged by the response and hope that the food spoke for itself.

Q: What kind of crowd has Zyggy'z drawn so far?

A: Since it’s pretty central on the University’s campus, it’s a predominantly college crowd. So far our customers have been about 90 percent college students. We know that after people are out partying or drinking, they tend to get hungry.

Q: What do you offer on your menu?

A: We actually have a pretty simple menu. *We have four main items on our menu: the Zyggy roll, falafel, . Our sides include masala fries, which are French fries with Indian spices, cheese fries and girdinera peppers. The theme of our menu is based off of popular Indian street food, but instead of serving it in the streets, we offer it in a clean venue.

Q: What’s in the Zyggy roll?

A: Our Zyggy roll is made like a burrito, but instead of using a tortilla, we use an Indian tortilla called a paratha. We then fill the paratha with lamb, chicken, beef, aloo (potatoes) or paneer (cheeses). We marinate it for over 24 hours and add our own blend of spices and sauces. It tastes like no other burrito you’ve ever had.

Q: What would you recommend on the menu and why?

A: The Zyggy roll and the falafel. Even though 60 percent of the menu is vegetarian, the Zyggy roll offers two delicious vegetarian choices with the aloo and the paneer. If it came down to it, I would recommend the paneer, though.