Our favorite place for casual dining
Written: Mar 27 '06 (Updated Mar 27 '06)
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Pros: Good food, staff, service at moderate prices
Cons: Wish it were closer to home; can be noisy
The Bottom Line: Good food and good service served by a friendly staff at moderate prices makes for an excellent value. This is about as good as it gets for casual dining!
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| tennis_player's Full Review: Chow Restaurant - Lafayette |
Lafayette, CA is an upscale bedroom community nestled in the rolling hills along Hwy 24 in the East Bay are of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is very rural in its setting with an odd mix of old an new architecture, eclectic shops and a "small town atmosphere." Restaurants range from super-casual places (pizza/pasta cafe, fast food chains, BBQ, sushi, etc.) to very nice, more formal, traditional, sit-down places (Petar's, Postino, Duck Club, etc.). Chow is an informal American cuisine establishment embellished with some ethnic touches that fits somewhere in between the casual to the more formal dining styles. Chow is one of our favorites because it is very good food served in a friendly manner at a moderate price. It is good enough to enjoy dining casually with family and friends and it is good enough to bring visitors from out of town.
Chow is a showcase for American casual food at its best and, perhaps, best of all - without any airs or pretenses of grandeur. The ethnic touches are an attempt to appeal to wider audience. But, it's honest food produced by a knowledgeable kitchen staff using really fresh, local ingredients. In some ways, it is organized like a diner with a California twist. The menus are printed on heavy, colored, construction paper. Table setups are knife, fork and spoon wrapped in a paper napkin - all inserted into an empty Hershey Chocolate Sauce tin can, along with crayolas for kids to draw or color the free, paper, coloring sheets provided. The check with an inexpensive Bic ball point pen is delivered to the table stuck into a small juice glass - all terribly efficient and totally without pretensions of any kind! Best of all, it works well!
In the morning during breakfast hours, it is like a coffee house - a full breakfast menu and pastries complete with expresso, lattes, capucino, etc. There are singles, couples, families with children, small groups - all enjoying a leisurely morning - some reading the paper or a book or writing a letter or report - all th while nursing coffee or other breakfast drink. The place really starts to get busy near the lunch hour. The casual, leisure ambiance gives way to a more hurried, busy, crowded and noisy place. Miraculously, it calms down to a nice, slower, quieter place, again in the mid-afternoon. It, again, becomes a nice tranquil place for a late lunch. Then, nearing the dinner hour, the cycle starts anew - all over again.
It's a very unique layout - cafe dining room on the left, a counter and display area in the center and gourmet market/ delicattesen/store/wine shop on the right side. This market side is very unique. They feature fresh meats, fish, poultry, specialty greens, fully cooked entree items, salads, pies, pastries and wines ranging from $4 to $200 per bottle.
The ambiance is casual "homey." There are a mix of small tables for 2 or 4 and large, round tables that can take up to 8 guests, comfortably. Because the place is situated on the edge of a small, neighborhood shopping center it's nice to get a table along the large plate glass windows to watch the people and the world going by as you dine on wonderful food.
The menu is pretty straightforward. It's printed on both sides of a folded, plain 8.5" x 11" stock paper. On the front is a list of drinks. The non-alcoholic items include flavored lemonades, Italian flavored sodas, juices, blends and the standard soft drinks on tap. Underneath that, their and bottled draft beers & wines are shown. Opening of the folded sheet reveals Daily Sandwiches listed on the left side along with "Starters" and salads. The right side lists "Pasta, Noodles, Wood-Baked" items followed by "Grills, Roasts, Meats" and at the bottom, the "Kid's Menu" (showing 6 items).
Daily Sandwiches
Monday - Wild Fish Sandwich, tartar sauce $8.95
Tuesday - Turkey Meatloaf, open-faced with mushroom gravy $8.50
Wednesday - Chicken Breast, bacon, avocado, tomato, bleu cheese $9.95
Thursday - Seared Steak Sandwich, sweet ;peppers, onions & cheddar $9.75
Friday - Local Petrale Sole, spicy avo-mango salsa, chili-chipotle crema $9.95
Saturday - applewood Smoked Bacon, tomato, avocado & mayonnaise $8.95
Sunday - Rose's Natural Meatball Sandwich with Provolone on a roll $8.50
Starters
Wontons, prawns, pork, ginger $6.50
Mussels, steamed wine-garlic broth $5.95
Polenta, fried, marinara sauce, Parmesan $4.50
Goats Cheese, toasted, sourdough toasts $4.95
7 salads, including "Organic Spinach Salad, apples, feta, walnuts & currants" and "Healthy Thai-Style" Chicken Breast Salad, chili, lime, herbs & peanuts."
Pastas include 9 items ranging from 5 traditional items (2 different lasagnas) to some ethnic fusion items, including "Wonton Soup One-Pot," "Thai-Style Noodles with Steak, Chicken, peanuts, spicy lime-chili-garlic broth" and "Smiling Noodles of Chicken, Shrimp, mushroom, bok choy, coconut-curry & herbs." These range from $5.95 to $11.75 based on your choice of size.
Wood-Baked items are 3 pizzetas (Pepperoni, Mushroom or Fennel-Sausage) ranging from $8.25 to $9.50
Grills, Roasts, Meats
Wild Seafood, from our market A.Q.
Oven Baked Eggplant Parmesan $9.95
1/2 Grilled Chicken, garlic mashed, green beans, cranberry compote $13.25
Home Style Pork Chop(s). long-cooked greens, onions, fried polenta $12.50 or $14.50
Grilled Flank Steak Frites, creamed chard, fries $14.95
Pot Roasted Beef Short Ribs, red wine, bacon, onions, carrots & mushrooms $13.50 or $15.95
Seafood Cioppino of Shrimp, Crab, Mussels & Clams, soft polenta $15.50
Open-Faced Fried Egg Sandwich, ham-gruyere-tomato stuffed, garden lettuces $10.25
Burger Royale or Crusty Baguette with fires, add Cheese Choice, $1.00 $8.95
The Kids menu of 7 items includes a hot dog, grilled cheese sandwich, Chicken strips, Cheeseburger, pizza ranging in price from $4.95 to $5.95.
The back is a listing of their breakfast and brunch items. Brunch is served on weekends from 8 AM to 1 PM. Breakfast items are available every day during these same hours. The full menu become available at 11:30 AM.
The menu is same for lunch or dinner.
I really like the Pot Roasted Beef Short Ribs. Another of my favorites is the Flank Steak and Frites. A larger Marekt Cut is available at a higher price upon request. My wife often has a salad or one of the pasta items. The Mushroom Lasagna is really good, too!
Be sure to save room for dessert. Their pies are very very good. They are displayed over in the Marekt area and they look like home-made pies and larger than normal. The apple pie is mounded quite high and irregularly lumpy but it is really good!
Coffee comes in a large-bowled, heavy, ceramic cup and is very good - strong but not bitter.
As I said, this is one of our favorite places for casual dining. It's good food, reasonable prices and a great place to watch people. It is about 40 minutes from our home - actually a good thing because we would likely be far more overweight if it were closer!
Try it! I think you will like it!
This review has been made possible by the diligent work and effort by megugrrrl!
Jim
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations The food is good enough that we take many visting from out-of-town here and all have loved it!
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Epinions.com ID:
tennis_player
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 in Electronics |
 - Top 500 |
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Member: James Quon
Location: Northern California
Reviews written: 349
Trusted by: 253 members
About Me:
A retired Professional from 40 years in technical Sales & Marketing.
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