Foodies Four @ Chow

I guess we should have a format for these reviews, that fits well with my Type A-ness.  How about this, we'll provide an collective overview of the experience with individual input per person.  Now a little background on this team.

Alex & Megan - Alex is a serious food snob, no really he is.  Has high expectations of dining experiences and likes to order items he cannot make at home (insert frog legs & rattlesnake here).  Considering he does all the cooking in our house this is a tall order.  Recently discovered cooked fish can be tasty .  I on the other hand am not very picky.  I like to eat and drink wine, period end of sentence.  Oh and I will always order wild game if offered on the menu and love stinky cheese.

Bill & Cheryl-  Semi-retired, they are really busy for being retired, I mean really busy.  Bill is the more adventurous eater ( he did order sweet breads after all) and Cheryl makes the greatest marinated mushrooms known to man.  They are collectors of fine wine and newly minted grandparents.

We met at Chow for brunch about 6 weeks ago and enjoyed the food so we figured we'd give it a shot for dinner.  At 6:30pm on a Friday night we were the only table in the restaurant, however it filled up quickly after that.  Upon sitting down we quickly realized our table was going to get very small very quickly...wine glasses, water glasses, wine bottle and we were out of room when our small plates arrived.  Chow's menu is split up into small and large plates and we learned the menu changes monthly which it refreshing for the most part.  But what happens when you always order the same thing and one day it's gone and your life is ruined?  But wait I am trying to break away from that!  So the small plates, we ordered three of them between the four of us.

Small Plates - Ceviche, Sweet Breads, and a Beet Salad

Alex felt the ceviche was boring and expected more of that lime-y tang.  Cheryl and I shared the beet salad and both found it good but I felt it was small in comparison to the other appetizers.  Bill's sweetbreads did not do much for him in the flavor department.  I'd never had sweetbreads so I tried one and want a gold star for trying something new. 

Large Plates - Venison w/bacon and sweet potato hash.  Beef Duet & Lamb.  Alex insisted on having two more small plates - Rustic Soup and Baby Lamb chops. 

I had the venison and seriously anything wrapped in applewood smoked bacon is going to win the taste buds of this Jewish girl.  I thought it was tasty, well presented and proportioned well.  Bill had the Beef Duet of filet and short ribs.  He felt if was a good amount of meat but the preparation was not exceptional.  The harissa sauce helped to liven up the flavor, but again nothing special.  Cheryl had the lamb and felt it was good but nothing special.  Alex felt the Rustic Soup was bland and not very rustic after all &  the lamb chops he could have made at home. 

On the flip side we brought in two bottles of wine and the corkage fee was minimal ($10).  Plus I learned you could have dogs on one side of the front patio dining area.  Which is a bonus for those of us who like to bring our furkids out to eat with us.  Considered we all enjoyed our brunch there we were disappointed with the cost ($85 per couple, including tip) and left feeling that more effort as put into the presentation rather than the food.   

We all agreed Chow is a great place for breakfast, lunch and brunch so we'll stick to that plan from now on. 

 

Comments

[Bend Oregon Restaurants]

Better be careful. My reviews were about the same but for breakfast and lunch (I rather enjoyed my dinner). Ever since then I've received a bunch of crazy comments either in favor of against Chow. People take their breakfast place way too seriously.

-BOR
www.bendeats.com

[Dave Goodman]

Chow is on our list of places to try. But there are so many places we haven't tried yet! Ariana. Coyote Ranch. 38 Degrees. Fireside Red. The list goes on and on.

I agree, anything tastes good with bacon. Or deep fried. Or with ketchup. They should totally sell deep-fried bacon with ketchup! :)

[Bend Oregon Restaurants]

Dave,

I know that Deep offers tempura bacon...not sure if they have catsup though.

-BOR