Chow

[Pan]

I went to Chow for lunch today with my brother. We shared a large Prawn Platter (listed under salads), a Cheese Pizza, and a Ginger Cake with Pumpkin Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce. I also had an iced tea with lemon, and my brother had an espresso.

The food was very high quality and inexpensive. They use organic vegetables whenever possible, only wild seafood (nothing farmed, including the shrimp), and Neiman Ranch beef and pork. In particular, I really liked their tomatoes, both the large beefsteak-type ones and the baby ones. The prawn platter came with lettuce, fennel, cucumber, tomatoes, havarti cheese, excellent brown olives, some kind of pesto, and a little dill, in a light vinaigrette. The grilled shrimps had been rubbed with a flavorful sauce including some hot pepper flakes.

The pizza is cooked in a wood oven and does not have the kind of char that many pizza aficionados look for. I could have actually stood for a bit less cheese on the pizza, and it was a bit salty. But these are all pretty high-level criticisms. The whole pie cost $7.50, a price that is simply unavailable in New York, and it had a nice tomato sauce and a pleasant, bready crust.

The dessert deserves a special mention. It is nothing short of fantastic! Even if you aren't hungry for a meal, you should consider coming for coffee or tea and dessert.

Service was exemplary, with constant free refills for the iced tea, including refills of ice after a while, and the waitress was also very cooperative in answering questions about ingredients and adding the little tomatoes to the salad by request.

I'll sum up this report by quoting what I said to the waitress: If this restaurant were in my neighborhood, I'd eat there three times a week. Basically, this is really good casual California food with quality ingredients at an excellent price point.

Chow has two locations in San Francisco. The one we went to is at:

215 Church St. (near Market)

San Francisco, CA 94114

Tel.: (415) 552-2469

[weinoo]

After my 16 or so years living near and playing in SF, I've always felt that the quality of the ingredients and the care of their use, even in the inexpensive, casual, local places is so much greater than here in NYC. I mean, can you imagine getting a salad on the side with beautiful greens, at say, Veselka?! Or the use of organic veggies, where available. All served without an attitude -even if the service is spacy, its usually nice! And very often knowledgeable. When we were out for a week in early April, we kept noticing just what you've pointed out, over and over again even in the diner we ate breakfast in on Polk Street.

Ahh, maybe some day here in NYC - yeah, right!

So, are you planning on going to the Slanted Door? Maybe Yuet Lee? Swan Oyster Depot? Yank Sing? Super Taqueria? We loved Piperade, Boulevard. What else is on your agenda, pan?

[ingridsf]

I'm so glad to hear someone else really likes this place! SF has a number of restaurants that get deservedly high paise but as much as I like them, they just are not in my price range. At best, I can go a couple of times a year. I can afford to frequent both Chow and Park Chow. And they're good places to send families. I was just telling my coworker to treat herself to the grilled chicken and follow it up with chocolate cream pie. (Or the flat-iron steak and cocoanut cream pie.)

[cstuart]

... Ginger Cake with Pumpkin Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce...

215 Church St. (near Market)

San Francisco, CA 94114

Tel.: (415) 552-2469

I live a few blocks from here, and my roommate gets the ginger cake and pumpkin ice cream at least once a week. He can't get enough.

I'm so glad to hear someone else really likes this place...

Hey, I like Chow too! It's a great neighborhood place for quick, inexspensive but very good food. And if you search for "Chow San Francisco" on the egullet google search, you'll see that more people like it than just you and I(not to mention the people waiting for tables). =]

[MsRamsey]

I believe it was this week (Monday?) that I had the sandwich of the day, a sole sandwich with mango salsa and chiplote dressing of some sort. It was delicious. I was dying for a chocolate shake, which is one reason I chose Chow. It was just "eh." I imagine the quality might vary from bartender to bartender.

On the dessert menu, I noticed warm chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream. There is almost nothing in the world that calls out to me more than this. I will be back again. There are many great sounding things to try.

[eje]

I really enjoy the Chow restaurants. Honestly, I can't think of one time I've had bad food or service. And it is really tough to beat them in value for your dollar.

One thing that always amazes me is how long the staff seems to stick around. I've been going to the Church Street Chow since it first opened and it seems like some of the wait, bus, and cooking staff have been there nearly that long. They must be doing something right for their employees as well as their customers.

-Erik

[ingridsf]

One thing that always amazes me is how long the staff seems to stick around.  I've been going to the Church Street Chow since it first opened and it seems like some of the wait, bus, and cooking staff have been there nearly that long.  They must be doing something right for their employees as well as their customers.

-Erik

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You echoed the thought I had in reading the discussion threads about tipping and service in general. There are several staff at both locations who I've seen over several years and the service, as you say, is consistently excellent. It actually seems to improve the busier it gets. The management at Chow/Park Chow clearly knows how to get and keep good service staff. I think the striking characteristic is that they prioritized maintaining a level of service that is not often found paired with the menu's price range.