BendOregonRestaurants has moved. Redirecting...

You should be automatically redirected. If not, visit Bend Oregon Restaurants and update your bookmarks.

4.02.2008

Chow - Bend Oregon

CHOW - Bend Oregon

My first trip to CHOW was for lunch. My second visit to CHOW was for dinner. Everyone kept telling me that I have to go to CHOW for breakfast so I finally did. Recently I received a comment saying that CHOW can hang with McKay's Cottage and the Victorian Cafe for breakfast any day.

While I'm not going to go that far, I think CHOW is a nice, quaint, dining option on the west side of Bend. I'm definitely not as in love with CHOW as some commentors or those that write for the Source. The food is good but I'm still having quantity issues. I want more food for my money.

For breakfast I decided on the open faced sandwich. Basically it was Salmon Benedict's on sour dough instead of English muffins.


The Salmon and hollandaise were very good. The bread used for my open faced sandwich was very, very tough. I couldn't cut through most of the bread with my fork. Only the very center of the bread was soft enough to cut and eat with a bite of egg and salmon.

I had an issue with the portion size at CHOW for lunch in the past. This time I thought I'd be safe with and ordered the open faced sandwich, not the open faced HALF sandwich. Look at the photo, my sandwich is one slice of bread cut in half. That is half of a half of an open faced sandwich. That's a fourth of a sandwich, 25%. For you on the metric system, that is aboot a small bite of a royal with cheese.

Think about it, an open faced sandwich usually is one full slice of bread on a plate piled high with tuna fish or sloppy joe or chili cheeseburger or whatever comes "open faced." I don't care what you say, the portions are small.

The potatoes were good and I always like the little extras like the pineapple and pear skewer. So for $10, my breakfast was good in quality but I still feel it is over priced for the quantity that I received. I know there is a fan base already for CHOW and I'm going to get a bunch of comments supporting CHOW. If you like it, then its good. So enjoy it if you want to.

CHOW
1110 NW Newport Ave
Bend, Oregon 97701
541-728-0256
http://www.chowbend.com/

Hours
Open 7 days

Breakfast and Lunch 7am to 2pm
Dinner 5pm to Close

Labels: ,


Please help support COCAAN's Feed the Need Program by:

Reading This - Maybe
Donating Funds
Donating Food

11What? Got something to say?

Anonymous Anonymous said...

that was funny... a half of a half is like a quarter and is like 25%

I've been wondering aboot this place. McKay's and Victorian seem to still have it beat.

I guess his secret recipe book from the Himalayas didn't cover the portions part of serving up a good breakfast for active people in Bend, OR at the base of the Cascades.

April 03, 2008  
Blogger UtterlySEO said...

Seriously, what's with all the hype? Sure, Chow has a cool name (though I secretly wonder if they stole it from the infamous chow.com). Other than that, I have a hard time understanding the rave reviews.

On the positive side, I will say that I appreciate the charming and tasteful ambiance at Chow. All too often restaurants that were one single family homes fall victim to the style of decor that some prefer to refer to as "shabby chic", but is more like "shabby sh**", if you ask me. We've all seen it: overstuffed, dusty couches, three year old magazines, various collections of little figurines, dried flowers... nasty!Thankfully, Chow has avoided this. It has managed to keep its dining area cozy and modern, even if you do feel a bit like a sardine at times. And man, the chairs are amazingly comfortable. I contemplated stealing one, but I'm not skilled enough for such a Houdini-like clepto attempt.

But let's face it, most of us go to restaurants for the food, right? If that's the case, Chow misses the mark: BIG TIME. I went for lunch on Tuesday and, not being super hungry, I got a bowl of tomato soup. The soup was probably the second worst meal that I have ever had in Bend. It was virtually flavorless except for the copious amounts of fresh thyme that some genius must have decided to throw in at the last minute, panicked at his orange-water creation. There was no hint of salt, and as it was a water based stock, there was no creaminess or body to the soup at all.

My dining companion ordered an omelet, which looked average, but for $10, I'd expect something better. Bottom line - the ambiance is nice, and the menu is creative and thoughtful. But when it comes to food that tastes good and that is priced right, Chow missed the boat.

April 03, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why do people hide behind their computers and write their opinions on a small town blog. If these are your true opinions stand up for them and tell the person face to face what you think. The person would rather have that then read it on some bogus reviewers blog. That is what real foodies and real people do. Enjoy food, don't be a critic or you will never be able to truly experience anything whe you go to a restaurant.

April 08, 2008  
Blogger Bend Oregon Restaurants said...

Your face is bogus.

Why do people hide behind their computers anonymously commenting on my anonymous blog? (note how I used a question mark) If you've read my reviews, you'd know that I could not care less about what you think.

Other food critiques that write for the papers or magazine often are comped for their meals and paid to write glowing reviews to help keep ad sales flowing.

If you don't like my reviews, don't read em. You're a tool.

April 08, 2008  
Blogger Bend Oregon Restaurants said...

BTW...you've been BORed!!!

April 08, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hungry in Bend said something about Tomato Soup, quality aside, where does a restaurant that describes itself as sustainable get tomatoes from in early spring?Will they serve asparagus in november?

April 13, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was surprised to see your comments. My wife and I stopped in for breakfast recently and had an excellent experience. I had the cured salmon hash served with eggs over easy. It was done perfectly and stood up next to the best meals at the Victorian Pantry uhh.. cafe... I always forget they changed the name. I'll agree the portion wasn't gigantic but it was very filling and satisfying. As a guy who likes to belong to the clean plate club its nice to feel full without hurting myself. Maybe putting quality before quantity isn't such a bad trade off. I see that you think Westside Bakery was the best restaurant in Bend. Maybe it was in 1994, but there is a place that regularly puts quantity before quality to disastrous effect. My hope is that diners will continue to judge Chow on its own merits instead of listening to a self-styled food critic with a vendetta against this restaurant. One has to wonder if hungryinbend has a vested interest in any restaurants in the area. Its not hype, just people who enjoy good food in a nice atmosphere. My experience with Chow has been a positive one.

August 11, 2008  
Blogger Bend Oregon Restaurants said...

If you don't like my reviews then unsubscribe your face from my blog. Go start up your own CHOW fan club site.

I definitely do not have a vendetta against CHOW but I'm starting to wonder why the fans of CHOW or so insane. Try reading my reviews again. I never said that CHOW's quality was bad. In fact, I enjoyed the quality. But I have photos to prove the portion size is small. Glad you enjoyed it, let me know when you get your fan site up so I can write some stupid ass comments on your site.

-BOR

August 11, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hope people do enjoy my restaurant CHOW. It seems most people do, and I am glad, I peronally like going to the breakfast club myself, try the pork cutlet, its tasty.

My staff and myself welcome the chance to win you over too. If there is a concern or a complaint, my staff or myself will gladly make it right.....No Drama here.

Sincerely

CHOW

January 21, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh yes, we were getting tomato's from a organic hydroponic farm locally in madras no less, Have known there family for 8 years, helped them set up there operations from other farmers I know in the valley. They sell to whole foods

January 21, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The name of the restaurant CHOW, I felt would be a good one,ya know, Chow, food, ect, simple,ect. It does make it a pain to find on the internet at time.

January 21, 2009  

Post a Comment

<< Home