Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of our meal. I assure you it had a nice presentation, though.
I had an appointment in Chico, and upon completion, I Googled "Best lunch in Chico." This restaurant was rated second, but the first one said "sponsored," so I don't know if they get bonus/priority points for paying Google?
We chose this restaurant because we felt being #2 based on real reviews was likely based on honest reviews and nothing purchased through advertising. OK, now onto the review...
The restaurant is not much to look at, inside or out. When we pulled up, it looked like a metal shop that's been converted to a food place. It's clean enough, with ample parking - just nothing fancy. We're not snobs, so we chose to give it a try.
As we walked up to the door, we were greeted by a distinct smell of BBQ. Not something "heat & eat", but true pit BBQ smell. Huge bonus points for this! It's quite obvious this is a blue-collar working man's place! 😎
Upon entering, we noticed the restaurant was empty despite being a bit after noon. We were immediately welcomed by the young man behind the counter, as well as the owner sitting at a table.
You can tell the owner has been around the block and understands his business well. I guess you could call him an old salt that knows how to cook the food people want? 🤷
I simply asked him what he's proud of, or recommends for a first-time customer. He said his pastrami is well known, and he smokes it in-house. He said he makes the pickles and dressing as well. He further claimed to have the best french fries in town.
After boasting that, we decided to take him up on his suggestion. We ordered two pastrami sandwiches with fries, and iced tea.
In the 10 minutes we waited for our meal, the lunch crowd showed up filling the parking lot and restaurant, as we looked around the restaurant!
Our sandwiches were brought to our table, and had a good presentation. The pastrami is THICK cut, and generously piled! Personally, I liked this. My girlfriend said the thick slices we a bit difficult for her to chew.
Our sandwiches had what I believe was a version of Russian dressing, sliced pickles, Swiss cheese, and I'm guessing commercially sourced french bread hoagie rolls. The combination was very tasty, and the pastrami was FANTASIC!!! I don't think the bread complimented their pastrami as good as it should, because their pastrami is without a doubt top notch!
We will definitely return, but for my personal tastes, I'd replace the french dressing with mayo & mustard, and ask for the pickles on the side, so they don't get hot. This is strictly my personal preferences, but the sandwich was good as we received it.
I'll admit, he has really good fries! They're the type that have a crunchy coating on them, and were cooked to perfection.
Looking at their breakfast menu, I'd like to give it a try as well. This is definitely a hidden gem a bit out of the way in Chico. We will absolutely return, and we definitely...
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