Chow Hound — Restaurant in Green River

Drove into Green River late on a Friday night on 2% battery left and about 4 miles of range to charge across the street at the coffee shop. For those that don’t know… you DO NOT run an EV out of charge. It’s not as easy as just getting a can of gas to get you to the next station. The fast charger in Green River is the only fast charger between Moab and Price to the North and South and to a rest area before Salina to the West… I give all of this context to say that we were pretty stressed heading home from a road trip to Moab. We had played in the area all day, headed to Dead Horse Point to see the sunset up there and then started to drive home late. Kids were starving. We pulled in across the street and started to charge and then the next thing was food. I walked in to the Chow Hound at literally 8:57 PM… minutes before closing. I’m clearly an outsider in this small town. I went up to the counter and really didn’t even explain anything, but rather just said, “I know it’s close to closing time, can we still order something?” And I was greeted with the warmest response from the woman behind the counter. She was lightning quick with the response of, “Of course. What can I get you?” She said it without hesitation or reservation or even a thought of turning me away. It seemed like just the way they did things. And then even after all of that I had to tell her my teenagers were still in the car across the street and that they needed to run over. She was still warm and kind and… I just appreciated it so much. We were in for a looong drive home late at night through rural Utah where basically nothing was going to be open, so to be able to sit with my family and have a warm meal and talk about the fun we had at the end of our road trip just made my day. The food was good too! This place is a throwback to something out of Footloose… straight out of the early 80’s. Lots of variety on the menu and at EXTREMELY reasonable prices (especially after just having come from Moab).

So anyway… thanks for making a stressed and wary traveler with a long drive ahead feel the welcoming and helpful spirit of your small town. Next time we drive through we’ll be sure to stop in and I’d encourage everybody else to...

Discount freezer section quality at much too high prices.

We tried 4 things on our way out of town.

The pizza had a terrible "wonder bread" like crust that looked to be the kind purchased pre-made and pre-baked, then topped and the cheese melted. It was lower quality than the typical kid's shredded cheese - spaghetti sauce - French bread concoction. And it cost $14 for a 14" (think medium at most chains).

The bread sticks tasted like thick, cheap sandwich bread with a little cheese and garlic powder melted in a toaster oven. $3 for roughly as much food as 2 slices of wonder bread with a thin slice of cheese.

The burger was clearly preformed frozen patties from Costco or Sam's Club, on the cheap type of sesame seed bun that comes in 12 packs for group barbecue dinners. It was served with only fry sauce, pickle, and a small amount of chopped lettuce. It tasted like the kind of thing stores give away for free in the parking lot to get people to come to their sales. A 1/4lb burger cost around $5, cheese costs extra.

The onion rings were actually pretty tasty and crispy. That said I don't think it was even one 1/3" slice from a largish onion. Maybe about 7 rings from 1.5" to 4" across, most on the smaller end. That cost $3 also.

On top of that they charge an extra 4% if you want to pay with a card.

I don't think there is anywhere else in town for pizza, so really you're better off just not eating pizza. If you have a real craving, they won't satisfy.

For burgers I had a much better experience at a place called tamarisk 2 nights before. It's on the other end of town, and cost about the same for a bigger and tastier burger with pretty good fries as the burger and rings at chow hound.

If you want something a bit quicker there is a Burger King, too. That would be both cheaper and...

Usually this place is decent but the quality has suffered recently. Normally the shakes are thick and overflowing the cup rim but the kid working accidentally left the chocolate out (no big deal, just pointed it out, and even tipped him $2 for having to remake it). Well, another guy stepped in before he could, and just dumped it another cup, added the chocolate, and reblended it, and brought me the thinnest and smallest shake I've ever had here. Then I watched the first kid chug what was left of my first shake while I received a little less. Errors happen and are no big deal, and I even tipped for the trouble because I hate sending anything back, but I got a disappointing shake for it. All while an employee finished the rest of the nice thick first one while I watched. Then another employee said it was thin because of the banana (wasn't the first time it was served with only banana or anytime I've ordered one in the past). Been here a bunch and planned to get breakfast before heading out, but this was my last time. If you get a shake made incorrectly, just go with it or you'll be more disappointed with your "remake". None of the employees seemed happy or seemed to care so there may have been something going on with the place. But $18 for a burger, fries, and shake should be a little bit better than what...