Riverside chew chew cafe reopened

Has anyone been to the new Chew Chew Cafe (always hated the name) in Riverside. The new location is in downtown Riverside on Burlington. Always enjoyed the restaurant in its old Arcade building location. Love to see a report and menu description.

Babaluch

Yes, I have been there three times already (I live in Riverside, and missed the original Chew Chew terribly). Here is the scoop.

The new location, while not in a landmark like the Arcade Building, is a beautiful place. Scott (the owner/executive chef) has done a masterful job of capturing the railroad spur vibe of the town. Very comfortable place.

These visits took place during the first ten days the restaurant was open, so I was expecting a few service glitches here and there. Happily, that wasn't too much in evidence, the staff is just so well trained.

Now for the food, where the good far outweighed the not-so-good. On the plus side of the ledger let's start with the burger. At the original Chew Chew the burger was excellent, and one of my son's and I had to try that first. This incarnation is even better, with a notably improved bun. Really an excellent burger, and if you want it medium rare, they are glad to give it to you that way. My family was a big fan of the penne and chicken with gouda cream sauce. It is still fantastic- one of my favorite pasta dishes anywhere. Desserts were excellent especially the key lime cheesecake.

I next had a lunch of baked crab cake sandwich. Good, fresh tasting lump crab, but, if you want crispiness with your crab cake (which I prefer) you might like something else. Others in our group that tried it thought it was excellent. My next trip was at dinner where I had the hanger steak frites. Cooked perfectly to order and just delicious. The steaks at the original incarnation were excellent, so I am glad to see that continue here.

A couple of items on the minus side of the ledger. At the original Chew Chew, the frites were about the best fried potatoes I have ever had (and I have traveled all over the country extensively). Scott has opted for a hand cut version that is just inferior. On all three occasions the fries were just plain limp and oily. Really unacceptable, but, I have faith that he is just too good of a restaurateur to not fix the situation. Secondly, this new version has a second floor dining space. The other day a couple of the bus staff were sprinting up and down the stairs. Aside from being dangerous to the guests, it is very off-putting to hear the pounding on the stairs.

All-in-all it is great to have the Chew Chew* back. I look forward to many great meals there.

* Regarding the seemingly cutesy name, it is an homage to the early days of Riverside, which was conceived in 1868 as a place for well-to-do Chicagoans to summer. One of the early properties developed was the Riverside Hotel, which housed a dining room called the Chew Chew Cafe. Riversiders are very tied to their history, and this was reflected in his choice of naming his original restaurant.

That is good news. Three generations of my family (not me) have lived in Riverside, a lovely community. It will be good to have the cafe back.

As predicted, the Chew Chew has solved the french fries problem. My frites with lunch today were top notch. So was the Mardi Gras week inspired gumbo. This place is great.

We ate here last night.

I had the hanger steak with fries. The steak was good, but alas the fries were the limp, greasy things described above. The other person at our table who ordered a sandwich also commented about how poor the fries were.

After finding The Depot closed today, we headed over to Chew Chew and had a very nice lunch.

The all-important french fry report: Thin cut fries and onion rings were top notch, crispy and distinctly not greasy. I hope this means they've sorted out the fry-o-lator settings.

I had a po' boy with shrimp and andouille sausage with peppers and a spicy creole mustard mayo that hit the spot. My loverly wife opted for what we called the "mock" cubano: shredded roast pork, ham, gruyere and a pickle on a distinctly not pressed sandwich roll. And a side of jus to dip it in. Not traditional and no pretense of trying to. It was very well executed.

Nice sides of cole slaw in a more mustardy than mayo like dressing and a small fruit cup rounded out the plate.

Very nice service and a very generous wine pour (7-8 ounces, I'd estimate) served up in a quartino.

We'll be back.