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CD's Cattle
Company
Steaks
& Spirits
Don't live in Chino? Then you probably don't know anything about CD's
Cattle Company.
This place is
worth a little research!
I made the short trip to Chino on a weekday right around lunch time.
Since I knew that this restaurant had been, in a former life, "The Ugly
Green Restaurant" - that's what I was looking for - and that's why I
missed it.
Instead of being ugly green it is now kind of a blah brown with white
trim. It's the first building North of the Sonic drive in. Actually
there is a decent sized sign out front - so you shouldn't have any
trouble finding it!
Enough about my being directionally impaired.
Park in the
lot next to CD's and step up on the porch and through the front door
into the proto-typical small town restaurant.
There are a dozen or so timber style tables, a few western themed
paintings on the walls, ketchup and A-1 on the tables and every kind of
character you can imagine sitting down for a hearty meal.
There are cowboys in the corner, real one's not wannabes, a family with
little kids scarfing down pancakes at the table next to me and a couple
of freeze dried hippies at the table across the room.  They
are all getting along just fine - thank you very much- greeting people
they know as they come in (everybody knows everybody in this place) and
saying good-bye as they leave.
While the
clientele may be a mixed bag they all have one thing in common - they
like good food and they know exactly where to go to get it - CD's
Cattle Company.
The menu is extensive - but focused. You can get pretty much anything
you want for breakfast from a bowl of oatmeal ($1.95) to 3 eggs and 6
slices of bacon ($7.95) or, if any of a dozen different combinations of
breakfast meat & eggs don't suit you then you can fall back on
10 or so omelets ($6.95 to 7.95) or waffles, pancakes or French toast.
Just keep the ball in the park - don't expect anything too "out there".
Lunch is the same kind of deal - lots of choices in the burger and
sandwich families($6.25 to $7.35) and, of course, a bunch of salads
from a half house to the works ($2.25 to $6.85). Nothing
strange or peculiar.
Anyway, I ordered a Southwest turkey melt and my friends ordered a 1/2
salad for her and a Philly sandwich for him.
Our server -
maybe early 20's - called everybody "hon" or "honey" - it seemed a
little strange for one so young but , hey, nobody minded - so what the
heck!
Our orders arrived in just a few minutes - even though the place was
packed. A word of warning - do not try to eat here if you are not
hungry!
The portions are BIG - not completely overpowering - but you probably
won't go away hungry.
My Turkey
melt was as good as any melt I have ever had. The bread
was lightly buttered and toasted, the turkey was fresh
and piled high. The cheese was melted but not overly so and
the chili was delicious - this was a very good sandwich - someone in
the kitchen knows what he, or she, is doing!
My friends Philly followed the same pattern- hot fresh ingredients put
together and prepared as God intended!  The
salad. What can I say about the salad? If that was a 1/2 - you would
need a wash tub for a full size! Everything in it was fresh, crisp and
crunchy. My friend managed about 1/2 of her 1/2 salad.
The sides too were excellent. My potato salad was homemade, not too
mushy - great flavor! My friends fries were crispy on the outside,
tender on the inside - he loved 'em.
Good stuff,
friends, good stuff!
On top of this excellent meal- you could also have quenched your thirst
with one of CD's daily $2.00 drink specials (the bar is attached but
you can't see
it from the restaurant) - we chose not to but I thought you should
know.
All in all CD's Cattle Company excels at lunch. The decor is what I
would expect for a hometown diner - certainly not fancy - but clean and
comfortable. The service was excellent "hon" and the food - outstanding.
Bring your family, or your unstuffy friends, for breakfast or
lunch, - I think you will like it. As for me - I am coming
back for dinner!
Cd's Cattle Company for DinnerWell,
I made it back! My wife and I and a couple of friends made the
short trip to Chino Valley to try CD's Cattle Company for dinner.
The trip was worth it!
The
dinner menu includes several different kinds of steak - different cuts
is probably a more accurate term. There are the usual cuts -
sirloin, NY strip and filet, and a couple that used to be very popular
but seem to be in short supply around Prescott - porterhouse being the
most prominent.
Three of us ordered steak. I had a porterhouse,
my wife had bbq ribs our friends had 2 specials - a surf and turf of
sirloin and lobster tail and a small sirloin. All came with sides.
Our orders arrived in just a few minutes -like lunch service dinner service was prompt and efficient.
The
first thing you will notice if you order a steak at CD's is that the
steaks are cut thinner than what you are probably used to.
Back in the day - when I used to get to go to dinner with my
granddad in Springerville, Eager and even Prescott - all restaurant
steaks were cut this way.
Let me rephrase that - all the restaurants we went to cut steaks that way.
Maybe it is because they cook faster that way - or maybe not - I don't really know.
Whatever
the reason, thinner they are which, as it turns out, was not a bad
thing. All of the steaks were good honest steaks, no fancy
marinades, no reductions and no toppings. Just a plain, nicely
caramelized, lightly seasoned steak that tasted exactly like a beef
steak. What a nice change.
My wifes ribs were good although
the consensus was that most of the flavor came from the sauce, of which
there was an abundance, rather than from a smoker or grill.
My
friends lobster tail was a shock. All of us thought he was nuts to
order a lobster tail in Chino Valley AZ., but order it he did and,
as he was more than willing to point out, we needed to have a little
faith.
His faith was rewarded. The lobster tail was a giant 10
oz specimen served with clarified butter that, despite having been
frozen, was firm and succulent - very good according to my friend.
In
general the sides were good, not great. Large in quantity, a little
light in imagination maybe but, again, this is a small town restaurant
that caters to locals and the occasional visitor. Cd's Cattle Company
aims to please it's clientele and, from all appearances, it 's doing
just that.
If you are in the mood for some straightforward, honest cookin' - give Cd's a try.
- Location: 1150 N. Hwy 89 in Chino Valley
- Parking: Plenty available.
- Decor: Home town diner. It's clean and
comfortable - nothing fancy.
- Noise Level: Moderate - can get a little loud
when it's packed.
- Serving: Breakfast and lunch & dinner.
Everyday 6am to 10pm.
- Service: Fast, friendly and efficient. If a bit
rough around the edges!
- Cost: Inexpensive. Great value.
- Rating: Excellent
for lunch. Good for dinner.
From Cd's to Lunch in Prescott
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