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Name Of Establishment	Eddie's Restaurant (Famous Cafe)
Address:	401 West Pacheco Blvd.
Phone Number:	209-826-2379
Website:	Unknown
Prices:	Moderate - High
Date Of Review:	3-3-2007
Check out the Official Merced County Health Inspection of this Restaurant - If that link isn't working try this link (note: these links are slow to load)
Our Overall Numeric Rating
Summation Opinion:

One of the members of our forum asked us to review what they called 'their favorite place in town' a couple of months back. Having been to Eddie's once before we were willing to do so, but the hours that Eddie's keeps did not mesh with our normal schedule so we had not made it there until today.

Eddie's is a small restaurant that has about 15 tables and booths. It feels a little dated when you walk in but the dining room is clean and well kept. There is a warm almost personal feel to it lended via the family photos hung proudly on the wall. The booths take up two walls and a small lunch counter big enough for about a half dozen seats is there for people who like to "belly up to the bar" as my dad used to say.

When we entered the Eddie's we were at a loss as to whether to seat ourselves or to wait for a Server. We did not notice any signs that instructed us as to what was proper and so we kind of stood there awkwardly for a few moments before a friendly voice called out and told us to sit anywhere we liked. We took a corner booth and within a moment or so one of the friendly waitresses wandered out and gave us our menus and took our soda order.

The menu is pretty well packed. There are quite a number of meals and items to select from and we took our time looking it over. There are lots of typical breakfasts to order like omelets, pancakes and eggs plus homemade cinnamon rolls. Lunch is also well represented by a selection of burgers and sandwiches, a soup of the day and several salads. The waitress was quite patient with us and came back a second time to ask if we were ready to order. So much looked so good we just were not sure what to try.

We both noted that the prices were decidedly on the high side. This is unfortunate because if the prices were lower we would probably make it a point to return more often. We were put off a bit by the $1.95 sodas and the final bill that came to just under 25 dollars for the two of us. That's a bit much for breakfast / lunch.

Having said that we do note that the portions we received were pretty large and the food is filling resulting in one of us having enough leftovers for another small meal... but I am getting ahead of myself here.

When it was time to order my wife settled on the chicken fried steak and egg breakfast and I ordered something called the Casino Royalle which is a fancy title for a French dip sandwich.

As is our custom when doing reviews, a visit to the washroom was made. I must remark here that this was the low point of the visit. The stall was claustrophobically small, there were no seat protectors, the toilet paper holder was broken and was a few squares from being completely out of paper on both rolls. The general appearance of the bathroom with the peeling paint on the metal, the floor that needed scrubbing, and the general dingy feel was more what I'd expect at a gas station than a restaurant.

The meal was significantly more inspiring.

My wife's chicken fried steak meal arrived a moment or two before my meal and we both decided her plate looked really good! The battered steak was actually the largest that we have been served in California - taking up half the plate and smothered in Texas style cream gravy. Along with the chicken fried steak there were hash browns, fluffy scrambled eggs, and a homemade biscuit that was just gigantic!

The "Casino Royalle" plate came, it had the sliced beef sandwich, a cup of au juis broth, and strangely enough about 10 raviolis as a side dish. (I could have gotten fries or salad as a substitute but the raviolis are the way Eddie's normally makes the plate so when in Rome...)

The first thing both of us tried was the chicken fried steak. We both agreed it was absolutely wonderful. The exterior had just the right amount of crispiness but was also very juicy and quite flavorful on the inside. The texture was pleasing and the flavor of the batter outstanding. The cream gravy slathered across the top was thick and had a hint of pepper. It was spread liberally across the steak, but not enough to make the outside soggy. I also tried the hash browns and a little bit of her scrambled eggs. Nothing particularly remarkable taste-wise there but they were done expertly. As long as I was pilfering from her meal I also tried the biscuit. It came with a dollop of soft whipped butter to the side and the biscuit was obviously fresh-baked and homemade. It did'nt taste at all like the mass produced stuff you get at many other breakfast joints but rather like something you'd get from your grandma after hours in the kitchen with buttermilk, a rolling pin and a flour dusted apron.

As for my meal, I must say the French dip, er pardon moi, the Casino Royalle meal was good too. It did not rise to the level of excellence that the chicken fried steak did but it was cooked just right and was flavorful. The raviolis that came with it were good but not remarkable. It was an unusual flavor combination and though it was unique, I probably would ask for a salad next time. For me the tomato sauce of the raviolis clashed a bit with the taste of the au-juis. Still it was pretty darn good and as noted above quite filling.

I think if I had it to do over again I'd get the same meal as my wife did since it was flat out excellent. In fact, she said she hasn't had chicken fried steak this good since she was in Texas where they know how to do chicken fried steak right. For us both this was a happy and uncommon find!

After our meal was almost over our waitress returned with the bill and asked us if we wanted a box to take the extra home in. I think it is important to note that the wait staff at Eddie's was attentive and very friendly. Smiles were the order of the day and the mild manner and polite disposition of our main waitress really won us over.

All in all our meal at Eddie's was a favorable experience. The food was excellent and there was nothing we did not like. The wait staff was also a highlight of our visit. Of the three waitresses we saw we were served by two of them and observed the third. All were very pleasant and quite friendly. Good service can make or break a meal and Eddie's seems to have their act together quite nicely in this department.

Though in our opinions the prices were too high and the bathroom needed some very serious attention, we still decided to give this restaurant a 4 star rating. We almost dropped this to 3 stars because of the prices - but because Eddie's the best chicken fried steak we've had in this state and the friendly faces and nice service - we have decided to give Eddie's a higher rating than we would normally bestow on a restaurant with these faux paus. We'll likely be back again to enjoy a hearty breakfast in this friendly family diner but we'll have to save a few more coins in the piggy bank before we do!

Specific Opinions By Reviewer One
Overall Rating :	Because of the food and the very friendly service.
Food:	I wish *I* had ordered the chicken fried steak!
Service:	All smiles, efficient and friendly.
Decor:
Price/Value:
Bathroom Cleanliness:	unclean, poorly stocked, and claustrophobic
Romance Factor:
Family Friendliness:

Specific Opinions By Reviewer Two
Overall Rating :
Food:
Service:
Decor:
Price/Value:
Bathroom Cleanliness:		Not Observed
Romance Factor:
Family Friendliness:

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In this section, the staff of Our Los Banos .com shares our personal opinions on the restaurants that we patronize in the City of Los Banos. We would like to stress that we are not professional reviewers, that we have had little or no training in the food arts, and that we are simply expressing our own personal views and opinions on particular visits that we made to the establishments under consideration.

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Merced County Health Food Facility Inspections Site

Finally, we strongly encourage our readers to make use of a truly wonderful online resource we discovered last year. Merced County has put together a very cool Food Facility Inspection website which discloses the results of the County Health Department's last few inspections of each restaurant. The results are sometimes quite fascinating and are always interesting. Beware however you may not want to eat at certain places once you read some of the more dramatic entries. We at Our Los Banos .com very much appreciate and support the county of Merced putting these Department of Health food facility inspections online for the public to see.

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