All you can eat

Who doesn’t love food? We certainly do. That’s why we keep a close eye on the local dining scene.

We know which restaurants have come and gone, and we stay up to date on exciting new offerings at established eateries. Before ordering delivery or heading to your standby place, check out your options in All You Can Eat.

Twice a year, the Chico News & Review unveils this comprehensive guide with listings and descriptions of Chico restaurants to help you find whatever you’re craving. From biscuits and gravy to crème brulée, you’ll find it all in these pages.

With our handy dining symbols (explained below the Table of Contents), you’ll see which places fall within your budget. Plus, we’ve put a box next to every listing to make sure you won’t lose track of the places you’ve visited. Each time you try a restaurant, give it a check mark. Try new places! Try new dishes! You’ll be glad you did.

Here in Chico we are fortunate to have an abundance of restaurants featuring cuisines from around the globe—Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Vietnamese, Spanish, to name a handful—as well as gourmet California cuisine and good, old-fashioned, American diner food. Plus, our location in the agriculturally abundant Sacramento Valley makes it easy for a number of local restaurants to create meals using super-fresh, locally grown ingredients. What’s not to love?

In this issue of All You Can Eat, we pay tribute to two tried-and-true local restaurants that over the years have always managed to delight locals and visitors alike, despite changing food fads and economic downturns.

Italian restaurant Caffé Malvina, run by chef Sal Corona and his family, is featured in Ken Smith’s delightful feature story, “Just like family” (page 8). And in “‘Let’s go to Jack’s!’” Desiree Gonzalez gives us a glimpse into what makes Jack’s Family Restaurant the kind of eatery that everyone in Chico has visited at least once.

And, finally, I’m proud to say that our dining guide cover was created by illustrator Peter Kuper, whose work has graced the covers of several national magazines. Currently, you can find Kuper’s monthly “Spy vs. Spy” strip in Mad magazine.

Whether you’re eating out or ordering in, buon appetito and chow down!

—Christine G.K. LaPado

All You Can Eat listings

Dining Guide Editor: Christine G.K. LaPado
CN&R Editor: Robert Speer
Design: Tina Flynn, Mazi Noble
Additional editing: Meredith J. Cooper
Photography: Meredith J. Cooper, Christine G.K. LaPado, Matt Siracusa
Cover illustration: Peter Kuper www.peterkuper.com
Web: Kelsey Falle

All You Can Eat is published twice a year by the Chico News & Review, 530-894-2300, www.newsreview.com. ©2010 Chico Community Publishing

* The information in this dining guide is current as of March 2010. Listings and prices are subject to change at any time.