Local Restaurant Review: The Real Chow Baby in Atlanta, Georgia

You might think this is an Italian restaurant by its name. Oh, baby it is not. The Real Chow Baby has an Asian bent for American tastes and an interesting concept to food prep and service. The Real Chow Baby, New American Stir Fry has two locations in Atlanta:

Howell Mill
1016 Howell Mill Road
Suite A
Atlanta, GA 30318

Cobb Galleria
One Galleria Parkway
Suite 1B1
Atlanta, GA 30339

This writer had the opportunity to be there on day one of operations for the Cobb Galleria Chow Baby. My nose was the first to be greeted as I entered the door-yummy. It seemed a bit odd that the check in desk was located beyond the front entry (because there was an order and billing station near the entry door). We arrived at peek lunchtime and were told the wait would be 20 minutes. We were given one of those cute little "beep ya when your table's ready" pocket size electronics. However, we only waited about 5 minutes.

When we were seated, our very cheerful waitress explained the process to us.

• You are given a wooden paddle with your table number and you write your name on it.
• You go up to the "bar" and use the black bowl to put in your choice of noodles, veggies and sauces.
• You use the red bowl for your meet selections.
• You place your paddle in the black bowl and hand it to the cooking staff.
• Head back to your seat and sip your sake or your tea.
• They sauté your selection and it is brought fresh out of the wok to your table.

Pretty spiffy!

The make your own stir fry is obviously their main food sales item-their specialty. The menu does include a list of appetizers, that my group found more worthy of meal status because of their size. They also have veggie, beef and turkey burgers for those who are not feeling adventurous. Chow Baby seems like a great way to get kids to try vegetables or for adults to satisfy their creative food desires.

Since we wanted to get a well rounded taste of what was available, two in our group went for the make your own stir fry, one had the turkey burger and one ordered from the appetizer menu. Here are the results from our The Real Chow Baby, New American Stir Fry taste test.

• Chow Baby Make Your Own Stir Fry - thumbs up - good flavors, plenty of choices and hot when it arrived.
• Turkey burger - looked burned and we started to send it back, but after a brief explanation from the staff it was eaten and the flavor was good (nice size and no scrimping on the lettuce and tomato). Explanation: recipe includes teriyaki sauce and needs to be adjusted to accommodate being cooked on the grill.
• Appetizers (Pot Stickers and Goat Cheese Salad) - Oh, yes-this was mine. Pot Stickers were well cooked, not greasy and the dipping sauce was excellent. Goat Cheese Salad touted nice thick slices of tomatoes topped with sesame seed coated goat cheese medallions and a mound of greens in the middle with a sweet dressing. It was very flavorful and had nice contrasts of texture

All in all, everyone was pleased with the food. There were a few staffing fumbles in the mix, but they were no worse than we have experienced in other restaurants during the normal course of business. We were surprised to find it was their first lunch (we arrived on the day by accident, because we were attending a local function.) We didn't feel it was there first day and the Chow Baby staff were eager and quick to recover the few fumbles.

Suggestions to The Real Chow Baby, New American Stir Fry? First, get a nickname! ; ) Find a way to work the flow from the entry to the reception desk. It wasn't obvious, was confusing on entry and felt strange. If the location can't be moved, maybe a sign and a guide on the floor, "follow the yellow brick road." Ask if people want knives, if you are not going to put them on the table. Some people like to cut things up. Keep the good flavors and the serving sizes.

We were all (everyone in the place) given a Neighbor VIP Card that will give us 15% off our ticket, every visit, until January 2010! We never let people know who we are when we do restaurant reviews-and they still don't know. So, our experience could be considered typical. We all would recommend Chow Baby for lunch. Any negatives were overshadowed by the positives about the food! Best of luck to The Real Chow Baby, New American Stir Fry, Cobb Galleria.

Check out their website for more information: http://www.therealchowbaby.com/