Personal Review :
On the suggestion of a local business owner, we stopped by The Golden West
for dinner one evening. What we found was a very frugal, eclectic type
of restaurant with a very unusual menu. The establishment itself was
arranged in sort of a meandering design of tables around the room with
collections of tables/chairs that struck one as second-hand pieces from
the 60's style in general. This was clearly a casual restaurant in which
it's patrons come to sit and read a paper, drink a cup of coffee or have
a bite to eat. The decorations around the room were somewhat sparse but
flavored with old record albums hung on the wall of artists from times
past.
The menu featured an interesting range of items from vietnamese warm
shrimp or chicken, to thai salads, quesadillas, fajitas, sandwiches and
various types of fries. Quite an eclectic mixture of dishes, all very
reasonably priced in the range of $3-11. We started with the soup, a
cream of chicken & green chile stew. At first look, we thought these
were two different items on the menu, so we were surprsied when the waiter
brought bowls of soup that were thin cream of chicken (I thought I was
getting the stew). The soup contained green chiles and other intersting
spices. It was actually quite good, but my wife shied away from the
fritos layered on top. They added an interesting flavor, but perhaps would
have been better presented as a side 'relish' to be added by the customer.
For the main dish, I had the Sopaipilla Enchiladas. This looked like a bit
of a mish-mash of items piled on the plate but was very tasty. The dish
consisted of layers of carne adovada (or you can have grilled chicken) with
beans and cheese on fried sopaipillas smothered in a chile sauce and
topped with a fried egg with guacamole, sour cream and salsa fresca.
The portion was plentiful. My wife had the chicken fajitas which
included caramelized onions with hash browns (?, yes, hash browns), jack
cheese, salsa, jalapeño pesto and the usual condiments. I did say an
interesting mix of items. We finished off the meal with traditional
sopaipillas w/ honey.
The Golden West was clearly an experience. Furnishings a bit sparse and
aged, but interesting and tasty food with quite reasonable prices. Be
casual, take your time and enjoy.