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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 2012)
New Owners New Menu New Look Full Lounge• Lots of Parking Lunch 11-2 Tue-Sat Dinner 5-10 Tue-Sat Happy Hour 5-6:30 Bonus Happy Hour Every Day one hour before closing closed sundays and mondays 2101 Bailey Hill Road, Suite L 541-684-8888 www.kohobistro.net see what we ’ re pinning pinterest.com/eugeneweekly FRESH. FAST. TASTY. 3336 GATEWAY ST. ~ 541.747.2000 TSO MUCH AMERICAN BEEF D Lok Yaun has steak on Lok-down BY ANDY VALENTINE amn, steak is good. I know a lot of people take offense to it, and I’m not particularly partial to the methods by which these slabs of cooked flesh arrive before our famished eyes either, but when that first bite goes down it’s pretty much bliss — at least until the check comes. “What the — ? Twenty-nine bucks for a piece of bloody carcass and a white, carrot-looking thing that kinda tasted like it was grown in Treebeard’s stomach acid?” There are the seemingly simple solutions to crises such as these — Shari’s, Denny’s, all that crap — but at the end of the day you’ll still end up with a chewy, gristly steak that’s worth about a quarter of the $12-$14 price you pay. Out West 11th, past Chambers and Garfield, lies a popular Chinese food restaurant that most diners probably wouldn’t consider frequenting for the steak. That’s right, Lok Yaun Restaurant has steak — after all, the sign does advertise American food. So if your husband or friend or roommate or whoever has a hankering for Chinese food, but you feel like slipping a big old piece of American raised, slaughtered and prepared beef down your gullet, you have options. At only $8.25 for a fairly large steak that’s actually cooked to order (not just medium no matter what you ask for) you can’t really complain, and neither can your wallet. The whole package sports either salad, French bread, baked potato, French fries or pork fried rice. I probably wouldn’t order a side of rice stuffed with yet more meat, but hey, if you’re feeling particularly carnivorous, then why not? If saving money is your bag then you’re not really going to have any problems at Lok Yaun. Indeed, the entire menu is chock-full of meals priced below $10 or in the low double- digit range, and this includes the “American favorites” (sirloin steak, chicken-fried steak, breaded veal, fish and chips, shrimp and chips, and chicken strips and chips). Sadly there don’t seem to be many fries on the menu — just good old English chips — but with each and every one of these staples of our culinary culture costing $8.25, you hardly have grounds to get your knickers in a twist. All kidding aside, the food is actually tasty, and the fact that Lok Yaun provides options for stubborn ethnocentrists is cool. There’s also a gluten-free menu and a kids’ menu where the most expensive dish (which happens to be another “American favorite”) only costs $5.50. That means it keeps your offspring and your pocket full, which definitely isn’t a bad trade-off. Fairly un-customarily, Lok Yaun does not deliver. Unfortunately that means you can’t get a steak straight to your house, which would be pretty much bananas. On the plus side it has food to go, so you can drive around town eating a breaded veal cutlet, ride the bus while eating a top sirloin or maybe even walk your dog while chomping on a chicken- fried steak. Lok Yaun has been a candidate in the Top 100 Chinese Restaurant awards held annually in Santa Clara, Calif. Beyond that being really impressive, it’s another factor that makes it surprising to find that it hasn’t given into greed during the recession: The economics of Lok Yaun’s business model (which totally includes steak) remain steadfast — dirt cheap and cost-effective. ■ Lok Yaun is located at 2630 W. 11th Ave., for more information visit www.lokyaunrestaurant.com or call 345-7448. FREAKY FAST DELIVERY! ©2011 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 6 CHOW! Spring 2012 chow.eugeneweekly.com
