The Chew Chew, Riverside

The Chew Chew’s chef and owner, Scott Zimmer, may be too young to have experienced the height of America’s railroad boom, but that doesn’t stop him from feeling nostalgic for it. Zimmer has turned that nostalgia into something interesting, outfitting his restaurant with antique rail menus and ancient photos of trains. He invites guests aboard his culinary express, treating them to American-inspired dishes such as Colorado lamb chops, chipotle-barbecue chicken flatbreads, and center-cut filet mignon steaks with lump crab. The space embraces natural light with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide the illusion of an alfresco dining experience and let anxious guests keep a lookout for actual runaway trains.