Slang synonym of food. Chow mein is an excellent form of food. ChowTime may also be excellent, but I'm not a dog, so I don't know for sure.

Chow is most likely derived from the Mandarin word "Ch'ao," meaning "to fry or cook." As an American idiom its usage was first recorded in the late 1850s in California, where many Chinese laborers and cooks worked on the railroads.

See chow down for a usage example.

Chow is also a restaurant on Church Street (near Market Street) in San Francisco, California, USA. It's (IMHO) a great little restaurant. It used to be very hard to get into (30 minute waits were the norm, no reservations accepted), but now you can call ahead and put your name on the list. Also, they recently added a heated patio to the back of the restaurant. However, the patio has some problems, as the chairs are uncomfortable and the heaters are always either very hot or very cold.

The food at Chow is very good. It's a casual, "home-style" kind of place. It's mostly Asian-Italian fusion cuisine. I prefer the classic spaghetti and meatballs, but they also serve very good pizzas, salads, and burgers.

Chow is at 215 Church street in San Francisco, near Market.

Chow (?), n. [Chin chou.]

A prefecture or district of the second rank in China, or the chief city of such a district; -- often part of the name of a city, as in Foochow.

 

© Webster 1913