Gordon's Café and Catering

Most Cantonese families don't traditionally greet somebody by saying hello. Instead, they ask, "Have you eaten yet?"

"We are food-oriented people," says Gordon Chin, whose parents immigrated from China to open a mom-and-pop grocery store, and then, in 1958, founded Golden Star Chinese Restaurant, which the family owned and operated on South Main Street in Salinas for nearly five decades.

In 1991, the affable restaurateur and chef built Old Town Deli & Café, which celebrates its 25th anniversary on 2017 under a brand-new name -- Gordon's Café and Catering -- at its familiar location at 343 Main Street.

Already famous for its delectable, homemade soups and sandwiches, Gordon's Café and Catering will be christened with a renovated interior and exciting new menu choices, all lovingly made from scratch with the freshest-possible ingredients.

"We roast our turkey daily. We roast top sirloin and grill chicken for our sandwiches every day. We boil our potatoes in chicken stock, and our mashed potatoes and gravy are just wonderful," says Chin, who jokes that his baby formula as an infant was a concoction of beef or chicken bullion mixed with Cream of Wheat.

In addition to it's basic deli menu and a salad bar featuring more than 30 items, Gordon's will offer homemade pasta, a Teriyaki rice bowl, a half-pound ground sirloin hamburger, hot roast beef and hot turkey sandwiches, with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade chili, and more.

"We've been making a delicious clam chowder since 1958, and our chicken-vegetable soup is as good anything your mom or grandmother ever made," says Chin, whose café also will begin serving beer and wine by the end of the year.

Gordon's Café and Catering also will feature expanded hours (to be announced).
Call the café at 831-422-4133, and peruse the full menu online at www.gordonscafeandcatering.com.