Neighborhood Eats: Mish Mosh at Chateau Coffee Shop in Woodmere

WOODMERE, Long Island (WABC) -- A coffee shop on Long Island has spanned generations. People visit it for a lot of different items, but there's one in particular that has them coming back for more.

Chateau Coffee Shop is located at 1 Station Plaza in Woodmere on Long Island.

"Atmosphere is wonderful," a customer said. "I meet old friends here, I'm literally here every day now for breakfast."

"We've been coming here for 30 years," another customer said. "Everyone has, everyone, it's the place to come, it really is."

Would you believe these folks are raving about a tiny shop?

It's a coffee shop that hasn't really changed in the almost 60 years it's been around.

Chateau Coffee Shop gets its name from the apartments it sits between in Woodmere right across from the Long Island Rail Road.

"People ask why we don't expand," the owner said. "It would take away from the whole ambiance of the place, it would change," said Sandy Lachman, one of the owners.

Sandy and Larry Lachman like it just the way it is.

They bought it from Larry's cousin 12 years ago.

Chateau is now in its 59th year, and if it's known for anything, it's known for its mish, short for mish mosh, which got its start decades ago.

"About 40 years ago someone asked my cousin to put some tuna in lettuce and chop it in there," Larry said. "And he thought it was kind of gross, but he did it."

The next day another customer wanted something similar, and now there are 22 versions on the menu.

"We have hamburger mish, chicken finger mish, we have Waldorf mish," Larry said.

There's the Greek version, basically a head of iceberg, chopped along with peppers, onions, tomatoes, carrots, olives and feta. A mish is almost always part of an order, topped with your favorite dressing of course.

"Well done French fries, a chopped salad, you don't even have to chew, it's already chopped, it's excellent, it really is," a customer said.

"I love that it's old fashioned, my kids love to come with me," another customer said.

"We love our customers," Larry said.

"Yeah, we know everybody and become family and everybody knows everybody's first name," Sandy said.

Chateau Coffee Shop
GREEK MISH

Ingredients:

1 head iceberg lettuce (cut off the hard ends and split in half)

cup shredded carrots

cup black Greek pitted olives

cup sliced green bell pepper

cup sliced white onions

1 cup feta (chopped)

cup tomatoes

Directions:

On a large cutting board with a very large knife, finely slice the lettuce.

Then, layer the other ingredients on top and continue finely slicing.

Keep on slicing until all ingredients are sliced into teeny tiny bits.

Pile onto a big plate and add favorite dressing.

For more information please visit: https://www.facebook.com/Chateaucoffeeshop/