CHESWICK'S,

What with all the fuss over a new Thai restaurant here, a sushi bar there, it's easy to overlook the good ol' reliable American chow that can be found at Cheswick's. The decor is nondescript, comprised mostly of padded booths and hanging philodendrons, with bentwood chairs at a few tables. The appetizers featured are the usual suspects, from jumbo shrimp cocktail ($1.75) to stuffed potato skins, but also including such "Iowan exotica" as mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce ($4.25) and calamari ($5.25). An excellent deal is the dinner-for-two special, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, which gives you a bottle of wine and two entrees, with salads, for $21.95. Offerings in the two-fer special, which vary weekly, included Yankee pot roast, a half-rack of ribs, and barbecued chicken.