I just saved myself $12....

...in toll fees by finding a great go to restaurant on this side of the Hudson river.

Restaurant Review:  The Kitchen (Englewood, NJ)

Last night I checked out The Kitchen in Englewood. It's on Palisade by all the shops but all the way down the street right before you hit that circle.  The restaurant itself is TINY. I think maybe there were all of 7 tables? Which maybe explains why I had such a hard time getting a reservation...but well worth the wait! The menu's pretty short and succint and entrees are listed without the usual fancy descriptions but rather like this:

Hangar Steak
Salmon
Pork Chops

I mean, when was the last time you saw a menu that didn't say "Wild Atlantic Salmon poached with a beurre blanc reduction with oven roasted organic potatoes" - what a mouthful.
But I will say that it does make you feel like they know what they're doing that they don't even tell you how they're going to cook your food.
We had a party of 3 (girls) and this is what we ordered:

Spinach Salad with lardons and poached egg
Porcini mushroom and chicken soup with handmade noodles x 3 (one for each - no sharing!)
Buttermilk Fried Chicken and Waffles
Hangar Steak
Pork Chops

It was a lot of food. Here's what I thought of it in order:

Delicious - wish we had ordered 2 of these salads
Licked my bowl clean to the last drop
I could drink the accompanying gravy all day. And the waffles were to die for.
Basic but so good. Sometimes its the simplicity that gets you.
YUM. and I even liked the apple streudel thing it came with, not sweet at all.

Did I mention that before all the food came out, they serve you about 5 hors d'oeuvres?
This was my favorite part. Each one was so darned good I was sad when they stopped bringing them out to start our actual order.

They're actually a catering company first, restaurant second. And they're moving up the block next week into the old Blue Moon space next to Starbucks. Can't wait to check it out!

SO GOOD. Highly recommend. Oh and did I mention it's BYOB? Grab a bottle of wine up the block like we did.

:)