Friday, July 20, 2012

Comfort Kitchen

This review is a long time coming - I had gone to Comfort Kitchen weeks ago but my camera started misbehaving and I couldn't get any pictures! Very frustrating. Obviously I had to go back...

Comfort Kitchen is an adorable little shop with a combination of retro and modern inspirations. I love everything about the design of this place, the black and white checkered floors, the potted herbs used as decorations on tables, the custom made cartoon posters...I love it all. The feel of the place makes it perfect for work lunches as well as a great place to take kids, winning combination. I also LOVE the fact that Comfort Kitchen prides itself on using as many local sources as possible and lists their participating farms on the chalkboard outside their door.



I ended up getting a veggie burger, which wasn't on their regular or specials menu but I had seen something about it online so I thought it was worth a try to ask for it. I wasn't quite in the mood for a salad and the only other vegetarian options seemed to be mac and cheese or grilled cheese, both of which I'm sure are great but not something I could handle on a hot summer day. Lucky for me they did have some veggie burgers left!


This veggie burger came with pickled onions, lettuce, avocado and chipotle mayo. I was really pleased with my meal, I thought the veggie burger tasted fresh and interesting (sometimes its difficult to make a veggie burger interesting, you know?) and I liked the addition of the onions and avocados. My veggie burger came in a plastic basket with paper that just so happened to match the floor. Pretty cute. 

My friend got the Lucy Salad that came with croutons, dried figs, goat cheese, and a white balsamic dressing. 


The salad was pretty tasty, the goat cheese went really well with the dried figs and the garlic croutons where perfectly cooked. My only complaints were the fact that the lettuce wasn't cut much so the pieces were HUGE and awkward to eat. I also thought it was strange that a place that is so focused on using local products would serve something in a take out box. Not only that but the forks were plastic and our water was given to us in paper cups. Seems like a waste, right? Doesn't local eating kinda go hand-in-hand with going green? It seems like maybe Comfort Kitchen needs to invest in some silverware and a set of dishes. 

When I was done with my burger I went to go throw away my paper napkins and return the basket but there was nowhere to put the basket where all the other garbage and recycling was! I felt like it was a really simple problem with a really simple solution - just put a sign up that says "leave basket here" but instead I ended up not knowing where to put it so just brought it back up to the counter. At least they're re-using the baskets though!

After all that food I still needed a little something to snack on and so ended up getting the sweet potato chips with rosemary-orange sea salt. Sounds pretty amazing right? I, personally, had never had (nor heard of) rosemary-orange sea salt, so I was excited. 


Again - the chips came in a paper bag. Cute, and convenient if I was going somewhere, but I was still finishing up my meal there so it could have easily been in something that could be washed and reused.

The chips themselves were interesting - a little burnt but you could still taste the sweetness of the sweet potato and the salt took care of the rest. After those chips I want to put that salt on everything. You taste a little more orange than rosemary at first, but then the rosemary hits you and it's great. Comfort Kitchen puts a unique spin on otherwise ordinary comfort food, the sweet potato chips being an example. They take an already classic favorite and then make you feel like you're tasting it for the first time. The tater tots being another great example, homemade tater tots with parmesan and herbs...incredibly delicious. In fact I would go as far to say that Comfort Kitchen makes the best tots I've ever had.

You should definitely check out Comfort Kitchen for lunch or an early dinner - early because they close at 7 and I can't tell you how many times we've forgotten and walked by at around 7:15 only to be disappointed. AND I heard they started doing take out, people at work were pretty psyched about that, myself included. Even though Comfort Kitchen may seem like it's on the pricier side, it's very much worth it. You're paying for quality ingredients that are good and good for you. I think the welcoming statement on their website says it all: "Welcome to Comfort Kitchen, where we make the food you love, with love".




PS - I went to a blogging event at Comfort Kitchen the other night and found out that not only are they extending their hours, but they are also working on getting their liquor license and plan on serving craft beers made in New York State! (they also let me know that they are working towards real silverware and plates and such) So many good things happening! 

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