Kitchen Witch, Monmouth Beach, NJ

Five of us went to the Kitchen Witch yesterday. It is a cute little place with of course lots of witches as decorations.

I had the Roast Turkey Wrap with Brei, and bacon in a Whole Wheat Wrap. The others had salads. Every serving had fresh, tasty ingredients. We all enjoyed our lunch and definitely will return.

They are open for breakfast and lunch. Parking is available in the rear.

http://www.mykitchenwitch.com/

I’ve only been there once, simply because there are so many good breakfast/lunch options closer to me, but I also thought the food was fresh. I recall VERY good sausage, in fact. Kitschy for sure, but a decent spot. Booskerdoo Coffee is across the street (hidden) and that’s when I discovered them, too!

Maybe I’m a snob, but when I see wraps on a menu it makes me less likely to check a place out. I’ve seen restaurants with innovative items switch to serving wraps at some point and it usually heralds the end. Maybe not the case with a lunch oriented shore spot, but it’s never a draw for me.

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BTWs, this isn’t a slam of The Kitchen Witch…just “wraps”. They give me the creeps. Like “go-gurt” or mozzarella sticks.

I happen to prefer wraps. The sandwitches had a choice of roll, whole wheat wrap or multigrain toast. I picked the whole wheat wrap.

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I’m not a wrap guy either. It’s weird. I love tacos which are similar I suppose, but I just can’t into wraps for some reason.

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I was just thinking about the wrap vs burrito conundrum the other day. Burritos - one of the greatest foods on the planet. Wraps - possibly the most uncelebrated. It’s strange.

I think one reason I prefer a wrap rather than bread or a roll is that I don’t like a lot of bread. With a wrap I can enjoy the ingredients .

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Maybe if we had good sourdough bread here it’d be different, but unless it’s holding a burrito together most “wraps” are, for me, the culinary equivalent of a gelatin capsule stuffed with amoxicillin, or Contact. That’s just me though, I could be wrong.

http://www.mykitchenwitch.com/friday-night-dinner
Has anyone ever tried their Friday Night dinners? We receive weekly emailed menus that consist of a 3-4 course meal for $29.95 pp. and have never made a reservation.

I’ve attended the 3-course Friday dinner twice. Both times the food was good, but nothing stands out as memorable.

Appreciate the reply. We’ll stick with the occasional lunch then.

I’ve been wanting to post about the Friday night candlelight dinners at MKW. They only do dinner on Fridays and the menu changes at their whim. Here is a sample menu for tomorrow night:

Soup or Salad?
Soup: Butternut Apple and Bacon Soup
or
Salad: Tri-color salad with toasted almonds, bacon bits, and shaved parmesan

Entree
Herb-roasted Prime Rib served with smashed roasted potatoes in brown butter and roasted french beans
or
Wicked Good Crab Cakes served with sweet potato mash and grilled asparagus
or
Stir Fry Vegetables with tofu over basmati rice and kale

Dessert
Red Velvet Cake
or
Peppermint Patti Brownie served with ice cream

For $30 pp it’s a great deal and I’ve always enjoyed my food there. Get on their mailing list to get the weekly menu/invite.

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Whew! No wraps.

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Restaurant Review #248

As a lover of the paranormal and all things “witchy”, I was immediately intrigued when I saw a restaurant titled My Kitchen Witch on Google Maps. I was actually looking for something else. I just had to get here, so Justin and I gave it a try two days later. Admittedly, we have developed a love-hate relationship with primarily breakfast places. Every once in a while, one of them ends up doing something special, but most unfortunately charge high prices for “gourmet” items in which things are done with ingredients that never should be. What would the case be here? Well, given it had a witch theme, that itself immediately made the place stand out. We just finished binge-watching the second season of the new Netflix series Sabrina , so we were certainly in the mood.

There are good vibes when first walking in. The dining area is tiny, with maybe eight or 10 tables. There is witch decor everywhere, from the tables being custom-painted with images such as a black cat or witch’s hat, to a broomstick hanging from the ceiling. Such a kitschy display usually goes one of two ways: it either works to advance the restaurant’s theme, or it becomes a tacky assemblage of dust-collectors. Fortunately, for My Kitchen Witch, it is cute and helps set up a charming, almost whimsical atmosphere. The dining area and its accouterments were remarkably clean.

If the witches everywhere don’t help put you in the proper mindset, the menu will. There are three pages. The first is for juices, smoothies, and additional beverages. The fresh-squeezed juices come with descriptions to tell you what they are good for, such as a blend of beet, carrot, apple, celery, and lemon for liver cleansing. Are these just smoothies, or should I say magic potions ? There is then a page for breakfast and another for lunch, featuring you guessed it, “sand-witches”. Justin and I were there early on, so even though a “Merlin” grilled cheese with spinach, avocado, and bacon was calling my name, I chose breakfast. Prices for all items were more than fair, especially for the area.

Having heard from a friend about the glory of their homemade pork sausage, I knew I would be ordering something with that. There was a lot to choose from, but I went with the Gulch Scramble, which included eggs, red onion, and the sausage scrambled together. It came with sides of “witch’s potatoes” and a biscuit with strawberry butter. I had coffee as my beverage. Justin, meanwhile, ordered the “Auntie Yum Auntie Yum”, which was an omelette with brie, apple slices, and bacon. His sides were the same as mine, and he also added a side of sausage too. His drink was the fresh-squeezed orange juice, which really was good. They also have the option of Tropicana.

I don’t know where to begin, so I will start with the house sausage. It was delightful. There was just the right amount of spices, and the overall texture was tender and just a little snappy. There was a marked difference between theirs and standard breakfast sausage. It is worth trying even if you are not normally a fan. My scramble was well-executed, with the red onion adding a nice bite. The potatoes were cooked perfectly and the seasoning used was delicious. There were thankfully no green peppers anywhere near it, and the spices (which I believe included paprika) made them more flavorful than the norm. I wish the biscuit was a bit larger, but it was better than having toast. The outside was crunchy, and the interior was fluffy. The homemade strawberry butter (you can actually see bits of strawberry throughout) added additional freshness and complimented the biscuit well. Justin had no complaints about his meal either.

What we both did not expect was the addition of a Mazi Piri Piri hot sauce, which was available to use. I never had this before, but had read many reviews of such hot sauces. Whatever blend My Kitchen Witch uses was one of the best hot sauces I’ve ever had. There was a sharp, spicy bite, but it did not linger for too long. At first, I put it on just the potatoes. Then it ended up on the scramble. It was all over the plate by the time I was finished. The ingredients on the bottle listed tomato puree, piri piri pepper oil, lemon juice, and whiskey (!) among a few others. Almost every table had requested a bottle by my observation. I should have bought some on the way out.

We haven’t had much luck with breakfast places of late, but this one was a homerun. The freshness of ingredients is through the roof. Even without a smoothie, you just feel like you are eating cleaner and healthier. While there is plenty of sausage, bacon, and cheese on the menu, there is also multigrain, a plethora of fruits and vegetables, and some gluten-free and vegan options as well. For now, I am going to give My Kitchen Witch a 3.5 out of 5 stars which is great for a first-time meal of this magnitude. I definitely want to come back for lunch (or their special Friday night three-course dinner). After another experience, the score may go higher. Any restaurant that goes so far as to make their own sausage deserves praise. Give this place a try—they just might cast a spell on you.

Originally posted here in my food blog.

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YW. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Also, YAY FOR THIS. Who decided those were a good idea? ANYWHERE?

And finally, I looooove me some Mazi. Have a bottle of it in the house, in fact (purchased at The G Spot)! It’s made IN ASBURY PARK, thankyouverymuch. Medusa did wings on the grill two (?) summers ago and that’s where I first tried it and was hooked. It’s definitely the hottest thing I can eat, but for some reason, the heat is different from other hot sauces. And fwiw, @corvette_johnny called it–that’s what’s in the spicy feta at The G Spot in Red Bank!

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I’m sorry to report that the pork sausage is not made in-house. It’s brought in from Holiday Meats. The important thing is that you enjoyed it.

You can find the Mazi Piri Piri sauce at Sickles Market in Little Silver.

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I cannot tell you how many times when saying something positive I had to hold back from saying, “…and unlike The Buttered Biscuit…” :smiley:

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You can also find it at the farmers market on main Street when it starts up.
I go through that stuff so fast, I use it in my eggs and hash at Franks

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Yes this is some really great sauce! I never expected to find something like this at the g spot. I will get my hands on a bottle soon.

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