Anyone have an opinion on Village Kitchen also called Country Cookin

SAMIAM · 09-12-2009, 08:27 AM

Those are fair questions, Lovely and I'm glad to respond. You've been a good customer over the years and we appreciate that. First, the prime rib. We use USDA choice bone-in ribs. The size can vary slightly due to human error.....large cuts get the bone and the 10oz cut does not and it's real tricky to get a perfect cut everytime around the bone. Takes a lot of practice. We have never,ever cut back on any portion sizes.
We usually use chicken tenders (2) for our chicken parm, but sometimes we pound out 1/2 a breast.....which is inly one piece of equal size..you can get a smaller order for $5.50....just ask. We pound them out thin and bread them in our own fresh bread crumbs with a little garlic and lemon, saute in olive oil and a hint of butter, finished off under the broiler with a three cheese blend. We don't feature much Italian, but I feel we do a good job on it.
Prices....glad you brought it up.....everyone is watching their $$ in this crazy economy. We have not gone up on anything this year. Last spring (2008) we went up aprox 7% accross the menu after 2 years with no increase. I hate raising prices because we pride ourselves on being affordable, but we had to because of rising food prices.
As far as the lines are concerned ....we can only compare by actual sales and we are down about 3% over last year and happy about that. June and Aug were slightly off, May and July were up. September is going great due to the nice weather.
And to S A Meredith.....I deny dumping pepper in customers plates.....it was SALT. Sorry....some kid asked for extra crackers and I just snapped....he was in a wheelchair...taking up extra space. I feel bad about it now.
My license plate is HNIC.....my grandchildrens initials.
And as for the tabasco in the ketchup....I'll have to watch that one. We don't refill the bottles...just toss them when they're empty.
Have a good fall, everyone.

twoplustwo · 09-12-2009, 08:33 AM

I just blew coffee out my nose on the wheelchair comment.

Argie's Wife · 09-12-2009, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Prices....glad you brought it up.....everyone is watching their $$ in this crazy economy.We have not gone up on anything this year.Last spring (2008) we went up aprox 7% accross the menu after 2 years with no increase.I hate raising prices because we pride ourselves on being affordable, but we had to because of rising food prices.
As far as the lines are concerned ....we can only compare by actual sales and we are down about 3% over last year and happy about that.June and Aug were slightly off,May and July were up.September is going great due to the nice weather.
.

Just wonder how well people (customers) remember that the restaurant sales tax in NH just increased when they start complaining that people have raised their prices?....

Gotta wonder how well law-makers in Concord thought that one through, considering this economy because it's bad for the restaurant owners and the customers... but maybe that's fodder for another thread....

Newbiesaukee · 09-12-2009, 03:12 PM

I really love going to VK, although I have not been there for dinner; I do avoid weekends as the crowd IS often out the door. Coffee is a tough issue as everyone has his/her favorite. I roast my own, but that sounds fancier than it really is ( it does save money) Anyway for what it's worth, I like VKs coffee. I do think Starbucks is overroasted, over priced and tastes burnt. My feeling is that most folks who like Starbucks do not drink it black as I do and cream and sugar does wonders for bad coffee. Dunkin Donuts is variable and it shouldn't be. When it's good and fresh it's very very good...when it's been sitting around, it's horrid. Actually MacDonalds coffee is not bad and it is a good value.

Samiam's responses show what makes his restaurants successful...honest, informative but never nasty or defensive with a touch of humor.

I have nothing to do with any restaurant, but I did introduce myself once to Samiam (Bob).

trfour · 09-12-2009, 04:03 PM

You bring up another good point.

Quote. " ketchup....I'll have to watch that one. We don't refill the bottles...just toss them when they're empty."

The health Department should commend you on this, as I have seen some restaurants stacking and refilling ketchup bottles, without adding some tide or other antibacterial.

TiltonBB · 09-12-2009, 05:17 PM

I have gone to the Village Kitchen many times and I love the place. But what do I know?

Since this is a thread about a restaurant we need to hear from the Forum's restaurant expert. Wasn't there an expert that used to leave quick, brief informative comments once in a while?

How about a guest commentary from................Nadia? (Whoops, sorry, my bad!)

09-12-2009, 08:33 AM	#2
twoplustwo Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 456 Thanks: 51 Thanked 39 Times in 21 Posts	thanks samiam I just blew coffee out my nose on the wheelchair comment.

09-12-2009, 04:03 PM	#5
trfour Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Lakes, Central NH. and Dallas/Fort Worth TX. Posts: 3,694 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 3,069 Thanked 472 Times in 236 Posts	Samiam.... You bring up another good point. Quote. " ketchup....I'll have to watch that one. We don't refill the bottles...just toss them when they're empty." The health Department should commend you on this, as I have seen some restaurants stacking and refilling ketchup bottles, without adding some tide or other antibacterial. __________________ *trfour* Always Remember, The Best Safety Device In The Boat, or on a PWC Snowmobile etc., Is YOU! Safe sledding tips and much more; http://www.snowmobile.org/snowmobiling-safety.html

09-12-2009, 05:17 PM	#6
TiltonBB Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Gilford, NH and Florida Posts: 3,008 Thanks: 699 Thanked 2,203 Times in 937 Posts	Need an Expert Opinion I have gone to the Village Kitchen many times and I love the place. But what do I know? Since this is a thread about a restaurant we need to hear from the Forum's restaurant expert. Wasn't there an expert that used to leave quick, brief informative comments once in a while? How about a guest commentary from................Nadia? (Whoops, sorry, my bad!)

09-12-2009, 08:27 AM	#1
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,896 Thanks: 334 Thanked 1,676 Times in 586 Posts	Those are fair questions, Lovely and I'm glad to respond. You've been a good customer over the years and we appreciate that. First, the prime rib. We use USDA choice bone-in ribs. The size can vary slightly due to human error.....large cuts get the bone and the 10oz cut does not and it's real tricky to get a perfect cut everytime around the bone. Takes a lot of practice. We have never,ever cut back on any portion sizes. We usually use chicken tenders (2) for our chicken parm, but sometimes we pound out 1/2 a breast.....which is inly one piece of equal size..you can get a smaller order for $5.50....just ask. We pound them out thin and bread them in our own fresh bread crumbs with a little garlic and lemon, saute in olive oil and a hint of butter, finished off under the broiler with a three cheese blend. We don't feature much Italian, but I feel we do a good job on it. Prices....glad you brought it up.....everyone is watching their $$ in this crazy economy. We have not gone up on anything this year. Last spring (2008) we went up aprox 7% accross the menu after 2 years with no increase. I hate raising prices because we pride ourselves on being affordable, but we had to because of rising food prices. As far as the lines are concerned ....we can only compare by actual sales and we are down about 3% over last year and happy about that. June and Aug were slightly off, May and July were up. September is going great due to the nice weather. And to S A Meredith.....I deny dumping pepper in customers plates.....it was SALT. Sorry....some kid asked for extra crackers and I just snapped....he was in a wheelchair...taking up extra space. I feel bad about it now. My license plate is HNIC.....my grandchildrens initials. And as for the tabasco in the ketchup....I'll have to watch that one. We don't refill the bottles...just toss them when they're empty. Have a good fall, everyone.

The Following 12 Users Say Thank You to SAMIAM For This Useful Post:
BlackCatIslander (09-12-2009), Bullwinkle (09-12-2009), Drummer Girl (09-13-2009), Jonas Pilot (09-13-2009), Newbiesaukee (09-12-2009), Pineedles (09-12-2009), Redwing (09-12-2009), RI Swamp Yankee (09-12-2009), Rose (09-12-2009), Smitty1 (09-12-2009), TiltonBB (09-12-2009), trfour (09-12-2009)

09-12-2009, 03:12 PM	#4
Newbiesaukee Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Coral Gables, winter; Long Island, summer Posts: 1,353 Thanks: 947 Thanked 573 Times in 298 Posts	I really love going to VK, although I have not been there for dinner; I do avoid weekends as the crowd IS often out the door. Coffee is a tough issue as everyone has his/her favorite. I roast my own, but that sounds fancier than it really is ( it does save money) Anyway for what it's worth, I like VKs coffee. I do think Starbucks is overroasted, over priced and tastes burnt. My feeling is that most folks who like Starbucks do not drink it black as I do and cream and sugar does wonders for bad coffee. Dunkin Donuts is variable and it shouldn't be. When it's good and fresh it's very very good...when it's been sitting around, it's horrid. Actually MacDonalds coffee is not bad and it is a good value. Samiam's responses show what makes his restaurants successful...honest, informative but never nasty or defensive with a touch of humor. I have nothing to do with any restaurant, but I did introduce myself once to Samiam (Bob).