Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Mona's Table

A friendly neighborhood hangout and child-friendly place is Mona's Table on Encinal Avenue. This cafe is open for breakfast, lunch and take away dinners (no dinner seating). The food is warm and cozy, something your Grandmother would make at home.


The interiors reminds me of a cleaner version of Marti's Place, lots of knick knacks everywhere, with a country/grandma flair to it. I was surprised to see a lot of children games on the shelves as well as plenty of small children running in and out of the restaurant.


Mona prepares daily specials in addition to her regular menu. I was ecstatic to see such a varied menu with breakfast, lunch and dessert selections. I ordered a warm Pastrami sandwich and an Asian Hosin Pulled Pork sandwich. The pastrami meat was good quality with little fat in it. The sandwich was tasty with a crunch to it from the coleslaw. The coleslaw was slightly sweet, but it did not overwhelm the flavor of the meat. The sandwich was missing one ingredient - mustard. The pulled pork sandwich was an interesting spin on the classic BBQ sandwich. The flavors of the pork had Asian spices slowly cooked on the meat. The meat was tender, but a bit mushy. Mona must like coleslaw because this sandwich had a green coleslaw inside the sandwich. The sandwich reminded me a of Chao Siu Boa at a Dim Sum restaurant with BBQ pork in the middle with bread on the outer side.


I would definitely return to Mona's Table. The food is good quality and Mona herself is a conscious owner of her food products. I see why families are thrilled to have her restaurant on the East End. Mona's food is higher quality and better tasting than her competitor across the parking lot - Bip's Broiler. Sorry Bip's.

No comments: