Northside Kitchenette

Atmosphere and decor are lovely.
Don't miss the Morning Kicker omelette!

Pros: Nice outdoor seating (out of the sun!), yummy food
Cons: REAAAALLLY overpriced for certain things, breezeway smells

I was excited to give this place a try since I've dined at the Northside Social and loved it.  I came on a Saturday afternoon for lunch, and the place wasn't all that busy.  We got a great spot in a little breezeway they had converted into a cute dining area.  I was excited to sit here, until a breeze came by and brought the lovely scent of hot garbage my way.  Avoid sitting in the breezeway on a drafty day, because this can ruin your meal quick!  There may be a dumpster on the other side of the concrete wall that separates it from a parking lot.

The food: I ordered the jack chicken sandwich without tomatoes, a cup of chicken noodle soup and asked to sub fresh fruit for my side (instead of chips).  Sandwich came with tomatoes even though I had asked for it without, but it was really yummy. This is where I got pretty annoyed with their pricing.  4 bucks for a tiny cup of soup that tastes like Campbell's with some celery in it, and $4.50 (!!!!!!!) to sub fruit for chips.  I have no problem paying extra from fruit, but 1) $4.50 is ridiculous and 2) the amount you receive for this amount is very little.  Worth about $1.50, but I was the sucker that paid for it, huh?  

Service was okay.  For how empty it was, I was surprised how often our drinks went unrefilled.

All in all: I will happily come back, but I won't get any extras (soups, upgraded sides) because they are ridiculously overpriced!

The Kitchenette is a gem with loads of potential! A friend and I had lunch yesterday (totally appropriate for business lunch and school-age kid friendly), and really enjoyed the food. I had the potato crusted Basra sandwich with field greens and french fries. The fish was excellent. Often times crusted fish sandwiches or entrees, means thin and dry. Not so here! The filet was moist and the bread! WOW! The bread was just amazing--a tasty grilled baguette. While the main ingredients were superb the sides were a little underwhelming. My friend ordered a CA turkey and liked the sandwich. The home made chips were meh. My fries were okay. I had high hopes for them when they arrived all scooped up like those of Taste. But they were simply okay. One of them tasted like a sweet potato which was exciting, and I kept on eating thinking that there might be others. Alas, it was not to be. The sandwich also needs something like daikon, or vinegared red onions, just a little bite of something to break through the warmth and the mouth feel of oils [tartar sauce, butter, fish fried in oil] to really push it to the next level of awesome. The tartar sauce was underwhelimg as well.

The service was good--attentive but  not fawning and annoying. The decor--industrial grey, broken up with bits of butter and egg white is nice--minimal and of the moment. they have taken what appears to be a breeze way and converted it to an eating arraign with a long white banquette with pillows of butter and grey. This area is really charming while the main eating area is soothing but sort of forgettable.