NYCReview
photo credit: Willa Moore
Joe's Restaurant
Included In
Joe’s Restaurant doesn’t just do free bread and butter packets—they do free bread, butter packets, and a plate of house-made marinated peppers swimming in olive oil. It’s a triumphant start to the feast that’s bound to follow at this Italian spot in Ridgewood, where the $18.95 penne alla vodka is big enough to feed everyone at your table, and the table next to yours, too.
Joe’s opened in 1982, and while it’s still a good place for some satisfying Italian classics, it’s a great place for a group dinner. It's full of families who come here for every graduation celebration, wearing suits tailored specifically for martini-drinking. They also come here every Thursday night, their suits swapped for sweatshirts. Follow their lead and get the tangy chicken marsala served over mashed potatoes, and a bottle of red, which a server will extract from the wine rack next to the branded Coca Cola fridge.
If you end up at Joe’s in need of meatballs and general human kindness, you’re going to find those things here. But you’re also going to find the location of your next affordable birthday dinner, under a framed painting of garlic, next to a big family bickering affectionately in Italian. Call ahead for a reservation.
photo credit: Willa Moore
Food Rundown
Chicken Marsala
photo credit: Willa Moore
Penne Alla Vodka
Side of Meatballs
Caesar Salad