Mom's Kitchen and Bar — Restaurant in New York

I can't believe I waited so long to sing this restaurant's praises. This place is excellent; super fun environment, family-friendly, with comfort food that is as big as your head!

I've visited this place three times (Jan & Dec 2023, & Feb 2024), and I don't plan on stopping. Each time made for a joyful experience with the people I ate with. Regardless of whether it was morning or evening, we were sat down quickly and had speedy & polite service. The dining area looks small, yet somehow they know exactly where to place everybody so no one is left waiting for too long. But still be wary of going during the holiday season; I can expect Christmas time to have tons of people wanting to come here, as it offers that bold, yet warm-hearted embrace that makes you feel like a kid again.

It follows the "mom theme" with its portraits of famous TV mothers along the wall. There are also several television screens playing popular movies, including Spider Man & Moana. It's impossible to listen to it though, as there is loud music playing throughout the building, but I don't discredit the restaurant for this. I see the movie visuals as more of an added bonus to the childhood aesthetic they are going for.

I tried sooo many things on their menu, all of them great, but for the sake of critiquing I'll put the Chicken & Waffles as my least favorite dish. The chicken was spicer than I preferred and had a lot of bone to cut around- it was like I was prepping my meal more than eating it.

The Cinnamon French Toast was great, but really REALLY hearty; it was difficult to stomach it all in one sitting. To reiterate: their portions are HUGE! I would not recommend getting an appetizer & an entree if dining alone; unless you were the winner of the 'Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest,' you're going to be taking your food in a to-go bag.

My favorite meal was the Bedrock Pancakes, which surprised me. This was the dish that I was most concerned about trying just because having big pancakes with fruity pebbles & whipped cream sounds like a recipe to the hospital. But the sweetness really wasn't overwhelming; I savored the pancake's natural flavor and the cereal complimented it. I still didn't finish it, but I gladly had seconds back at home.

But one thing tops all the meals I've had here (so far), something that isn't considered an entree, but I could have three of these in a row and wouldn't get tired: The Cheesy Grits. Not to be confused with the Shrimp Cheesy Grits, because that's different. The grits that only have cheese is my go-to order. It may only be a side dish, but it holds number one in my greedy heart. They're the best grits I've ever had in my life- no exaggeration. They're always fresh and super creamy. They're the reason I never finish my entree, because I promise myself that I MUST finish the grits. Leave no morsel behind!

For drinks, I typically order the standard orange juice, which was good and had no pulp. But one time, I tried one of their Bigmouth Shakes: The Rainbow Bright, with vanilla ice cream, fruity pebbles, berry syrup, a lollipop & slice of rainbow cake. I noticed they didn't include the cake with mine, but I already ordered so much it wasn't a big deal. Besides, I theorized that they were making a change to the menu and removing that altogether, but if this isn't true, then this was a blunder on their part. They're just lucky I was already overly-satisfied with the things I had. I think the milkshake is good as a dessert, rather than your primary drink, because then you may feel really bloated with all the sugar & calories you're intaking.

This is without a doubt, a place of indulgence. A restaurant that you wouldn't take your friend who's on a strict diet to, because this is place where boundaries are nonexistent. Eat to your heart's content! I want to bring more people who haven't experienced, "Mom's Kitchen & Bar" here, so they too can try their awesome specials. It's like a grown up Chuck-e-Cheese, without all the games: It's a place where an you...

Absolutely ridiculous is the perfect way to say what this experience was today. The subtle racism was jarring.

My two friends and I are black. We sat down and were not greeted by the server named Pablo. He did not introduce himself.

We were gonna order but realized that I had left my ID someplace else. We asked to show him a picture he said no thats against store policy. I offered my veterans ID and he said he cannot take that as a valid ID. We tried to reason with him but he enforced store policy, which is not a problem.

The problem is that he went to his manager and gave him the impression that we were “upset about the ID card situation” Yes, I was disappointed, but at the end of the day the situation was not that serious. We were not upset about him not taking the picture ID, we just wanted to eat because we’re hungry.

The manager kept suffocating us with his presence. We could feel us staring us down through the window. We asked to change servers because clearly he felt threatened by us, because he contacted his manager over a situation that literally was not that serious. One of the female servers, I did not catch her name, told us in her words that we “are not allowed to switch servers”

It’s almost like they were anticipating us getting irate over the ID card. They could not see past our skin color and automatically assumed we were going to throw a fit over the situation.

After our meal, I called over Pablo and asked him “During our conversation, what made you want to contact your manager?” He replied explaining that a customer in the past claimed that he “refused to serve him” because they forgot their ID card. And that he alerted his manager to “get on top of the situation”.

The reality is that there was nothing to get on top of. If it was really a problem we would have gotten the manager involved ourselves and/or left the restaurant. His response doesn’t even make sense.

Anyways, we had another server (I cannot remember his name at this moment) and he was much nicer.

Onto the food…

The food was a solid 4/10. Nothing was great because nothing was freshly made. This is clearly reheated food. Pancakes are not supposed to be hard to cut. Grits are not supposed to be lumpy. lumpy grits indicate that it was left out for too long. They tried to reheat the clumpy grits and put it on a plate. During one of the constant and invasive rounds the manager made to our table. My friend brought it to his attention and he replied “There is cheese in it, thats why” If that doesn’t tell you to not get grits from this place, idk what else will.

The food was also cold. I do not know if they did it out of spite, but I would not be surprised. I feel as though it is out of spite.

Pablo, you dont deserve to be a server if you are threatened by of a group of black women who did not even raise their voice at you.

If you are black, consider spending your...

The memory of the wretched food I had the misfortune of consuming continues to haunt me, serving as a bitter reminder of how a single meal can cast a shadow over one's existence. Its impact was not merely confined to my taste buds; rather, it left an indelible mark on my entire being, an irrevocable stain on the fabric of my life.

The mere recollection of the repulsive amalgamation of ingredients assaults my senses, as the revolting flavors seared themselves into my memory, refusing to fade into oblivion. That singular meal, if it can even be dignified with such a term, brought about a cataclysmic upheaval in my culinary beliefs, shattering my trust in the sanctity of gastronomy and leaving me questioning the very purpose of sustenance.

From the moment the first morsel touched my tongue, a cascade of vile sensations overtook me, as if my very soul recoiled in horror at the abomination that had been presented to me. The taste, an unholy union of artificial sweetness and rancid bitterness, lingered long after the meal had ended, an unwelcome guest that refused to depart.

In the aftermath of this culinary travesty, my trust in the basic tenets of sustenance was shattered, leaving me hesitant and apprehensive at the prospect of dining. The once familiar joy of exploring new flavors and textures was replaced with an overwhelming sense of trepidation, a fear that each subsequent bite would be a reenactment of that fateful encounter, a plunge back into the abyss of gastronomic torment.

The ramifications of this meal were not limited to the realm of taste; they extended to the very essence of my being, instilling in me a profound disillusionment that transcended the boundaries of the culinary world. It served as a stark reminder of the fragility of human experience, how a single moment, a solitary bite, can alter the course of one's existence and leave an indelible scar that time can never fully heal.

In the wake of this gastronomic tragedy, I am left grappling with a profound sense of loss, mourning the innocence and purity of my palate that was irreversibly tainted by the horrors of that ill-fated meal. It is a reminder that even the seemingly mundane act of eating can carry with it the power to shape our lives in ways we never could...