NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE'S
105 Chapel St., Needham
(781) 453-9300
Restaurant reviewed 6/11/98 by Sheryl Julian
Not Your Average Joe's is crowded when we arrive, but the host is encouraging about getting us a table soon. Anyway, by the time he is through flattering my cousin Martha, she'll wait an eternity. "Do you model?" he asks. Then he turns to her husband. "Forgive me," he says. "I couldn't help flirting with your wife."
We needed this guy later, to reassure us that we were still having fun. Hopelessly understaffed, the restaurant is brimming with customers. Waiters don't bring food right away so it arrives lukewarm. Then, when the entrees arrive, the waiters stand by while you bus your first course. To clear, they simply scrape and stack right in front of you.
This will all change soon, owner Stephen Silverstein assures me. And I don't doubt it. An MBA from New York University with a lifetime of experience in the retail business in southeastern Massachusetts -- his family owned the clothing store Silverstein's in New Bedford for 97 years -- he says, "I understand customer service."
What is reassuring about Joe's is that everyone is nice and a lot of the food is very good. And at these prices, it's a big bargain. Timothy Quinn, executive chef of all the Joe's -- this one in Needham, another in Dartmouth, and a third that will open in the fall in Watertown Square -- is a capable guy. He has cooked at Tra Vigne and Restaurant Terra in St. Helena, Calif., and he was chef of Tosca in Hingham, all of which serve first-rate food.
His crusty bread has a dense, moist crumb. It's made from pizza dough, shaped into loaves, and baked daily on the premises in a wood oven. A basket arrives quickly with a plate of oil dusted with hot peppers, garlic, and Parmesan cheese. The pizza itself has a thin, nicely chewy crust with a mild smoky taste from the wood. Margherita pizza ($5.95), topped with plum tomatoes and mozzarella, is delightful.
Wood-grilled littlenecks ($6.95) are cooked on a rack over hot charcoals, where they open. They're set on lightly smoked vegetables with a mild white cheese, which melts into the clam juices. The sauce is so dreamy, you'll need lots more bread to mop up every drop. Bruschetta ($4.95) arrives with the tomatoes on the plate and the toasts set on top -- regrettably upside down and not according to Italian tradition.
Joe's redeems itself with herb-encrusted baked cod ($9.95), which we ordered on two visits. On one, it arrived long after it came out of the oven; the second time the fish flaked beautifully, with a nice moist flesh under golden crumbs.
Spit-roasted half chicken ($9.95), done to a turn, is served with a plateful of roasted potatoes and carrots, with a grilled tomato relish. Rum-roasted pork loin ($9.95), cooked on a spit, doesn't need its rum-ginger gravy, which distracts from the savory white meat.
Desserts, made by Joe's baker, are served in huge portions, some fancier than the food. Apple pie and ice cream comes drizzled all over with caramel ($4.50); a large square of tiramisu ($3.50) is dusted heavily with cocoa, with a cream more reminiscent of custard than mascarpone. The coupe glass of vanilla ice cream, served with biscotti ($2.95), is a fine, simple end to the meal. The ice cream carries no fancy nametag either. The affable chef Quinn says that he buys the premium house brand from one of his vendors. "It's a good product at a good price," he says. "That's how we keep our prices down."
Tips & hits
