Get your barbecue on at Joey C’s Roadhouse, 439 Boston Post Road, Milford, but don’t worry if Tex Mex is not your thing. Whether you prefer health conscious whole foods or southwest-style comfort food, you’ll have plenty to choose from.
If your mouth is watering for tangy barbecue ribs that fall off the bone, or a sweet and smoky brisket, pulled pork, or perhaps beef or turkey chili, come on down. The ribs are prepared with Joey C’s homemade dry rub spices and served with your choice of three barbeque sauce styles including Carolina, a spicy chipotle, and a classic zesty sauce. The burgers are all natural, but it’s the four pound burrito that set owner/chef Joe Catalano to boasting about the fare. “Food is theater and people want to be entertained. We do that with the food, the ambience, and the drinks,” he said, perched atop a high stool in an alcove framed by chicken wire and old southwest license plates.
From the dusty clay colored walls with exposed brick and other western flavored décor, the tone is set to prepare the taste buds, the perfect backdrop for the reds and greens of homemade salsa.
Creative regional foods come as a surprise, with Coconut Mussels ($10.99) and the Calimari El Diablo ($9.99) dusted with corn meal, a nod to Catalano’s Italian heritage with a Mexican twist, topping the list. There is the Joe-Shida Spring Roll ($9.50), an homage to the Yoshida Japanese Restaurant that formerly occupied the space, and is one of many delicious appetizers. Made with pulled pork, shredded cheddar, and lightly spiced, the roll is then drizzled with chipotle and cilantro aioli. This savory flavor reappears on the menu, says Catalano, in the “dipping sauce for the roadhouse fries, tossed in Joey C’s spices.”
JC’s Seafood Chowda ($5.99/$8.99) has a bit of a kick, compliments of Joey C’s homemade habenero sauce, and the Pulled Chicken Empanadas ($9.99) are warm pockets of succulent pulled chicken and vegetables with a hint of something sweet.
Vegetarians won’t go hungry either. If you are watching your calories, you might want to share your order of the World’s Best Scalloped Potatoes ($3.99), swimming in a cloud of cheesy cream sauce, or the Crazy Mac and Cheese ($3.99) made with three kinds of cheese. But the Spiced Fried Chickpeas ($3.99) are addictive while the Aztec Fire Roasted Corn ($4.99), covered with a mild Mexican cheese and drizzled with cilantro aioli, is one of the most popular items on the menu. According to bartender Luke Lynch, “When people have the corn, they come back and have it again.”
Beyond the extensive menu, the real difference in the food at Joey C’s originates behind the scenes. Virtually everything is homemade on the premises. Chefs/owners Ania Catalano, natural foods chef, and her husband Joe Catalano, traditional chef, let their talents shine in the extensive and surprising menu.
“My wife and I wanted the place to be unique, so everything we have here, you have to come here to get. We do it with our touch; everything is hand done which takes time, and it’s a lot more work, effort, and training.”
Large glass jars on the bar hold fruity infusions for Joey C’s flavored margaritas, which at various times include mandarin oranges, local strawberries, hot peppers, mangoes, prickly pear, and other seasonal fruits. “In most bars, you’ll get a mix with sugar or corn syrup and fake lime juice, but we use Agave and fresh squeezed limes in our mix,” says Catalano. Bartender Lynch serves up more than a dozen craft beers on tap, a menu of signature drinks, and more than 30 tequilas the crowds that descend. With only 22 tables, the crowd can be deep at the bar on the weekends and there is often a 45 minute wait. If you can get there on a weekday, you’ll have a better chance of being seated quickly. Reservations for five or more are accepted.
Creating dishes that maintain the integrity of the food is important to the chefs. According to Catalano, he took a long hard look at ingredients used in barbecue cuisine at many chain restaurants. “They pump flavor enhancers and sodium into their meats,” he said, noting that commercial barbecue often has a ketchup base, usually with corn syrup, which many people are striving to avoid. Instead, Joey C’s makes their own sauce with wholesome ingredients, tomatoes instead of ketchup, and Agave instead of corn syrup.
About the restaurant’s success, Catalano insists, “When you are unique and affordable and people feel you are going an extra step, people are going to come to you. People think this is just a roadhouse, but we serve a good demographic—families, all ages, and groups—and we have become a destination spot.”
Christine Rose
Joey C’s Roadhouse
439 Boston Post Road
Milford
203.301.3299
www.joeycbbq.com
Monday – Thursday: 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sunday: 11:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
