Joey's Place is Your Place

by Teresa Barile

The management of Joey's Place is proud to welcome you back after completing extensive renovations. The newly redecorated dining room is so warm and inviting with its cream colored walls, soft lighting and elegant carpeting. The sleek, high-back leather chairs allow you to dine in comfort at tables covered in crisp, white linens. The roaring fireplace and brick accents add to the ambience of this well-appointed dining room. 

Indeed Joey's Place is an ideal venue for your next private affair of up to 120 people. A new dance floor has been added to the dining room as well. Some things that remain the same are the delicious Italian dishes, excellent service and friendly atmosphere, thanks to your hosts Joey, Johnny and the wonderful staff.

The blackboard at the entrance taunts you with specials of the day which may include fresh mussels steamed with white wine and garlic, Portobello mushroom stuffed with fontina cheese, rigatoni with shrimp and osso buco with rice. We sat at a cozy table next to the fireplace and settled down with glasses of robust red wine and began to peruse the menu. Appetizers include cold options such as jumbo shrimp cocktail with zesty sauce, fresh, little neck clams on the half shell or a cold antipasto platter, ideal for sharing. The hot stuffed mushrooms were generously sized and filled with bread crumbs, garlic and topped with cheese and tomato sauce ($6.45). The chef does a nice job with clams casino, baked until golden with bread crumbs, garlic and bacon for a smoky, savory flavor. Tortellini in brodo is a steaming soup, ideal for winter, or start with a crunchy Caesar salad.

Entrees at Joey's Place include something for everyone's taste and desire, including pasta, meats, fish and seafood, and it is all prepared to order and served piping hot. Pasta dishes include the classics, such as fettuccine Alfredo, linguine carbonara with bits of smoky bacon and onion, and fusilli Bolognese with rich meat sauce ($9.95 and up). The special rigatoni with shrimp included plenty of plump, tender shrimp in a light tomato sauce made with white wine and basil.

My dining companion favored a platter of shrimp stuffed with crab meat and sauteed in a light lemon, butter and white wine sauce, all served over a mound of fluffy rice ($16.95). Other shrimp dishes include shrimp Francese with a delicate egg batter, shrimp marinara over linguine and a combination of shrimp and scallops oreganata style, with white wine, garlic and golden bread crumbs. Fillet of sole is prepared Francese style or stuffed with crab meat. The broiled seafood platter is replete with clams, shrimp, lobster tail, fillet of sole and scallops ($19.95). Atlantic salmon was the featured fish of the day and the chef will gladly prepare dishes to your liking.

The finest meats are used to create Joey's Place specialties such as fork-tender veal prepared a number of ways including veal Marsala, with a sweet wine sauce, veal saltimbocca, filled with spinach and prosciutto in wine sauce, or classic veal parmigiana. Chicken cutlets are prepared similarly, or you can tuck into a juicy, 16- ounce rib-eye steak, tender pork chops or melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon, all cooked to sizzling perfection. Why not indulge in surf and turf and enjoy lobster tail and filet mignon? If you've got a hearty appetite, try the stuffed pork chop, filled with prosciutto, spinach and mozzarella, dressed with a rich sauce.

Do your best to save room for dessert so you can sample New York style cheesecake, apple crumb cheesecake or black and white mousse cake. Roger, the veteran waiter, served us a generous wedge of carrot cake that was rich and moist along with freshly made espresso. Assorted ice cream flavors, tartufo and tortoni add to the list of desserts.

Joey's Place promises an excellent meal with professional service at reasonable prices. The newly renovated dining room makes a meal here more pleasant than ever. The adjoining bar has a separate entrance just next door and is a great place for after work Happy Hours and beyond. The bar menu is great too. Remember Joey's Place for life's events. Spring is just around the corner and with it come communions, baptisms, graduations, showers and more. Your next business or organization function should be here at Joey's Place. Welcome back and congratulations on nearly 25 years in business!