Today I went to lunch with my two of my friends to the “The Kitchen Table Restaurant: Artisanal Kosher Cuisine“, and the three of us (who are self proclaimed foodies), loved the stuff.  It is located on a great street (Castro) in downtown Mountain View, with tons of room outside and in.  The outside seating is street side, and the inside motif is homey with pictures of families on the wall along with a few nice chandeliers hanging, in an attempt to mimic a kitchen or dining room theme.  There is a long table in the back for large crowds of people as well, but it pretty much maxes out after 15 or so people, so large team bashes may be better served outside then in.

The menu is a fusion of Mediterranean fare, classic kosher recipes, and slow-cooked fare.  The menu is packed with items that are stuffed with homemade dried meats that are smoked in house, pickles cured in barrels on site, along with the wicked cool fact that all food served is made fresh.  Pitas, cakes, cookies, dried meats, marinated mushrooms, etc.  No matter the menu item, it is based upon fresh and homemade ingredients that tantalize the mind and palate at the same time.  If that were not enough, all the food is organic and the restaurant is in tune with keeping the food elements local and always fresh.

Once the three of us arrived, we sat down outside, and started off by ordering two aperitifs:

Italian Lamb Sausage with kraut and sweet mustard

Black Bean Hummus with pita chips

They were quite nice.  The Pita chips were homemade toasted Pita cut into wedges.  The wedges were quite lovely – with just enough toast, but with enough bread to give you a nice bite.  The Black Bean Hummus was rocking, and was emptied quickly.  The lamb sausage (pictured below) was quite nice, cooked to perfection.  The age on it was not so long, but still enough lamb and dryness to give you a kick along with nice spices.

Just an aside, the waitress was super nice, food was served timely – important for lunch, but we were left alone, when we wanted to dig into our food and our conversation.  I think the staff understands the table well!  They understood when we wanted out next course, and when we wanted to be left alone to talk and schmooze.  Well managed!

After the starters – we dug into our plates of food.

I ordered Grilled Burgers with lettuce, tomato, and onion, on a honey whole wheat roll.  The roll was really nice, but the meat was even better, just awesome.  The meat was tender yet gave way to the bite/fork – cooked to perfection!  Beyond that the fries that came with it, was great.

My friends ordered:

• Home Cured Pastrami or First Cut Corned Beef on our homemade rye bread with sauerkraut and Russian dressing
• Dry aged Tuscan Salami on a baguette

I tried the salami and pastrami and they were quite nicely done!

I must stress all of this food is kosher and made by hand there at the restaurant.  Folks, I have lived here long enough to realize that this is the best kosher place we have ever had, or at least as good as the long gone Rafael’s (that was in Berkeley).  So, I will be coming back often – that is for sure!  Also, this may be a kosher restaurant, but that does not mean that my review is weighted towards that – I would give this score to a non kosher restaurant as well.  I have been to this place with folks (from my office) who are not Jewish, and they raved about this place as well.

The place has it all, great wait staff, great food, and cool ambiance, so go on over and enjoy.  I know I will be going back often, and I hope to be posting more updates as I take in all the goodness.