Charlene's Kitchen

[goldenticket]

Has anyone tried out Charlene's Kitchen? It's in a tiny space on the 100 block of North West Street, just off King behind the florist. Cheery on the outside, with a red and white gingham motif, you could almost miss it if you're not paying attention. After several months of wondering about the place, we finally stopped by Saturday afternoon for the first time (it's been open since July). Unfortunately it was close to the 3:00 closing time (for weekends) so the selection was very limited - most items had already run out. Choices had included turkey meatloaf, a pasta dish, a few salads - all sounded like they were fresh and healthy with interesting combinations of ingredients. About the only thing remaining was biscuit chicken pot pie, which looked quite good, but at $7 for a one-biscuit serving (biscuits being maybe 3" in diameter) it seemed a bit steep and we decided to try again when the selection was larger.

This is not a new business, just a new location, and it appears that most of Charlene's business is catering. They also do gift baskets and have a nice selection of gourmet items in the tiny retail space to go in those baskets. When the weather warms up, they have a few tables outside the door and fresh lemonade and other cold drinks. They're open until 7pm on weeknights (need to check which nights) and it was recommended that we call ahead (or early in the day) to see what's on the menu and have it set aside for pick-up. The buildout in this old space is pretty impressive - every inch utilized - ask for a peek into the kitchen!

[monavano]

I stopped in several months ago in hopes of a great find. Her kitchen is gorgeous and I got the impression that they do mostly catering, but have take out too. For 4 or more people, you need to order a day ahead so she can accomodate the quantity. I tried a chicken with sherry cream sauce which was tremendous and very rich.

It's not cheap tho- a serving, not quite enough for 2 unless you really stretch it with pasta or rice, was around $10.

I need to revisit.

fyi....I think she serves hot cocoa on Sat. mornings. In the summertime, she has basil infused lemonade sitting just outside the door.

[goldenticket]

I forgot to mention that they had a hand-written 'Super Bowl menu' posted with some interesting items (sausage rolls come to mind). Might be worth checking out if you're hosting a party for the big game (no prices listed though...).