It's a great concept: A supermarket in the `burbs that not only sells groceries but also homemade-style meals and features a comfortable, bistro-type area for casual dining. The convenience of it is every yuppie customer's dream.
You'll receive an abrupt awakening, however, when you sample Kap's Kitchen & Pantry fare. They aim for upscale but hit only school lunch.The whole facility wasn't quite what I expected. I was thinking along the lines of designer supermarkets in California, with gourmet prepared foods; unusual luxury comestibles to purchase; and fresh, bright, scrubbed-clean tile surfaces. Instead I found a slapdash grocery store with poor lighting and indoor/outdoor carpet that made maneuvering with a cart very difficult.
The dining area, however, was better, and extremely crowded. In lieu of the plastic booths and tables you normally find in the deli section of a supermarket, Kap's has wooden bistro chairs, tables surfaced with faux marble and shuttered windows.
They're going for the home-style meat and veggie concept that makes Boston Market so popular. They even have rotisserie chicken, meat loaf and roast turkey, plus at least a dozen sides. What Kap's doesn't offer is a lot of flavor, texture or decent seasoning.
Salt. Its the condiment du jour, all day, every day. Whether you order the pork loin, the pot roast or the turkey, it all has the same grainy, rubbery texture - and that same salient savor of saline. You look to your bland mashed potatoes for relief, but alas, they are smothered with gluey, salty, greenish gravy.
You're better off opting for the veggies. Although they are almost all overcooked, the green beans are not offensive, nor are the squash dishes. The spinach, which comes topped with an unidentifiable white sauce, is passable, and the roasted potatoes, which supposedly come in your choice of rosemary or garlic but are mostly just plain, you guessed it, salty, are all right as well.
The meals, however, are extremely inexpensive. A turkey dinner, which includes two side dishes of your choice and a roll, is only $4.29. The pork roast dinner is $5.99, and additional, family-size sides are $2.49. There are also special bargains offered nightly on family-size meals.
The whole place could be vaguely redeemed, however, by the talents of the baker, or whoever is in charge of the sweets and the specialty breads. An onion loaf I tried was particularly good, and the brownies, either fudge, German chocolate or cream-cheese frosted, were actually quite nice. I could see myself returning for a chocolatey, gooey, rich plateful, if I were attending a party in the neighborhood and hadn't had time to whip up a dessert of my own.
Otherwise, I won't return until they send their cooks down to California to learn what an upscale supermarket eatery can truly be.