Revved Up Lunch at Motor Supply

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Not only did PIC and I have a great time at Motor Supply Company’s Making Bacon workshop, our curiosity was piqued. If the house-made charcuterie served at the workshop was any indication of Chef Tim Peters’ meat curing /preparing skills, what would meat entrees be like at a full-on meal?

Never ones to let questions go unanswered (and believe me, neither PIC or I rarely let a question go unanswered), we went back to Motor Supply the next day for lunch.

Image by Thomas Hammond

Both the indoor dining area and patio were pretty full when we arrived. The shots below were taken toward the end of our meal, when it had thinned out a bit.

Hand-written menus are an interesting touch – personal as well as a more tangible way of promoting the idea that menus are updated regularly with “what’s fresh now” dishes.

PIC began with a generous bowl of Tomato Vegetable Soup ($5). As you can see, it was chock-full of chunky veggies and had a nice creamy base. Wonderful bread from Heather’s Artisan Bakery accompanied the soup.

He followed the soup with House Ground Beef and Pork Meatballs with what was listed on the menu as a “marinade”, but looked and tasted more like a delicious, chunky red sauce, and Provolone in a Hoagie Roll ($8.95). The words “stuffed into a Hoagie Roll” on the menu were definitely accurate. Don’t think anything else could have been crowbarred into that roll.

I’m always a little nervous about sides of “fresh” fruit. In this case, it was actually fresh. And the meatballs were fabulous.

Every now and then, a meal makes me happy. Really happy. The kind of happy where you actively smile throughout a meal that becomes an experience rather than just eating a plate of food.

This entree of Sugar (house) Cured Boneless Pork Chops ($11.95) served over mashed sweet potatoes and snap peas with a Black-Blueberry Glaze was one of those meals. Totally. The problem this creates is an unwillingness to try anything else on the menu next time. It will take strength to give up this dish for another, but I WILL be strong.

Those pork chops were absolutely wonderful. Now, this dish is a little on the sweet side, so if you like a more savory approach, order chops or other Motor Supply meat entree made without the berry sauce and a vegetable other than sweet potatoes.

As has happened before, we had decided against dessert, until . . . they mentioned Apricot Walnut Bread Pudding. Presentation was nice with fresh cream and chocolate sauce. Delicious!

As we enjoying our dessert, one of the cooks brought more fresh-from-the-oven puddings he’d baked to the bar top for wrapping and labeling. I thought about proposing, but alas, am already married.

He worked at the bar because Motor Supply’s kitchen can be described as microscopic. I mean really tiny. It would be tough to manage without the basement prep kitchen. Every inch of space is used here, even the stairway. Anyone entering the restaurant can look down the stairs to the left, so good thing they keep their pots clean.

We got a chance to chat with owner, Eddie Wales and Executive Chef Tim Peters. Hard to judge from short conversations, but both seem like awfully nice guys.