submitted by Sal Sorbello
The J and J Café located at 2719 Route 2 in Grafton, formerly the site of Lena’s and then Rosie’s and then Chrissy’s Diner, celebrated its Grand Opening just over a month ago. In spite of the roadwork on Route 2 local residents and others continue to find ways to get to the café to savor the chef’s own recipes. From home made chips to savory sauces with the chef’s own mix, to crispy and sweet croûtons, to Venison Chili, everything that can be made special, is prepared from scratch, in a way that only the renowned Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park could teach and only a fine hand could create.
Chef and owner Joe Sorbello and wife, Jess, co-owner of J and J Café, forge forward with the novel idea to create innovative foods using, where available, seasonal fruits and vegetables. Joe and Jess say it is their goal to bring to Grafton home-style food scented with the smell and the touch of fine cuisine at a home-style price. Along with his own original recipes, creating such novelties as “Pie in a Jar,” a mix of fruits and fillings in pie form in a canning jar, has become a hot item with customers, who love the flavors and the idea. A warm and friendly atmosphere awaits each customer as they enter, along with the quick service of J and J’s home town waitresses. Putting all this together, the Grafton community finds at the J and J Café, the meaning of the Culinary Institute motto, “We Speak Food.”
The J and J Café is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 am to 8 pm for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and on Sunday from 8 am to 2 pm for breakfast and lunch. There is an ice cream window for the sweet tooth, with cones, dishes, shakes, for whatever the desire, or just as dessert after the meal. Their summer menu will soon be replaced with a fall menu, where commuter coffee and sweets for the going to work travelers along with other specialty interests for the Fall weather will make the commute a little easier.
Joe and Jess, after marrying, made their home in Grafton and have opened the café in a building that was once the well known community gathering spot, Lena’s Kitchen. It is now revitalized, and Joe and Jess are excited to be
working together in Grafton, becoming a permanent part of its community. Jess, an avid runner, will be running in the Nike marathon in San Francisco to raise money to fight cancer. J and J Café wishes to support other local charities. Jess herself has a Masters Degree and commutes every day to work, yet still finds time to be at the café. She loves the people and hopes that everyone will get involved in the fight to cure blood cancers and other diseases.
Starting up a restaurant is an extreme undertaking. The amount of work and skill it takes to be able to run the day to day business and make the right decisions, of how much to order, what is the best way to serve this or that or how do we continue to keep up the quality without shredding the budget, is monumental for two people just getting started in life together. But somehow, they have done it and have earned the trust and the gratitude of their customers who come in sometimes two or three times a day.
The specials of the day will change from time to time but always with a twist, such as Quesadilla of the Day, while the menu itself boasts of a breakfast fare from eggs to menu items such as crunchy French toast, breakfast burrito, consisting of scrambled eggs, onions, peppers, tomatoes, salsa, cheddar cheese and bacon or sausage wrapped in a warm tortilla, made fresh. Or for those who are vegans or vegetarians, there is a vegan tofu scramble, a delicious mix of tofu, veggies and non-dairy cheese. For the hearty eater there is lunch with everything from the Mountainsider, a hot meatloaf sandwich served open faced and smothered in homemade gravy or for the burger fancier, at dinner, a juicy 8oz. burger served with lettuce and tomato on a hard roll too large to take a bite. For others, the salads with dressings made by the chef are to die for. There are the unusual items, too, like cornmeal dusted trout, veggie burgers, and venison chili as well as the usual, such as a grilled pork chop, a marinated pork chop covered in pork gravy and accompanied by roasted potatoes and asparagus. There is just a slew of savory meals for hearty eaters, all for the tasting.
Take-out for drinks and food are available for those on the run or who wish to eat at home. The Culinary Arts find their home at the J and J Café, a Grafton first, and Joe and Jess are committed to providing high quality food at a reasonable price. Their website is www.jjcafegrafton.com and contains information that can help. You can also contact the café at 518-279-9100 or reach them on Facebook. Free Wi-Fi is another plus with the J and J Café.
