Not Your Average Dining Experience At Not Your Average Joe’s

Ah, the chain restaurants. Its comforting knowing what your in for- same restaurant setup and décor, same drink selection, same food cooked from a microwave.

Comfort…no, just completely boring.

I know what your thinking: “Not Your AverageJoe’s, that’s a chain restaurant that has that same color concept and menu selection at all their locations”.

Now, what if I told you, you were wrong about your thinking of Not Your Average Joe’s being a typical chain restaurant (trust me, after my experience, I did a complete 180 of how I view Joe’s!).

I was invited to NYAJ’s newest restaurant in Waltham located in what I call the ‘new outside mall’ on Market Place Drive and try out their fall/winter menu.  Right off the bat, I was impressed by their newest addition- a fire pit roaring outside, the floor to ceiling windows to create a more open atmosphere, and the communal tables- tables for couples to mingle with one another and meet and greet other people.

Outside view of Not Your Average Joe's Waltham

Outside fire-pit and patio used all year long! They even have complimentary blankets if you're cold!

Have a seat and munch on some bread as you wait for you table

Open bar space 

Our host for the evening was Executive Chef Jeff, a master of the culinary field. He led us a tour of their open kitchen where we able to see food prepping at its finest, the roaring fire in the pizza oven and the popular “walk-in”, essentially a large freezer you walk into.

Pizza oven hard at work

Open kitchen space

Next it was time for the fun- drinks and dinner!

Drinks:

I started off with a Berry Me in Bubbles Cocktail, a NYAJ’s favorite, which features strawberry wine, elderflower liqueur, and house-made lemonade.

Berry me in Bubble Cocktail

Main Event- Tasting Menu (I’m breaking this down course by course, as there were a lot! Oh, and remember, all the food listed here and everything on their menu is made from scratch in-house with fresh, never frozen ingredients).

Appetizers:

Deviled Eggs-

Mixed with sriracha chili spice, topped with togarashi spice and cucumber potato crisps

Deviled Eggs

Mango Shrimp Rolls-

Shrimp, mango, cucumber, mint, cilantro and rice noodles with tangy peanut dipping sauce

Mango Shrimp Rolls

Buffalo Caribbean Chicken Tenders-

Breaded and tossed with mango-buffalo bbq sauce served with pineapple-jalapeno salsa

Buffalo Caribbean Chicken Tenders

Salads & Flatbreads:

Butternut Squash Flatbread-

Sage-pecan pest, roasted butternut squash, shaved Brussels sprouts, caramelized onions, smoked mozzarella and balsamic reduction

Butternut Squash Flatbread

Super Crunch Salad-

Grilled chicken tossed with quinoa, green apples, pistachios, avocado, spinach, mint and cilantro in an orang-sesame dressing

Super Crunch Salad

Entrees:

Mustard-Crusted Chicken *NYAJ’s most popular dish*

Chicken breasts in a three-mustard marinade and panko crumbs, pan seared and served with green beans, garlic mashed potatoes and lemon aioli

Mustard Crusted Chicken

Vietnamese Salmon-

Spice rubbed and grilled, with a lime-infused chili broth, rice noodles, crunchy veggies and crushed peanuts

Vietnamese Salmon

Spaghetti Squash Bolognese-

Veggie version of an Italian classis made with a mushroom Bolognese, roasted spaghetti squash, sautéed spinach and grated Romano cheese

Spaghetti Squash Bolognese 

Rosemary Skewered Scallops-

All natural scallops pan seared and served over a succotash of Israeli couscous, grilled corn, bacon and tomatoes with an orange-chipotle glaze

Rosemary Skewered Scallops

Cranberry-Teriyaki Roasted Chicken *my personal favorite*

Pan-roasted bell & evans all natural chicken, house-made butternut squash ricotta cannelloni with sautéed spinach

Chicken Teriyaki Roasted Chicken 

Dessert:

Peanut Butter Thing-

Peanut butter and chocolate chunks folded into vanilla ice cream and rolled in oreo cookie crumbs, topped with fresh whipped cream and drizzled with hot chocolate and caramel sauces

Peanut Butter Thing

Gogi Berry Apple Crisp *my other favorite of the night*

Cinnamon spiced apples, goji berries and ginger with a brown-sugar oat crust served warm with vanilla ice cream

Gogi Berry Apple Crisp

Carrot Cake-

Not your average carrot cake with delicious cream cheese frosting caramel sauce

Carrot Cake

By the end of the night, I basically rolled myself out of the restaurant after having such delectable dishes.

Seriously, it’s time you made a stop to your local Not Your Average Joe’s; with their menu changing in the spring, you have a limited time to try all their amazing seasonal dishes!

What is your favorite fall/winter dish?

  

Note: This event was provided free of charge. All opinions, whether you like them or not, are all my own.