Papa Joe's Humble Kitchen

Papa Joe's Humble Kitchen

237 South St

Milford, NH

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I guess this week has become a rarity for me, more then one review in the same week, and more so, two of those reviews, are of the same kind of place, a lovely little out of the way burger joint in the middle of my lovely valley that most of my state doesn't know exists, btw, my third review will be probably tomorrow and something totally different, but anyway back to this. After my review of Local Burger afew days ago, I was pointed in the direction of a place that is literally a little roadside burger spot, its called Papa Joe's Humble Kitchen, and I figured with it not being to far away, and I never being one to pass up a burger, because, you know, being american, I would give this little out of the way spot a go. And my oh my am I glad that I did. I must admit through I was expecting traditional stuff you would find at a roadside diner, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, ect, i was not expecting to find such high quality and lovely versions of it.

Literally just off the highway in Milford New Hampshire, in what looks like a small house converted into a small diner with pretty ample outdoor seating, is a little place called Papa Joe's Humble Kitchen, at first, it looks kind of like you might be in the wrong place, or maybe you're in some kind of general store converted from a home, or some other crazy thing that you would see in a small town like this, believe me, up here, I've seen homes turned into many a crazy form of store or place to eat, I think its a new england thing honestly. When you walk in the door to Papa Joe's you notice first how small the place is, and though thats not really a deal breaker, I've had some of the best food i can think of in the smallest places along the side of the highway, and honestly, I kind of was digging the whole few small tables and a makeshift lunch counter with chairs and the open kitchen right there infront of you feel, there is something authentic and truly american about such places, and i kind of worry sometimes these kind of places to eat are dying out, which honestly would be a real shame.

The menu at Papa Joe's really isn't that large, afew specialty burgers, side from your standard fair of regular burgers, double burgers and bacon cheeseburgers, they also have "the taco burger" which is a burger seasoned with taco seasoning, and served with salsa, sour cream and cheese, "the oriental cowboy", which is a burger with teriyaki, wasabi ranch dressing, chinese noodles, and coleslaw, "the cardiac burger" which is a double burger with genoa salami, pepperjack cheese, onion rings, cheddar cheese, bacon, jalapenos, lettuce and creole mayo, and "The Spartan Burger", a cheeseburger covered in barbecue sauce, a hot dog, bacon, onion rings and lettuce. The Spartan is a burger created to celebrate the local high school basketball team won the state high school basketball championship. There are also burgers named after, what i am assuming are the owners kids, "Matt's Steakhouse Burger", with cheese, bacon, onion rings, and ranch dressing, and a "Kelsey Burger" which is basically a buffalo burger, oh and they have a veggie burger incase you know some prius driving hippie who doesn't really care for any kind of meat.

Their sides, though also not a large amount, are pretty awesome, aside from five kinds of french fries; regular, bacon and cheese, chili, buffalo and ranch, and cajun, style, they also offer sweet potato fries, onion rings, and poutine, that weird crazy canadian thing with gravy and cheese curds, they also offer both a regular and chili and cheese hot dog option, you can also get fried pickles, fried chicken tenders, a bowl of chili, a BLT, a grilled cheese, they also offer salads and afew cold sandwiches as well, if you're not up for the off the griddle stuff. They also have an incredibly large take home and catering menu, which you can order or buy at the diner itself, and though I didn't try any of these, so be able to fairy assess them, I will admit, i kind of wish afew of the things on those menus were available in the diner itself, all they seemed to be missing for a perfect menu for their kind of location was some chicken wings, shepard's pie, meatloaf, this creation of theirs called "chicken cobbler", and afew other things, as well as desserts, all of which were available in their expanded take home/catering menu, but to be fair, faulting them for such choices would be kind of silly and down right bitchy, but who knows, maybe they'll change these things down the road, time will tell right?

My mother, who once again joined me on this adventure in stomach filling, ordered The Spartan and a small order of onion rings, I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger with pickles, some chicken tenders and the bacon and cheese fries, unaware that the chicken tenders came on a bed of fries, which was ok, it allowed us to try two different kind of fries as well as the onion rings, we each got a diet coke and sat down and watched the awesome show that is cooking in a small roadside eatery like this. The cook and his two children, who i am assuming were the other workers were amazing in what they did, one kept prepping, the other worked the counter and prepped, and as is the normal main attraction at such an establishment, the cook went to work. I wasn't paying total attention to what he was doing, but i gotta tell you, this guy is amazing at what he does, he seasons the burgers with, what I am guessing, is a form of steakhouse spice rub, or maybe one of the many dry rub barbecue mixes out there, whatever it was gave the burgers the perfect mix of griddle and almost a smokey like flavoring, its like I've said before, its all about the seasoning when it comes to using fresh beef vs. prepackaged, and you can tell how much a cook cares by how well a burger is seasoned, sometimes they go overboard, and thats ok, but this time, not the case, perfect, with just the right amount of grease to give it that true "side of the highway" feel, honestly thats something you can't bottle, you have it, or you don't. the bacon was a nice middle ground, crispy and flavorful, but not to crunchy, and not all the fat cooked out, honestly thats the best way you can cook bacon. On The Spartan, the odd addition of the butterflied hot dog makes the burger a whole new thing, as it was said, its like going to a cook out and having everything all at once, so much so, i apparently need to try it myself when we go back again. The sides, honestly were perfect, the fries were light and crispy, often times in this kind of diner you find the fries are just heavy lead like balls of grease, and when you add the cheese and bacon, they just become magically good, though they use pre-melted cheese, or as a friend overseas calls it "vat cheese", thats fine, normally cheese wouldn't give you the same flavor or texture, plus its real chopped up bacon, which kind of makes up for it. The Onion Rings were pretty light and crunchy, also made on properly, i am rather picky about my onion rings, i like mine with thin slices of onion, these were alittle thick for me, but my mom liked them, infact she couldn't keep stop eating them till she forced herself too, always a good sign when that happens. The chicken was also pretty amazing, nicely cooked inside and out, crispy outside fluffy light inside, nice and tasty, I wasn't aware they came with fries, which is something they might wanna tell you on the menu, but as i said before, that was just a welcome surprise. Honestly the food was pretty damn good, specially for a place that looks like it was made out of someone's grandparents house.

So I guess the big question is, if you're driving by this little roadside, and you are feeling abit hungry, should you stop in and have a bite, or drive about 5 minutes south and into the center of Milford where there are some award winning places to eat all in one large circle, well the answer is simply, YES. See, lovely little hole in the walls like this are a dying breed here in america, oh sure there are those that are surviving and doing well, and you see them on local, regional or national television, but these small ones that don't really have big followings, or that many aren't aware of, are dying out. And honestly, the food here is far too good to let fade, sure I don't see Papa Joe's going away anytime soon, but its what it represents, the small place carving out a small niche of space in a landscape littered with fast food that barely serves meat, and doing it for the love of cooking good food for those that love to eat it. And to be honest with you, I can't wait to go back to Papa Joe's, the food, the places to eat, both indoor and out, are such a great location, and its actually a pretty good value too, honestly, if you're up for a drive into the country, where the air is fresh and clear and you can eat some lovely food in a lovely country setting, you should GPS Papa Joe's and give it a try. You will love it. I know I sure did. Oh and if you plan on coming back, get the free burger club card, for every tenth burger you order, you get one free, so if you have kids, that kind of is a great idea... 



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Chris