Miss Em’s Good Eats

A wooden porch with latticework trim frames the front entrance to Miss Em’s Good Eats, radiating a cottage-like ambience, and reminiscent of eateries that populate the shoreline in Connecticut. So it is no wonder to find that owners Joann and Dave Horwath cater to the Lake Zoar Community, even going so far as to provide free delivery to the nearby boat launch for hungry boaters. In warmer weather, the porch provides additional seating for the restaurant.

Miss Em’s Good Eats, located near the intersection of Routes 34 and 111, just over the Newtown line in Monroe, is named after the Horwaths’ teenage daughters, Emily and Melissa. It is a family restaurant, featuring sandwiches, burgers, fried seafood, fried chicken, and a custard ice cream from New Jersey that the Horwaths are willing to put up against any other high-quality ice cream. All of it is served up in a pleasant, low-key environment.

The Horwaths, along with chef/manager Millie Bacchiocchi, are no strangers to the food business. Before opening the cozy eatery in March of 2006, Mr and Mrs Horwath previously owned two delis in Stratford and Ms Bacchiocchi had worked in various local establishments for more than a decade. One or the other of the owners or Ms Bacchiocchi is on the premises at all times during restaurant hours to ensure top quality.

“Millie puts love into each order,” said Mr Horwath. “She won’t let an order go out until it’s just right.”

That attitude is prevalent in everything they do at Miss Em’s, he added. “We buy the best that we can. We don’t skimp on anything.”

Not just lake-faring clientele are catered to, either. Free delivery is available to all area towns with a $10 minimum order.

Breakfast features two eggs with bacon on a hard roll and a 12 ounce coffee for $1.99, an early morning best seller. Pancakes or French toast with two sausage links and home fries costs $3.75 or try the steak and eggs on a Portuguese roll for $3.25.

At lunch or dinner, a 1/3-pound or 2/3-pound Angus burger for $2.75, $3.75, or $4.75 fits the bill for many of the Miss Em’s clientele. By far, say the owners, it is the Philly Cheese Steak Grinder, though, that is the favorite. Made with shaved, rib-eye beef, red bell peppers, onions, hot sauce and vinegar, and cheddar cheese, it is a sandwich of which they are proud. The Miss Em’s Good Eats Philly Cheese Steak grinder is offered at $6.

Other menu items include a pork Cuban sandwich on panini bread for $6.75 and the pastrami reuben panini for $5.50. A variety of cold cuts on white, wheat, marble rye, or a hard roll are available for $5.75. The restaurant features Hummel hot dogs with an array of toppings for $2.25 plus 50 cents per topping.

Fried clam rolls are $4.50 at Miss Em’s and a scallop boat can be had for $7.50, or fish and chips for $5.50. Six pieces of wings, hot or mild, with bleu cheese are on the menu at $4.75.

Top off the meal with curly or chili cheese fries for $2.50, sweet potato fries for $2.75, or the unusual spudsters, deep-fried mashed potatoes, for $1.50. Coleslaw or potato salad are available at $1.50 for 1/2-pound.

The four-pack is a dinner special offered after 4 pm, consisting of four burgers, four orders of fries, four sodas, and four ice creams, all for $20.

“We want people to leave here feeling good,” said Mr Horwath. “If you leave here hungry, we haven’t done our job.”

Miss Em’s Good Eats is open 6 am to 7 pm, Monday through Saturday, and until 8 pm from May to September. The restaurant is open Sundays from May through September, and is at 244 Roosevelt Drive, Monroe, at the intersection of Routes 34 and 111. All major credit cards are accepted. To place an order call 268-9751 or fax order to 268-0395. Miss Em’s Good Eats also provides catering.