The Blue Plate Special is a unique addition to the South Orange community that opened in late 2011.
Acting as both a thrift shop and local eatery, everything from the plates and tables on which you eat to the wall décor is on sale. See something to your liking and feel free to take it home with you, even if it is an item you never imagined you would leave a restaurant with. This mishmash of décor gives the tiny eatery—which is located conveniently on the corner of Ward Place and Irvington Avenue— a friendly, eclectic vibe sure to make anyone feel comfortable.
Until recently, the restaurant only served breakfast and lunch, and they did it well. The menus for both provide variety at a reasonable price. Now, with the addition of dinner, diners are welcome to eat at Blue Plate to their heart—and stomach's— content.
A favorite of the breakfast fare is the breakfast platter where for less than $7, diners can select two eggs in any style to accompany toast and potatoes.
As far as lunch and dinner options go, the Tarragon Chicken Sandwich is positively mouthwatering – a combination of grilled chicken seasoned with a tarragon sauce, sliced apples, walnuts and lettuce served on a toasted roll. The fried potatoes, which serve as a side, are the kind that might make you never want regular french fries again. They are bite-size, fried to perfection and seasoned with pepper and other spices.
The restaurant also recently introduced an entire line of Jersey cheese steaks in varieties like traditional steak and chicken.
The portions at Blue Plate are interesting: they don't serve the typical greased, loaded plate of food you might get at any Jersey diner. The amounts are filling, but are not stuffing.
Of course, the most important fixture of any breakfast shop is the coffee, and Blue Plate does not disappoint. They serve a local brand of coffee called Law, which is purchased in Newark. Diners serve themselves coffee, adding cream, sugar or shots of flavor to their liking.
For anyone in the mood to venture off campus for a meal need not look further than the Blue Plate Special. At about a five minute walk from campus, it is well-worth the trip.
Erin Bell can be reached at erin.bell@student.shu.edu.
Alyana Alfaro can be reached at alyana.alfaro@student.shu.edu.
