Neighborhood Kitchen
If Chicken and Waffles, incredible Spaghetti, and Lobster Flatbread sound good to you, then you’ll wish Neighborhood Kitchen were in your neighborhood.
Located in a residential section of Medford Mass, Neighborhood Kitchen is the creation of Joy Phoubaykham and Eddie George. And the menu here is a mashup of their deliciously different backgrounds.
Joy Phoubaykham – Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “Neighborhood Kitchen is a fusion of Caribbean and Asian cuisine.”
Eddie George - Chef/Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “We collected a couple of recipes between my Haitian heritage, her Laotian heritage, and some Southern comforts.”
Joy Phoubaykham – Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “We kind of came up with the idea because we're always fighting to go out to eat. He's always wanting Haitian cuisine and I am more so Asian cuisine. So this is what we came up with.”
Joy met Eddie when he was hired to cater her baby shower. She fell in love with his cooking, and a friendship and partnership was born. And it wasn’t long before Joy was also introduced to Chef Eddie’s alter ego: Chef Flexx.
Eddie George - Chef/Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “It's a name that a lot of my friends call me. I like to show off sometimes. Not just in cooking, but like, if I'm good at something I'll show off a little bit. So they say ‘oh, you’re flexing’ or things like that.”
If it’s your first visit to Neighborhood Kitchen, their Pupu Platter is a good way to start your meal, and flex your tastebuds.
Joy Phoubaykham – Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “If you come in and you look at our menu, it can be a little overwhelming. So we came up with the Pupu Platter to give everyone kind of a taste of what we offer. It has the plantains, it has salmon wontons, vegetarian rangoons, spring rolls, so it really gives everyone a taste of what Neighborhood Kitchen is all about.”
Another dish that really exemplifies what they do here is the Chicken and Waffles.
Joy Phoubaykham – Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “Our number one dish that's ordered at Neighborhood Kitchen is our chicken and waffles. That's number one. So when our customers come in, it's always chicken and waffles, chicken and waffles, chicken and waffles.”
Customers can mix and match multiple combinations, but the best bet has to be the General Flexx Wings with a Purple Sweet Potato Waffle.
Joy Phoubaykham – Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “We wanted to come up with something that a fusion of Asian and Caribbean. So what the General Flexx is kind of like an ode to General Gau's chicken, that kind of a flavor. So that's where we came up with that.”
Eddie George - Chef/Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “That waffle is definitely gonna, give everybody a good sweet potato feel. I know Japanese sweet potatoes are usually purple. And the Haitian community does use sweet potatoes in a lot of variety of things, so I know a lot of people in both in both communities will appreciate that waffle.”
There are some interesting twists on Italian dishes at Neighborhood Kitchen, first and foremost, the Plantain Lasagna.
Joy Phoubaykham – Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “Basically what it is is a layer of tomato sauce, cheese and sweet plantains. The sauce is a meat sauce. I was wary of it at first because it didn't make sense to me. How can you take pasta out of a lasagna and call it a lasagna? But when I tried it, it was just like an explosion in my mouth. It was comfort food to the max. The acid of the tomato and the sweetness of the plantains, it just marries so well. And then you have that gooey cheese that when you put your fork in and you pull it out it's just heaven.”
But for Eddie, a taste of heaven, or more accurately, a taste of home, is the Haitian Spaghetti.
Eddie George - Chef/Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “Growing up, Haitian Spaghetti was a staple in my house. A big plate of Haitian spaghetti with a nice hard boiled egg on the side.”
And not only does it come with an egg on the side, it also has hot dogs mixed in.
Eddie George - Chef/Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “Hot dogs are a staple with Haitian Spaghetti. There are also other versions, people do it with shrimp, lobster, things like that, but the original comes with hot dogs.”
Neighborhood Kitchen is open six days a week, but on Tuesday nights, they serve a special menu of flatbreads that have become wildly popular. Especially the Lobster Flatbread, made with big pieces of lobster, crumbled bacon and melted cheese, all topped with a whole fried lobster tail.
Eddie George - Chef/Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “We only offer it on Tuesdays, but every single day since Tuesday people have been calling trying to see if the flatbreads are available for the day. It’s only available Tuesdays, but this Tuesday, I’m telling you, it’s gonna be sold out, I already know.”
But whether you go on Tuesday, or any other day, you need to try Neighborhood Kitchen. Because Joy and Eddie, absolutely love sharing their food with the neighborhood.
Joy Phoubaykham – Owner, Neighborhood Kitchen: “I love it. I love it. It gets a lot of fun. I enjoy seeing people come in and you know, raving about the food making them happy too, and that's what makes me happy.”
