Ok, so the food is decent and it's dirt cheap. And that's more or less where the accolades end.
We're semi-locals--that is, we live in western NJ and therefore end up eating somewhere in the Lehigh Valley about once a week during the school year (2-3 times a week or more in summer). People's Kitchen has been on our loose rotation of regular LV places for several years. And we loved it, as per most of the reviews, in the beginning. But over time we've come to realize that it's just not that good and now we seem to go only when we forget how not so great it is. Today, however, is likely to be our very last visit ever.
First, we'll start with today's special which was a Mexican breakfast burrito. When we sat down between 11-11:30 on Saturday morning our waitress informed us that it was no longer available. Fine, I didn't want it anyway--although PK's regular menu is so limited its always nice to have options. The issue I have is that while we waited for our food (a Full Monty and a couple of sunny side up eggs, bacon, and toast), which took the better part of an hour, I saw several burritos leave the kitchen. Maybe some of them were for people who'd been waiting even longer for their breakfasts than we did. But certainly not the one being eaten right next to the cash register as we were paying--she came in nearly an hour after us.
Speaking of the wait for food, did I mention we got the Full Monty and some eggs? The couple two tables away from us sat down at least half an hour after us and got served before us--they also paid and left before us. And the couple in between us and them sat down even later and got served the same time we did. We weren't the only ones waiting so long either. You'd think with only 6-8 items on each of its menus (breakfast and lunch), they'd be able to batch cook orders more efficiently. Of course, the other possibility is that some customers rate better service than others--so much for the "peoples" egalitarianism implied by the restaurant's name, if true. LOL.
During our long wait, I did get a refill on my coffee as one of the other waitresses wandered around with the pot. My husband, on the other hand, had to wait until our food arrived before he got a refill on his iced tea. And I had to ask for it. And some ice water. And more coffee. We also had to ask for butter for his toast because it doesn't automatically come with it. My husband, at first, thought maybe its because they want to respect vegans. Then he pointed out that the two eggs, and bacon, on his plate kinda made that point moot.
Now let's talk about that iced tea. I propose the following to all those who enjoy a challenge:
1. order an iced tea and an ice water.
2. Close your eyes (or better yet, put on a blindfold)
3. Now have someone hand each of them to you randomly.
I guarantee at least half the people who try this won't be able to tell the difference between the iced tea and the ice water. The coffee isn't much better. I made the mistake of adding milk to mine before tasting it and it ended up tasting exactly like milk. So I drank my refill black...it could best be described as "lukewarm water with coffee notes".
Regarding the food, we've had nearly everything on the regular menus and they're all good. Nothing is spectacular. Except perhaps the bacon. My husband says its very good. Conversely, nothing is bad either. I would suggest that the menu makes the food sound way better than it actually is.
As I wrote before, the prices are way low, although the portions are rather smaller than a typical breakfast joint, so its not like you're getting some huge bargain. But still, its good value for money.
You do have to check your bills--I see someone else mentioned they were charged for refilling a coffee (at least that was their impression). The last time we were here, we got charged for two iced teas when we only had one at our table -- but we caught the error while still there. (And see what I mean about forgetting how "not so great" PK can be? Yes we got the iced tea again.)
Oh how I wish I could love this place. It's just not worth the bother anymore. read more