Love Of Good Food, Good Kids Inspired Miss Em’s Good Eats

By John Voket

Dave Horvath recalls chatting with his wife Jo Ann about getting serious in his pursuit to open a small takeout restaurant.

“She looked at me and said, ‘Honey, most men in their midlife crisis go out and buy a Corvette,’ but it’s something I always wanted to do,” said Mr Horvath as he sat in front of the service counter at his new eatery, Miss Em’s Good Eats.

After a five-year search for the “perfect location,” the Horvath family jumped at the chance to occupy a storefront at the busy intersection of Routes 34 and 111, just a few hundred feet beyond the Newtown line in Stevenson. But while the idea for Miss Em’s might have been borne from a midlife crisis, sitting down or ordering out a meal — even snatching a quick snack — is something that can be described as one of life’s simple pleasures.

That’s because Miss Em’s offers amazingly tasty, high quality food and desserts at prices that seem too low to be believed.

“Look, I know what good food is all about,” Mr Horvath said, patting his midsection. “I’ve eaten at thousands of places all over the country and I think I’ve taken a little something of the best of each of them and rolled it all into our menu.”

The modest takeout shop offers an amazing variety of specialties light years beyond the standard burger and fries. And no matter if it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, Miss Em’s has something for every taste.

Besides the fresh muffins or Danish with coffee, breakfast eaters can trade up to an egg sandwich with bacon, ham, sausage, or Philly steak. Big appetites can forgo the breakfast sandwich and upgrade to the breakfast grinder for just a few cents more.

If you’re a fan of the Philly cheese steak grinder, Miss Em’s serves them up as good as you’ll find down on South Street complete with gooey Cheese Whiz, fried onions, and peppers for just $6.

“The sign of a good Philly cheese steak is how much you have running down your fingers as you eat it,” Mr Horvath pointed out.

The restaurant offers up the area’s only Inside Out Grilled Cheese Grinder where they grill the grinder face down and melt the cheese over the crust, then fold the whole thing over backwards so you’re biting into the soft grilled inside bread before the crusty, cheesy explosion of flavor bursts out of the middle.

Popular ethnic specialties and regional favorites include the Cuban sandwich featuring loads of spicy pork, ham, pickles, swiss cheese, and mayo on a panini grinder roll. Or try the pastrami or turkey pastrami Reuben panini piled high on rye with loads of meat, kraut, swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing.

When it comes to burgers and fries, or even hot dogs, Miss Em’s delivers only the best, and plenty of it. And for the calorie-conscious, they offer their very own handmade turkey burger.

“Instead of a quarter pound burger, I take it up to a third-pound, and our half-pound burger is really about two-thirds uncooked,” Mr Horvath said. “And you’ll taste the difference in your first bite, because we serve only ground Angus steak instead of ground chuck, or the turkey burger if that’s what the doctor ordered.”

When it comes to the dogs, he serves 9-inch Hummel franks straight out of New Haven. Order them up split on the bun and add your own condiments, or have the chef pile them high with cheese or the works.

Patrons on a budget can enjoy a dog, fries, and a soda for just about $3.50.

If southern fried chicken is your dish, pull over because Miss Em’s fries your half-chicken to order in just a few minutes ala cart for $5 or in a platter with fries for just 75 cents more. You can even manage a full dinner with vegetable and potato if you’re inclined.

From the sea, Miss Em’s has corn battered fried scallops, fried clams by the roll ($4.50) or by the boat with fries ($6.25), jumbo shrimp by the boat, even fish and chips ($5.50). And when it comes to the chips, Miss Em’s doesn’t stop at just ordinary fries.

Choose from chili cheese fries, curly fries, sweet potato fries, gravy fries or the one-of-a-kind spudsters — drop fried mashed potato balls that explode in your mouth. Side dishes also include slaw, potato salad, and onion rings.

If there’s no room left, make room because Miss Em’s serves up soft serve custard in the dish, or beginning next week, in waffle cones made to order. Or go for the cool root beer float, a creamy custard milkshake or Razzle — soft serve with toppings including gummy bears, heath bar, M&Ms, Chips Ahoy, Oreos, or Reese’s Pieces mixed in.

“Our philosophy is, we’re here for the long run, so we want everybody to go away happy,” Mr Horvath said. “We want folks to love this place for our food so we go a step above our competition with generally lower prices. And when it comes to our service, we hire our help with only the best personalities.”

Besides his two daughters, Missy and Emily — after whom he named the place, Mr Horvath pointed to his day shift cook, Millie, who checked with customers personally every few minutes as things cooled down on the grill.

If you are stuck at the office, Miss Em’s will deliver in most of Monroe, Newtown, and Southbury, and beginning this week, the restaurant is rolling out its “Daily Freebies” after 4 pm. Stop in and find out what you can get absolutely free with your order seven days a week.

Contact Miss Em’s for your takeout, delivery needs, catering requests, or for any special orders you may want prepared before arriving by calling 268-9751, or fax orders to 268-0395.