Review: Matt & Tony’s dishes out classic comfort food in downtown

I’ve gotten to try a lot of interesting cuisine with this job, but it’s rare that I get the opportunity to sample a mother’s spaghetti recipe outside of my childhood home. This is the type of experience that Matt & Tony’s Wood Fired Kitchen, which recently opened inside the former CBC Restaurant space, offers its guests.

At Matt & Tony’s, you don’t have to sneak off to the bathroom to Google what a menu item is so you don’t look ignorant in front of your date, and that’s what makes it so great.

The menu bodes familiar comforts like fried chicken, fish & chips, veal parmesan, and burgers. There’s no proprietary flare or fancy sauce smears around your plate—it’s all just damn good food.

I sampled Madeline’s Spaghetti & Meatballs, which is straight from the cookbook of co-owner Matt Rootes’ mother. The sauce was sweet and plentiful while the meatballs were hearty and succulent. I didn’t want to gorge myself on the first entree, but I couldn’t seem to stop twirling those perfectly-boiled noodles around my fork…

Next up was a Wood Grilled Steak with mashed potatoes and broccoli. I heard once that butter wasn’t a carb, so I spread it on thick and cut myself a piece with a crispy fat edge—juicy, tender, and lean. I didn’t eat all 12 oz., but I very easily could have.

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The Fork N’ Knife BBQ Ribs at Matt & Tony’s are straight out of a BBQ fairy tale. This healthy helping of slow-cooked, fall-off-the-bone meat is smothered in sauce and almost impossible to put down. You may not be excusing yourself to Google what you just nervously and unknowingly ordered, but you’ll probably require a bathroom mirror to make sure you’ve wiped all the sauce off your mug after devouring these racks.

Feeling like Thanksgiving? Have a little alternative celebration for yourself with Matt & Tony’s Half Roasted Chicken with crushed herbs and lemon butter. Slip into a food coma with the sides of potatoes and seasonal vegetable. Dream a little dream of country gravy (which can be found drowning the fried chicken dinner entree).

Rootes says he and his partner Tony Wildman chose to open Matt & Tony’s to give the people of downtown an option for high-quality steaks and seafood at a reasonable price without all the “frou-frou.” I, for one, think that’s exactly what downtown needs.

While so many other restaurants are reaching for globally-inspired dishes made with ingredients you can pronounce, Matt & Tony’s is executing classic comfort dishes you grew up on in a warm, inviting atmosphere—it’s like a little slice of home on Short St.

Matt & Tony’s is located at 525 Short Street and is open 11am- 10pm Sunday through Thursday and 11am- 11pm Friday and Saturday. Visit mattandtonys.com for more information.

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