Best... Tripe... Ever... Kitty's in N. Reading, MA

So I was back home visiting the family in Mass over the holiday and made the obiligatory trip to Kitty's Restaurant and Lounge in North Reading. My family has been going to this place for over 20 years, and it hasn't changed a bit. The cavernous interior is filled with high-backed dark wooden booths, two long bars, and the occasional scratch ticket dispenser or video game (they also used to run Keno in the restaurant, not sure if they still do). On the menu you'll find Italian neighborhood restaurant standards - Chicken parm, spaghetti with meatballs, shrimp scampi. Every entree comes with the choice of two sides and feeds roughly forty people. Pasta, and just about everything else, is smothered in the same homemade tomato meat sauce. OK, I know it doesn't sound remarkable.

But the tripe. Ooh, the tripe. Brought to the table still bubbling from the broiler, and smothered in that same beautiful meat sauce, this is tripe done right. Some crispy edges poke through, but mostly this is tender-chewy, not gelatenous, with just a subtle undertone of rustic offal aroma. This is my favorite part of going home. I love to split one of the (reasonably crappy) italian rolls apart, scoop out the soft doughy inards and fill it up with this delicious tripe, making an impromptu tripe hoagie (kind of like what you would get at George's Sandwich Shop in the Italian Market in Philadelphia). Mmmm... tripey...

So if you're ever in the area, give it a shot. From Boston, take 93 north to exit 39. You can thank me later.


Kitty's Restaurant & Lounge
123 Main St
North Reading MA
(978) 664-4541


Cheers,

Sungbros

SungBros wrote:So if you're ever in the area, give it a shot. From Boston, take 93 north to exit 39. You can thank me later.

SungBros,

Next time I'm in Boston Kitty's is going to be a hot contender for my culinary attention. Two questions, they open for lunch and about how far down 93 is 39?

Thanks for posting the interesting recommendation.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Two questions, they open for lunch and about how far down 93 is 39?

They are open for lunch last I checked, and exit 39 is roughly 15 miles on 93 from boston. Should be around a 20-25 minute drive depending on traffic.

My other favorites are the Fried Chicken and the toasted ravioli appetizer. But the tripe is the real show stopper.

Oh, boy. I gotta say, I know a lot of people who don't like this place. I pass by it all the time between work and home, and though I'm tempted to stop in, I keep hearing those voices in my head saying "DONT....DO....IT."

I've never had the tripe there, so I can't speak for that, but I think I'd rather go elsewhere for pasta, such as Giuseppi's or Il Faro in nearby Medford.