The Ripe Tomato

I will dream of the creamy tomato sauce that came with the Pollo Tres Modos.
This remains one of my all-​time favorite restaurants on the I-​87 corridor. The charm of the place, it’s welcoming staff, and delicious American-​Italian food make it far and above any other Italofile restaurant I’ve tried in the area.
Tonight my family had a delicious meal stewarded by a fantastic server. The marinara sauce in this establishment has a slow-​roasted earthy quality that is compelling. The grainy bread that comes table side has a very satisfying texture and irresistible flavor.
Every dish in our evening was fantastic. We sampled a wide-​variety of specials and house favorites for both appetizers and entrees. By the end of the meal they were all our favorites.
The server was great– professional, informed, spontaneous. Really couldn’t ask for better care. Forgot his name, but he helped make the evening memorable.
The ONLY complaint is that not all the desserts are housemade. We asked to be directed to the ones that were. Unfortunately both the otherwise delicious tiramisu and coconut cream pie had the flavor of refrigerator.
If I might point out to management that more than one review on this site points out inadequacies of dessert. Perhaps it’s time for an overhaul, to condense and focus the offerings so they’ll merit the same endorsements you seem to get for appetizers and entrees.
That being said, we will be back the next time we crave delicious comfort food in a very quaint and cozy environment. But to be honest, we’ll probably skip dessert.

Fell off a cliff. Schnitzel used to be heavenly, red cabbage potato pancakes and capers. Most recent version was grey corpse (human?) freshly harvested from medical school cadavers, literally decomposed meat sautéed shoe leather coating. Surly male server. Nice aroma of bathroom disinfectant/​urinal cakes complete the overall dissipated dumpy atmosphere. Avoid.

Probably my 10^th meal here. As always, that certain quality experience of food, service and atmosphere! One of my favorites.

Surprised to see that everyone has not given this place the highest of reviews!!! This is a favorite for my wife and me! I’ve never had a bad experience. It’s usually a go to for special occasions. I have to admit though… I usually get the same thing each time I go. Pollo Tres Modo… it’s delicious! Don’t forget to save room for the Oreo mousse… sooo good!!!

If you are in the area, you have to try this place. If you are from the area, don’t forget to go back. We always forget how good it is. Great for a quiet date or for a large family. They also have a very neat bar area that looks like one of the rat-​pack is going to walk in and sit down. Need to remember it for a place for a quiet happy hour drink. Food is always excellent. The salad with the goat cheese is out of this world. Fresh bread to dip in oliveoil & Garlic, by the time you get to your entrée you will likely be taking most of it home. If you are on a budget, share your salad/​entrée. Crab Mac’n’Cheese, Buffalo Chx Mac’n’Cheese, and the pot roast are my favs. Wine is well priced and they often have very good specials including $ 15 bottles of Rex Goliath. Can’t go wrong with old Rex. Desserts are phenomenal and they have a huge selection.

We have eaten here at least a dozen times and always had a great meal and great service. The pasta sauce (I’m a vegan) is delicious. The others in our party have meat dishes and each and every time they rave about the food. The desserts are out of this world and there is an excellent selection. The bread is delicious. The entire meal has always been delicious. Prices are average. This is our favorite restaurant.

Food was not good! We ordered open hot turkey, don’t go there we couldn’t eat it! Drinks were made wrong and waiter was slow? We will never go there again? What a waist of money!

We have been to this great little gem many times. We have had 2 to 10 people and the food an service has always been terrific. The prices are very reasonable and you really can’t ruin whiskey. The only reason that I rated it 4 is the inside is a little dated.

The food used to be among the best in the area. I’m starting to think their chef quit. The Pot roast used to be delicious and the portions were huge. Lately the Pot Roast has been tough, dry and much much smaller. It’s sad that a restaurant that was so good for so long has gotten to be so bad.

This used to be one of my top picks. The food was good, prices fair (salad included in cost of entrée), and portions large. The good news is the prices are unchanged. The bad news is that the potions have shrunk and a dinner salad is an extra $ 3. I wish they would have just bumped the prices!

Great food, service and atmosphere. Always in our top 3 selections in the area. Great menu that everyone in your group will find something they’ll enjoy. The calamari is the best around. Four of us went and ordered 3 different entrees. Everyone was completely satisfied and needed doggy bags to finishCocktails are generously poured. Full cart of freshly Maude desserts. Never rushed but timely service. Everyone should try it out if you haven’t yet!

Always good! I mean always. I have eater here many many many times, never had 1 issue, and always had great food. Perfect portions.

Pork Schnitzel w/​potato pancake & sauteed spinach for my much better half. She brought ½ of the Schnitzel home for lunch tomorrow. She loved all of it but the portions of each item were very generous. Also, she was saving room for a piece of pumpkin pie, which she happily devoured, except for a couple of bites.
Cape Cod Farmers Salad & Cedar Salmon for me.
* The salad was huge & crazy good. Menu description: «Crisp greens with fresh roasted goat cheese, sun dried cranberries and toasted walnuts served with homemade lemon vinaigrette.»
* The salmon dish was one of the best I’ve ever had. Menu description: «Fresh wild salmon filet brushed with a balsamic glaze and grilled over scallions on a cedar plank for fantastic flavor. Served with a side of mixed vegetables and rice pilaf.» I couldn’t finish the gigantic portion of rice pilaf or the mixed vegetables, but they were delicious, as well.
A soda for her, 2 domestic draft beers for me, a tea for her & a coffee for me brought the tab, including tax but not the tip, to $ 75 even. Some might call that expensive. I call it just right for what we got! So, it’s $$, for sure, and $$$, easily, depending on your tastes & hunger.
The quality and the quantity of the food was exceptional and the service (Vanessa) was equally so.
The entry for a wheelchair is a bit awkward but doable with assistance. Once inside, it’s fairly easy to maneuver. Not sure, but from distant memory, the restrooms may be a bit of a challenge for the wheelchair, if not impossible.

Alas, most of the customers are very old and, it seems so is the chef. (Nothing against old people as I seem to be one… at times).
When going to a restaurant I assume the specials are to showcase the chef’s culinary skills… his creations. In this case, the Dijon Haddock, apparently was a remake of old glories passed on to the sous chef (or just someone heating something pre prepared from the refrigerator) along with a rather large salt shaker for the only spice to taste.
The deserts were standard fare and, as I am a chocoholic, I selected a slice of chocolate cake with a bit of ice cream. Presentation was a rather large glob of whipped cream aside of a large glob of ice cream aside of a slice of cake. Ugly.
Perhaps in the past there was creation, design, ideas and taste… I would wish that the chef would awake and revisit his muse.

First time diner. Came for my 28^th birthday. The food is absolutely amazing. I tend to be a picky eater and was very pleasantly surprised. Food took a little bit longer than I would have liked but you can tell it’s made from scratch so it’s well worth the wait. Our server Rachel took excellent care of us and was very accommodating with split checks and some less than stellar dinner guests that were in my party. Looking forward to returning with just myself and boyfriend.

Meals were both good, but no bread or salad served? Both chicken dishes were tasty but for the prices, I feel at least bread should have been served. Service was fine and drink refills were offered. Not sure it is worth the cost. The restaurant could use a lot of sprucing up. It is dark and towards the bar very dank.
Many other restaurants in the area to choose from and I think Ripe Tomato needs to up its game.

Ok Nothing to brag about but the bread. Great with the EVO and garlic dip. I had the turkey soup which was so/​so and my husband had the salad and liked the blue cheese dressing. Salad was crisp with lots of goodies on it. Another review I read complained about it being iceberg lettuce but my husbands was leafy greens. We both had the pork schnitzel. He liked his. I thought the pork was very dry and the potato pancakes were so/​so. Red cabbage was bland. Guess I’m spoiled from eatting those items at the Spa Brahaus when they were open. Our waitress was very attentive and nice.

I’ve only come for the weekend brunch at its pretty amazing with the variety of food. Can’t say it’s organized very well but the variety is definitely there.
They have omelet stations, eggs Benedict stations and plenty of other breakfast foods with a spread of great sweets to top off your meal.

Eh. Not bad but not great. I’ve driven past this place for years and finally had the opportunity to try it for lunch.
The décor and atmosphere makes you think this is an Italian restaurant but the menu is an eclectic mix of american offerings. The service is acceptable but the food was diner grade.(Not that diners are bad, but I expected more from this place.) Perhaps I made a poor choice opting for the fish & chips for lunch. It was over cooked, over-​battered and a relatively meager portion. The fries were nice and crisp.

There are some things about The Ripe Tomato that I like very much. But when it came to the end of my meal, it felt to me that the whole was just a tad short of the sum of its parts.
I really appreciate the amount of homemade items they serve, and they should by all means tout that. It even includes the iced tea and all their salad dressings, and I’m sure those delicious-​looking desserts on the cart. I’m sure it also included the warm, dense, bread and the roasted garlic cloves in the EVOO which accompanied it. Don’t fill up on that.
When choosing between soup and a salad with your meal, if you like today’s soup, you should go for it. Today’s soup, a creamy roasted red pepper, was thick and delicious. My salad, on the other hand, was iceberg lettuce with shredded carrot, a couple of rings of red onion, and a single cherry tomato (remind me again, what is the name of this place?). Its only redeeming factor was the bleu cheese dressing (delicious but thin).
The lack of tomato in my salad was more than compensated in the bruchetta. But it was not quite what I expected. The toast was thick, the tomatoes were right-​out-​of-​the-​refrigerator cold, and the cheese was obviously shredded out of the Zyliss.
The entrees were, again, mixed. The meatball lasagna was great. My chicken Francaise was both halves of a whole breast, about 1″ thick each, coated in a heavy pancake-​y batter, served with some grilled seasoned shrimp. The chicken was slightly overdone, moving from juicy towards slightly chewy. It was served on a garlicky spinach, of which I would have loved more. The angel hair pasta was served on the side. It was also homemade, but it appeared to have been under a heat lamp for a bit while everything else was bring prepared; it was dry, bland, and slightly chewy. I had to dump the remaining EVOO and garlic cloves onto it to give it any flavor. The thing is, the portions were generous, but chicken Francaise is supposed to have a more delicate quality — this was filling. Also, it was lacking in the lemon sauce which is supposed to accompany it.
My dinner was the prix fixe special of the day, which includes, besides your soup or salad, an appetizer (today the bruchetta) and a dessert, which for me was an apple cinnamon bread pudding. This was, again, homemade, including the whipped cream which had a hint of vanilla, perhaps some of the best whipped cream I have ever had. It was also served with a heavy, sweet, caramel sauce. That made it too sweet for me, but if you have a sweet tooth, you will love it.
The décor is interesting. Many of the tables have brightly colored chairs, in solid red, yellow, green, or blue, sometimes a mix at one table. If you have Feng Shui issues, get a booth.
I have no complaints at all about the service — attentive, friendly, informative.
If you like hearty portions, you will enjoy Ripe Tomato. My feeling is that, at least for me, the entrees are going to be a bit hit or miss. You may want to try a variety of entrees before making a final decision; I intend to.