Klondike Kate's has been a part of Newark's Main Street since the late 1970s. It has been a part of my life just as long.
Newark historians have determined that an inn called Three Hearts Tavern stood on this same spot in 1738. As it was approximately halfway between Philadelphia and Baltimore, it was in an excellent location. Some form of inn stood here until 1880 when the original building was demolished and the three floor structure that still stands today was built.
The building was used for a variety of uses, including a garage for those new fangled horseless carriages, until 1977 when it was sold and turned into Klondike Kate's.
My memories of Kate's go back to college. As a group, we used to go on snowy afternoons and sit for hours in a booth drinking beer in the warmth. It was the venue where my college roommate and I had our first legal drinks together on her 20th birthday. My dad and I used to go for hamburgers on Friday nights the year I lived with him after my marriage ended.
As I walked into the building for the first time in over three decades, I was struck by how little has changed. Yes, it no longer smells like smoke, but otherwise I felt transported back to my 25 year old self. The bar is still long and filled with young people with lots of cheap booze standing behind it. The booths are the same, although the tables have all been replaced.
Back in the day, part of the joy of Kate's was carving your initials into the tables. One of the old tables is on display and in one corner is a fairly substantial "CB." I spent some time trying to determine if I was that particular carver, but the memory is lost in the mists of the past.
I went to Kate's to meet a new friend for lunch. As I sat down and looked through the menu, that 25 year old just kept grinning. There is now a beer menu, and a rather impressive one at that. Rotating taps and a good selection of bottled beers mean that you will find something you like. If beer is not your thing, there is the selection of cocktails and wines that you would expect in a college town.
The menu is also significantly more advanced that it was when your choices were soup, a green salad, a turkey sandwich, or a hamburger. (I exaggerate, but you get my meaning.) Today, you have a myriad of choices from all categories. I was sorry that I had a meeting later that day, because it meant I would have to eat lighter and not have one of those excellent beers on offer.
I finally settled on the Buffalo Cobb Salad. It arrived filled with the good parts of a salad (not too much lettuce) and the dressing on the side which I always appreciate. It was excellent and the perfect size for lunch. My dining companion had a quesadilla that was on the specials menu (another upgrade). She declared it delicious and it was enough that she took some home for dinner.
They say you can't go home again and very often I have found that to be true. But, all adages are meant to be disproved and my return to Klondike Kate's was a joy. I am looking forward to going back again.
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