New restaurant aims to serve fine dining for breakfast, lunch

Jun. 6—HERMITAGE — It took three months of culinary investigation for Valley Kitchen to create its menu.

"We tried different ingredients in different ways to get where we wanted to be," said Hashem Jaafar, an owner of the Hermitage restaurant.

The restaurant, which closes daily at 3 p.m., serves breakfast and lunch.

Some ingredients and cooking methods used here might require some to peer through a culinary dictionary to discover their meaning.

Warm jam compote, one of the ingredients found in the restaurant's "Jiffy Jamburger," is pieces of simmered fruit simmered in a sugar syrup.

This sandwich, topped with creamy peanut butter and bacon, is among Valley Kitchen's "smash burgers" — a burger made by compressing the meat while its cooking to sear its outside that locks in juices and flavor.

The restaurant at 3640 E. State St. in Hermitage, the former home of Toss'D Italian Bar and Grille.

Hashem, his wife Batoul, and Josh Cotelesse, a partner, literally had all their hands working together in creating unusual meals.

Breakfast is where the restaurant goes all out.

"We particularly wanted to focus on having an upscale breakfast," Cotelesse said.

For example, their popular stuffed French toast is brioche — a cross between a pastry and a bread, dipped in an egg batter and stuffed with sweet cream cheese topped with fresh berries.

"We really want people to have a unique experience here," Batoul said.

Belgian waffles, which are thicker than traditional waffles, are served in a variety of ways. The chocolate chip version is popular as it has shaved chocolate, Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips with powdered sugar.

For the restaurant's "lighter fare," there's "Lox'n Loaded" — a strip of brined salmon, with dill cream cheese smeared on an everything bagel topped with red onions, cucumbers and capers — immature flower buds from the caper bush that grows throughout the Mediterranean Sea region.

"We want to thank the people of the area is supporting what we're trying to do here," Hashem said.

He is a seasoned veteran in the culinary trade: He owns the Jai Alai restaurant on Mercer Avenue in Hermitage and C's Waffles Family Restaurant on West Liberty Street in Hubbard.

Chester Glenn and his wife Deborah of Harrisville, made their first trip to the restaurant.

Arriving in the afternoon, they ordered lunch meals.

"It was excellent," Deborah said. "We're coming back to have breakfast — I want to try the avocado toast."