76 Main Street at the head of the Columbia Trail, High Bridge, NJ 08829
Polka Dot Cafe NJ on Facebook and Instagram
WINTER HOURS: Open Thursday & Friday 11 to 3 p.m. Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Breakfast All Day, Lunch, Baked Goods & Ice Cream
908-638-9066
We thought we would share a bit with you about our heritage of food and family and the deep connections between the two as well as the strong sense of community that those aspects have engendered in our lives. I am the third generation in my family to join the food industry, making my son, Henry, who helps behind the scenes, the fourth.
OUR HERITAGE
These are my father's parents. My grandfather was in the restaurant business in Staten Island before he moved his family to New York State.
Generation One - A
This is my father's diner in Marathon, NY, where he met my mother and where I grew up surrounded by family. The front door was in the center of the building, so I think the actual space was probably smaller than my
Polka Dot Café!
He loved this second photo of himself and the old man who came through town twice a year and always stopped in for lunch. I think the diner is where I learned to love ice cream!
Generation Two
My maternal grandmother, Joanna Culver, baked pies for the Marathon Diner and delivered six of them every morning through the backyards that separated her home from my father's enterprise. I remember sitting in her kitchen as a child and will always associate the smell of cherry pie overflowing into the bottom of the oven with her!
Generation One - B
My mother, Patricia Whited, passed away in 2018 at the age of 90, bless her heart! She carried on her mother's recipes and traditions and taught me the basics of cooking as I was growing up.
I am so very grateful to her.
I couldn't find a photo of the Korner Kitchen, the local luncheonette where I worked as a teenager. However, this image of steak and fries takes me back to the time my father taught me to cook the quick little steaks we served on the grill. Lots of folks came in just for my steaks!
To supplement my spending money in college I baked bread and sold it at a local flea market. My homemade bread is now one of the top draws at the Polka Dot Café.
When my children were small I was inspired by famous cookbook authors to create recipes and ended up in the pages of
People Magazine.
Now I think I like making the Ice Cream we serve at the Polka Dot Café best!
The day before Thanksgiving was always my favorite day of the year. I could set aside all my other work and just play in the kitchen. Now I love making and baking for our customers! Here I am, apron and all.
Generation Three
My son Henry helps in the background of the Polka Dot Café, and provides a tremendous amount of inspiration for our recipes!
Generation Four
The manifestation of a dream - the Polka Dot Cafe!