Michael Hastings Staff Reporter
A chef who spent years working in upscale restaurants in Greensboro has gone back to basics with a breakfast and lunch joint in the Monroeton community outside Reidsville.
Mike Hakenrieder is the chef at Homestead Kitchen, which he runs with his wife Stephanie.
For 16 years, Hakenrieder served as executive chef at Undercurrent, long considered one of Greensboro's finest fine-dining restaurants. Before that, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and worked as a cook at prestigious places such as the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware.
But last summer, he became his own boss, cooking up country favorites like grits, biscuits, pulled pork and pimento cheese.
Homestead Kitchen opened its dining room last June after hosting pop-ups, catering and farmers markets for a while.
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When the Hakenrieders moved to North Carolina to be closer to Stephanie's grandparents, they never expected to open a restaurant.
But as I settled in Summerfield and started my family, I slowly began to realize that there was a need for good restaurants outside of cities like Greensboro.
“When we had kids, it was hard to find a place that was family-friendly, quality, and not fast food,” Stephanie says. “It was a true calling. It may sound corny, but it's true.”
They did not act correctly on that idea. “But I had a bug that wouldn't go away,” Mike says, and they ended up spending years looking for the right location.
Homestead Kitchen doesn't quite have the gourmet vibe of Undercurrent. “When people look at the menu, they'll know everything that's on there,” Mike said. “We're trying to get the basics right. Simple, but fresh and thoughtfully prepared.”
The dining room can only seat about 30 people. The restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch two days a week, Friday and Saturday.
Mike Hakenrieder said he would like to open things up more, but staffing is an issue. Still, he said, he's gotten enough regular catering work.
The pace is good for family life, they said. “We're spending more time together. We're spending more time with our kids,” Stephanie said.
Both the breakfast and lunch menus are concise and consist of just a few main dishes.
Breakfast includes a biscuit sandwich with your choice of egg, bacon, sausage, cheese or fried chicken breast.
A basic platter of two eggs, bacon, sausage and biscuits ($9) and a hearty Monroeton Monster ($16) with three eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, grits, biscuits and gravy. there is.
The restaurant also offers two omelettes, which are the only breakfast options other than the usual sides and drinks.
Lunch includes two salads ($5 and $7): house and spinach, and you can add fried chicken, roasted chicken, or chicken salad for an additional $5.
Side items include chicken noodle soup ($4 cup/$6 bowl), coleslaw, fries, potato salad, mac and cheese, and chips.
The only remaining lunch menu items are burgers, pulled pork (house-smoked), chicken salad wraps, house-made pimento cheese, and five grilled cheese sandwiches ($7 to $8 a side).
Special improvements have been made throughout. The pulled pork coleslaw comes with a super light dressing. Pimento cheese is also light. It doesn't even contain mayonnaise, instead containing a combination of sour cream and cream cheese.
The spinach salad includes goat cheese, candied pecans, and cornbread croutons.
The eggs come from Massey Creek Farms near Madison. The beef used in the burgers also comes from Madison, Clark Family Farms.
But for the most part, Harkenreader plays it straight and simple. He's not trying to make this dish fancy.
He said he sometimes misses fine dining, but not that much. “I haven’t had seared duck breast or seared scallops, which are my favorite foods, for a long time,” he said. “I enjoy giving food nice nuances, making things a little outlandish, and paying attention to small details. But that's not something I want to go back to.”
He plans to update the menu this spring, but it won't change much, perhaps just adding popular specials like brisket and fried chicken sandwiches. We are considering holding the event on the third day, but no final decision has been made.
However, in the future, they would like to renovate the currently unused rooms so that they can be used for private events as well as occasional special dinners.
“We focus on breakfast and lunch. But after that, we want to offer family-style farm-to-table dinners. That way my creativity is fulfilled a little bit more and I want to do more… We will be able to work with local farms.”
But it's a long road. And that's fine with them.
Stephanie said the fact that Mike doesn't cook elaborate gourmet meals doesn't really matter. “I've seen Mike be more passionate about serving the community than anywhere else I've ever worked. There's a greater connection here,” she said.
Mike said he grew up in a small town and came to appreciate the feel of a small, close-knit community.
“I love the small community values,” he said. “I love the regulars. I love the small-town community feel.
“I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.”
