Review: New Takes on Old Favorites at Kodiak's Restaurant and Bar

Just off Route 110 in Farmingdale, is alive with music, sports and good food. With a large, two-level dining area, 2 bars, 40+ HD TVs, pool tables, and large food and drink menus, Kodiak's is anything but hibernating.

Overview: Kodiak's is a sports bar and family restaurant in the same way that the chains like TGI Friday's and Applebee's are, but with local flair and the autonomy to create their own food and drink menu items. "Great food and a great drink selection," said Chris Werner, the Executive Food and Beverage Manager, with "unique twists on classics."

Drinks: The drink menu is quite extensive and reasonably priced. Kodiak's serves close to 20 flavors of martinis, 11 different kinds of Long Island Iced Teas, and numerous other mixed drinks; one will be hard pressed to try them all. Their craft beer selection is also large and according to Werner, "changes seasonally." Wednesday night is $2 American Craft Beer night, a deal which is very hard to pass up.

Appetizers: Kodiak's menu boasts all of the true family restaurant favorites such as mozzarella sticks and calamari, but does so with their own style. The mozzarella sticks are quarter moon shaped and the calamari is Thai peanut inspired.  They also do something different with their wings. They are grilled, then baked and then doused in the sauce of your choosing. Kodiak's offers over 14 sauces and dry rubs and with the ability to combine 2 sauces at a time, the combinations are almost endless. The Chipotle Spice Dry Rub wings were cooked and spiced to perfection. As with all rubs, they were salty, but it was balanced by the spice and the bleu cheese helped.

Entree: "Our specialty are the Stuffed Grand Slam Burgers," said Werner, of which The Pepper Head is a large burger stuffed with bleu cheese and banana peppers then topped with jalapeno havarti cheese, fried jalapenos and drizzled with chipotle aioli. This well crafted and spicy concoction was an explosion of flavors served on a Bavarian pretzel roll. The flavors blended well and coupled with the fries, the Pepper Head was a big meal for a big appetite. 

The Philly Sliders, on the other hand, were more brioche than Philly cheese steak. The meat was flavorful and cooked well, but there was not much of it on each sandwich and there was not enough cheese on them.   

"We are value-driven, even if other establishments are less expensive," said Werner. Sandwiches and burgers will run between $9 and $14 while dinners can run between $14 and $28, but with the nightly specials, one can find it very affordable to eat at Kodiak's, especially on Monday and Tuesday nights when kids eat free between 5 and 9 p.m.

Overall Experience: Kodiak's is a large restaurant with a lot of seating and combined with their good price points and enormous selection of both food and drinks, Kodiak's is a great place for families and large groups.  Everyone will find something they'll like.