Strip-T’s menu gets a delicious shake-up

CHEAP EATS

November 09, 2011|By Sheryl Julian, Globe Staff

STRIP-T”S 93 School St., Watertown, 617-923-4330, www.stripts.com. MC, Visa, AmEx. Restrooms not wheelchair accessible.

Prices Appetizers, salads, sandwiches $6-$10. Entrees $9-$16. Desserts $1.50-$3.50.

Hours Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Sat 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

Liquor Wine and beer.

May we suggest Moxie wings, charred octopus, mussels and fries, cioppino, fish ”n” chips, grilled skirt steak, Strip-T”s burger.

The french fries look hand cut, and when we bite into them, they’re crisp and stunning. “These are homemade!’’ exclaims someone at our table. In a glorified sub shop, you’re not expecting this. The burger ($12) is powerfully savory, as if this ground beef is the very definition of umami. Smoked miso on the bun enhances moist, sausage-y meat. Fries also accompany plump mussels ($9 and $13), presented in a tall footed Polynesian bowl decorated with dancing ladies. These mollusks are covered with a salted-crab sauce mixed with chilies, lime, and cilantro. The sauce that falls to the bottom of the bowl bathes the fries in the most wonderful, juicy seafood tastes. Even wings ($8) are exceptional, a sauce made from reduced Moxie turning them succulent. And charred baby octopus ($10), its curvy tentacles offered in a tomato-wasabi sauce, is tender and unusual.

The chef running the much talked-about dinner menu at Strip-T’s in Watertown is Tim Maslow, son of owner Paul Maslow. Tim Maslow, 27, trained at the French Culinary Institute and worked for almost six years for star New York chef David Chang, first at Momofuku, then at Momofuku Ssäm Bar. Father and son wondered whether to collaborate, since business at Strip-T’s was sagging. As Tim puts it, he told his father, “We can try to make your business busier, or I can go find another restaurant.’’ Last summer, Tim joined the staff.

Strip-T’s, named for a sirloin strip and Caesar salad sandwich, was established in 1986 as a lunch place by Paul Maslow and a childhood friend. A corny logo shows a strip of sirloin dancing inside a bun. Over the years, the place has enjoyed a steady stream of Arsenal office employees (Strip-T’s is walking distance), who come for dependably good roll-ups, hot and cold sandwiches, soups, and salads. The shop also does lunchtime catering; Maslow offered an early dinner.

After he started brining turkey breast for lunch, ordered Iggy’s breads for all the sandwiches, brought in local beers from small breweries, and made a brief wine list with his girlfriend, Jee-Eun Burke, Tim Maslow settled in to concentrate on dinner.