A homey EV nook from Joe Dobias

The self-sufficient man wants for nothing: Pascal mastered mathematics, philosophy, and theology, and never needed help winning an argument, while Sammy Hagar mastered rocking and tequila distilling, and never needed help waking up in a ditch. Eat that idea, at JoeDoe.

JoeDoe's a cluttered, homey EV nook from chef Joe Dobias (Savoy, SavorNY), who singlehandedly refurbished, painted, and wired his eponymous restaurant, an in-your-face to all the kids who tormented him for preferring This Old House to The All-New Pound Puppies. To deco the joint, Dobias personally plundered area churches (banquettes made from church pews, walls accented with kneeling-rail leather), and collected other Americana like antique clocks, soda bottles, and a vintage "Hoosier cabinet" -- a turn-of-the-century cupboard winning for all the other small cabinets that never had a chance to get here. He's also assembled a wholesomely random, Asian/Greek/Jew-inflected, regionally-sourced American menu, e.g., Chicken in Chicken (white-meat-stuffed dark meat w/ roasted fennel), Veev-cured Scallop (kaffir lime, crouton, galangal mayo), and Chopped Liver Truffles w/ pickles and challah (at ya busboy, for more challah)

Dobias did get an assist from his girlfriend/partner on classic/cheeky cocktails like Side Cars, Manishevitz Monkeys, and Worcestershire/Tabasco/lime/salt/iced beer Micheladas; also, the churchified bar was custom-built by Gweedor -- because if you're going to get help, it should be from a boutique design firm apparently founded by a magic-axe-wielding Shore townie.