Schnipper's Quality Kitchen.(Restaurant review)

Generally, if a diner's first thought when trying a new restaurant is, Is this a chain?, the subsequent meal proves to be, if a little boring, pleasantly safe--reassuring whether in New York, Kansas City, or Seattle. Schnipper's Quality Kitchen, which opened recently in the ground floor of the Times building, has all the hallmarks of a franchise-ready operation: a crisp aesthetic that utilizes three colors (Venetian red, sky blue, silver); bathrooms that are accessible only with a code; a slogan that declares "'Quality' Is Our Middle Name!" The capstone here is a rectangular pocket-size pager that alerts you, by blinking and vibrating and squawking like a novice duck caller, that your food is up. Depending on your mood, it evokes either a Taser or a certain electrical device that nineteenth-century doctors used to alleviate female hysteria. Although owners Andrew and Jonathan Schnipper deny that their new place is a fast-food joint--and so far it's the only outlet--at first impression, it sure feels like one.

Schnipper's took root a few years ago, when, in the spirit of Jane and Michael Stern, the brothers travelled around the country in search of great roadside fare. Upon return, they devised a menu of their ...