The seasonal change of the menu at Knead Community Café in New Kensington can be tough to deal with for diners who see a favorite dish go away.

But when that new menu rolls out, “You’re going to find a new favorite,” cafe co-founder Mary Bode said.

This year’s spring and summer lunch menu, crafted by chef Carlo Cimino, will debut April 18 and run into October. He is still working on the new menu for breakfast, served only on Saturdays, that will start May 6.

Knead is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and for breakfast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

A community-run cafe, Knead is staffed by volunteers. Customers can pay a suggested donation, pay what they can, pay forward or volunteer in exchange for a meal.

While Cimino, owner of Mazziotti Bakery in Lower Burrell, said the new menu doesn’t have an overriding theme, it does feature lighter fare for the season. Otherwise, he said he was “just winging it.”

“I want to use the summertime, vibrant and fresh ingredients we get from local farmers,” he said.

The menu features sandwiches, mains and salads. While most of the menu changes, a few things — wedding soup, grilled cheese and the Lodge 881 burger — are always there. The burger is named for the Sons of Italy lodge that previously occupied Knead’s building.

A few specials from the fall and winter have found their way to becoming menu offerings. They are a “White Pizza Grilled Cheese,” which features mascarpone, provolone and parmesan cheeses, grilled tomato and basil; the “Slice & a Salad,” a slice of Sicilian crust pizza served with a side salad; and grouper in a “Surfside Saute,” dredged in seasoned flour, sauteed and oven-finished and set atop rice pilaf topped with mango salsa.

Among the 11 sandwiches on the menu is the “Skinny Joe,” a vegetarian take on the Sloppy Joe, featuring ground plant-based vegetarian crumble in place of beef with bell peppers, onions, tomato sauce, brown sugar and mustard served on grilled Texas toast with onions and pickles.

Joining the Lodge 881 burger is the “Matador Burger,” which Cimino said is a spicy Mexican burger topped with baby spinach, honey bacon jam, smoked gouda and pickled jalapenos on a brioche roll.

A shrimp and grits dish on the 2022 spring and summer menu had been a huge seller and is making a return as the “Baton Rouge Boil,” which is shrimp, smoked sausage, boiled potatoes, fire-roasted corn and parsley sauteed in Old Bay butter served atop cheesy grits.

Among the salads, the “Just a Salad,” a double portion side salad, is holding over with three new offerings.

The new salads are an antipasto with iceberg greens, peppered ham, capicola, cooked salami, provolone, tomato, cucumber and black olives served with red wine vinaigrette dressing; a loaded spinach salad with baby spinach, bacon, onion, hard egg, strawberries, praline pecans and shredded parmesan served with strawberry balsamic dressing; and a Thai crunch salad with baby spinach, chopped cabbage, tomato, cucumbers, scallions, sliced almonds, edamame, and chow mein noodles with Asian sesame dressing.

Christian Fyke, who took over as the cafe’s general manager in January, said he is looking forward to everything on the new menu.

“There’s a couple things that got me hungry just reading about them,” he said.

Bode is a fan of the salads.

“I think it will appeal to many,” she said. “He has a nice, diverse, eclectic menu.”

Despite rising costs, the suggested donation prices have not gone up at Knead. Except for when meat is added to a salad, nothing is over $14, the price of the main dishes. Special salads remain $12, and Just a Salad is still $8. Sandwiches range between $6 and $12.

Beverages, usually including coffee, iced tea and a flavored water, are free.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)