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Business & Tech

Riverdale Park's Own Cheers: S & J Restaurant and Bar

This restaurant is not just a place for eating great chicken but also a place for community meetups.

Located in the center of Riverdale Park, S & J Restaurant and Bar has served as a watering hole for many residents since the early 1950s.

Its neighborhood-friendly atmosphere and personal touch make it Riverdale Park's answer to Cheers, the bar at the center of the 1980s hit sitcom. In addition to being a destination for adults, it is also a hangout for DeMatha High School students, who come to celebrate their wins on the basketball court and football field.

Owned by former Riverdale Park mayor Guy Tiberio, this restaurant was named after previous owners - Sarah Price and her son Jimmy. Prior to the building being used as a restaurant, it was a machine shop in the early 1920s.

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A popular feature of the restaurant is the outdoor deck, which doubles as a smoking area. The deck, which is heated in the winter, is used during the summer for their all-you-can-eat seafood festivals.

But I'm here to talk about their food. One of their most popular dishes is the chicken basket, which is made mild, spicy or very spicy.

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I had the pleasure of sampling the chicken box, which comes with about eight pieces. The chicken can either be fried or baked, and it is smothered in a handmade habanero pepper sauce.

I ordered mine fried, and the chicken was quite crunchy. Tiberio said that the cooks specially purify the habanero peppers into a sauce and then add secret ingredients that he couldn't expose.

"The customers usually gravitate toward our chicken baskets," he said. "They are the best."

I have tried chicken from several restaurants, including Golden Skillet, Cluck U Chicken and Little Man (a place in North Carolina), but S & J's cooks definitely know how to take pride in preparing chicken.

Customers will also find tasty food for a low price at S & J's. The chicken baskets of about eight pieces are only $7.95. Other appetizers and dishes range from eight hush puppies for $4.25 to six mozzarella sticks for $6.95 to nachos with ground beef for $9.95. They also serve zucchini sticks, chicken tenders and potato sliders, all for less than $8.

When you leave S & J's, you'll likely feel that you got a good meal at a good price, with a little bit of history thrown in.

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