Isot Mediterranean Cuisine (Turkish) - NOT NJ

Since we missed lunch last month with friends Karin and George (grand babies came to visit - YAY!), Jay and Ken drove to Philly to Isot Mediterranean Cuisine, 622 South 6th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, on Saturday, August 15, 2015.

After driving around trying to find a parking spot (really Philly?), we were delighted to be seated, for our 12:30pm reservation, by the window. We selected from the Dinner menu, as there were more choices.

We shared a variety of appetizers and an entree...

Sicak Humus/Hot Hummus with pita. The hummus came topped with walnuts. So delicious!

Kalamar Tava/ Tender Calamari - lightly breaded fried to perfection. The homemade tartar sauce was amazing.

Shrimp Umburger with broccoli, cauliflower, corn, carrots, and garlic in Neopolitan sauce. Very flavorful. The shrimp were cooked to perfection.

Seafood Casserole - jumbo shrimp, calamari, mushrooms and tomatoes topped with Kashkaval cheese and baked in a soil bowl. Couldn't stop eating. Everything was perfectly seasoned and melted in your mouth. 

Manti - Turkish dumplings with ground beef and lamb. Little pillows of lemony, minty goodness!

Even Ken, who doesn't like lamb, enjoyed them.

Entree: Mixed Plate with Kasap Kofta (thick ground beef patties with onions, eggs, parsley, cumin and black pepper), Chicken Cutlet (marinated), Kushbashi (house marinated filet mignon cubes with green pepper and onions), and 2 lamb chops. All char grilled and seasoned, again, to perfection. With bulgar rice, and onion parsley salad.

Ken enjoyed the Turkish coffee, and we enjoyed a variety of desserts.

The Baklava came right before we were leaving, so we got a piece to go. Yum!

Katherine was such a pleasure, very knowledgeable, and a joy to be around!

After a 4-hour lunch experience (yes!), we realized we were the only ones there for lunch. Please, please, please, make a trip to Isot for lunch (on a Saturday or a Sunday), and enjoy yourselves! We will return!

Wines enjoyed:

Loved the decor!

Black Olive Greek Cuisine

Ken treated Jay to dinner on Saturday, August 8, 2015, at Black Olive Greek Cuisine, 910 Haddonfield-Berlin Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043. After making reservations (highly recommended), we arrived on time and were promptly seated.

Warm bread and olives in olive oil were immediately brought to the table.

Entrees (choice of small house salad or cup of soup):

Jay order Exohiko, baked lamb in phyllo dough. She chose the salmon chowder, which came in a BOWL. Both dishes were very flavorful and filling.

Ken ordered the pork souvlaki appetizer, which were grilled to perfection! He enjoyed the Shrimp Tourkolimano (JUMBO shrimp sauteed in white wine with fresh tomatoes, garlic, feta cheese, kalamata olives and a touch of ouzo). He selected the salad.

Wines enjoyed:

Ginger Asian Cuisines

For Father's Day, Ken chose our favorite, Ginger Asian Cuisine, Medford, NJ. We arrived a bit early for our 6 PM reservation, and were promptly seated in a booth, as requested.


Initially, it wasn't overly busy, but started to fill up as we were eating. We had a wonderful time.

As always, the fried noodles ("crunchies") were brought to the table. They are so good!

The spring rolls come out nice and hot...

We shared the Vietnamese Beef Grape Leaves - always good. Takes a little bit longer to come out, but it's worth the wait.

Ken ordered the Bangkok Cow special, wok fried and lightly grilled tenderloin of beef, cooked medium, with fresh veggies and Thai basil sauce. The meat was tender and flavorful. The sauce was so good that Jay poured it over her brown rice, for another day's meal!

Jay ordered the soft shell crab special, with choice of spring roll or soup; white, brown, or fried rice, and mochi ice cream.

The crabs were lightly breaded and seasoned to perfection.

 Of course, the House Special Fried Rice was tasty, as usual...

Jay ended up taking her and Ken's salads home for Monday's dinner, because she ate both ice creams!

Ken ate the watermelon which came at the end of the meal.

Wines enjoyed:

A homemade Rose, which was quite refreshing - we want more!

Everyone is always so friendly here! Feels like home.

Allora

Helping our friends celebrate their 20th anniversary, we visited Allora on Friday, June 12, 2015. As always we had a wonderful time! We were greeted by smiling faces and friendly conversation.

Since Jay and Ken had dined at da Soli the previous Saturday, Sherry remembered and was happy to see us again.

Chef Mark treated us to his wonderful appetizer of chicken sausage with figs. So delicious.

We also enjoyed the crispy calamari, which is lightly breaded and cooked to perfection.

Entrees:

Jay enjoyed the rack of lamb, with broccoli rabe.

Larry was extremely satisfied with his strip steak and crab legs.

Ken enjoyed the Veal San Marco, which came with lump crab meat and homemade pasta.

Linda was happy with her grilled salmon. She loves beets!

Everything was flavorful and just the right amount! We will be back!

Wines enjoyed:

Italian Restaurant "Hop!"

On Saturday, June 6, 2015, Karin, George, Ken and Jay were to visit 3 restaurants for our Italian restaurant hop. Unfortunately, one was booked for parties, so we skipped it, and ended up going to 2. We still had a wonderful time!

Our first stop was Toscana, Tuscany Marketplace, 1990 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003, where we enjoyed wonderful appetizers. Ken had a prior appointment, and couldn't make this leg of our journey. Mario was an awesome server!

We enjoyed Clams Brodetto (Manila clams steamed with garlic, white wine, shaved fennel & vine ripened tomato broth, served with herbed crostini). The clams were cooked to perfection and the broth was so flavorful! Couldn't stop eating it, even knowing we had other places to visit.

We also enjoyed Crispy Fritto Misto (polenta crusted calamari with fresh zucchini, artichoke, lemon and herbs, served with tartar and spicy tomato dipping sauces). Karin wanted extra rosemary, which Jay didn't quite understand until it arrived at the table. The rosemary was fried as well and was such a burst of flavor. An extra dish of tartar sauce was requested, because it was not your regular tartar sauce - extremely addictive!

Wine enjoyed:

Next stop on our hop was Il Villaggio, which was quite full unfortunately, so we went on to...


Da Soli Italian Restaurant, 116 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield, NJ 08033. We enjoyed a 3 hour leisurely lunch once Ken arrived.

Suppli, our favorite appetizer. We ordered 2 orders of these deliciously crispy risotto balls filled with ground beef tenderloin and 'fiore di latte mozzarella cheese. So tasty!

We also enjoyed the shrimp and (gluten-free) gnocchi as an appetizer, which came with a Caesar salad. The gravy was very flavorful and the mushrooms were addictive.

Ken and George each had the Veal alla Saltimbuca (fresh sage, prosciutto, provolone cheese, garlic demi-glace sauteed spinach), which they thoroughly enjoyed. It came with veggies, which were quite tasty.

Jay and Karin shared the Veal Al Limone, which our server, Sherry, was kind enough to put on separate plates. Very flavorful and tender.

Dessert:

Ken actually ordered dessert, the apple pie with ice cream. Very good.

Jay, Karin, and George shared the flourless chocolate cake, which was the BEST Jay had ever had! Normally chocolate cake is too much, but this piece of chocolaty goodness was addictive. Oh my goodness!

Wines enjoyed:

We always enjoy our time with Karin and George and look forward to our next dining adventure!