Marcello's Fresh Catch Bistro

On Saturday, December 6, we revisited Marcello's Fresh Catch Bistro. It's becoming one of our favorites. We love the lettuce wedge salad.





Jay had the cocktail sampler - lobster, lump crab and shrimp. It was fresh and delicious. Ken had the coconut shrimp, which he thinks is one of the best around.








For her entree, Jay had Yim's soft shell crabs, three HUGE crabs with brown rice and veggies. It had a teriyaki asparagus sauce, which was a bit salty, unfortunately.



Ken enjoyed the surf and turf.









Our server, Sherie, was pleasant. Jay will be returning on Christmas Eve for their version of the Seven Fishes dinner.

Wines enjoyed:
2006 Alamos Malbec
2005 Clayhouse Sauvignon Blanc

Recommendations for the future:
2006 Los Vascos - Chilean Cabernet

Dream Cuisine (French)

Our friends, Karin and George, invited us to have lunch at Dream Cuisine Cafe, in the Village Walk Plaza, 1990 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill, 08003 (856-751-2800). Because it was raining, we arrived a bit later than planned. As many times as we have driven by on our way to other restaurants, we never paid this gem any notice.

Since Karin and George had been there many times, they were quite familiar with our server Melissa, and chef Vincent Fanari of Nice, France.




French bread with oil and freshly ground black pepper was brought to the table.




After ordering, we received the largest house salads that we've ever seen. The salads included incredibly fresh greens, cranberries and sliced almonds with a light vinegratte.

Starters:
Ken enjoyed the Raclette and Procuitto melt which was imported cheese lightly breaded and baked, served over prosciutto.

Jay, Karin and George thoroughly enjoyed the BEST French onion soup ever - made with Gruyere cheese! It was so good that Jay used bread to sop up the extra juice left over.




Entrees:
Karin had a small bite of Baked Diver Scallops - two large scallops on the half shell topped with lemon, roasted pepper and garlic butter. It was fabulous.


Ken had the Jumbo Shrimp Nicoise in a lemon, caper tomato sauce. He was happy with his two super jumbo shrimp. His entree came with scalloped potatoes and asparagus.


George ordered the lasagna special. It was the most tender noodles and light sauce. Excellent.


Jay had the Japanese Wagyu special - the most tender beef ever - even better than Kobe! in a pepper sauce with scalloped potatoes and asparagus.


Everything was so good, that we didn't want to leave. We wish we had room to visit for the dinner special of boar that had been marinating for two days!

Wines enjoyed:
2007 Lugana Tenuto Roveglia
2004 Trevorjones Virgin Chardonnay
2006 Terrasses Chateau Pesquie Ventoux - Rhone Valley Vineyards
2006 Clayhouse Adobe Red

• Dress - casual
  
• Service - excellent
  
• Decor - classy
  
• Portions - Just enough
  
• Price - Reasonable
  
• Reservations - Highly recommended

We spent over two hours for lunch, which was quite lovely on such a dreary day. It was a truly wonderful experience.

Ted's on Main (Finally!)

Finally made it back to Ted's on Main! After February's review in The Philadelphia Inquirer, we fingured it would be packed, but we ended up with a "two-top" in the MIDDLE of the restaurant! We'll remember to NOT go on a Saturday in the future.

Our server was Danielle (Janet no longer worked there) who was good, but not quite as attentive as she could have been. We gave her a nice tip (more than 20%) and she didn't thank us - we chalked it up to youth.

Appetizers:
Jay - Char Broiled Delaware Bay Oysters, topped with roasted garlic with Tabasco butter - yummy!
Ken - Jerk Chicken Skewers, with grilled pineapple and Jamaican rum glaze

Entrees:
Jay - Citrus Grilled Hawaiian Butterfish, with coconut jasmine rice, mango crab salsa, guava butter, and asparagus
Ken - Sautéed Barnegat Sea Scallops, with butternut squash risotto, caramelized lemon butter, and asparagus - a favorite which we always fight over

Dessert was Bananas Foster, which we shared. We noted that Pizzicato's had more of an alcohol flavor, but Ted's was very good.

Wines enjoyed:
2007 Wishing Tree Uncoaked Chardonnay
2005 Clayhouse Adobe Red

We talked about our top 5, not in any particular order:
Jay's: La Campagne, Water Lily, Bacio, Pizzicato,
Ken's: Emerald Fish, La Campagne, Pizzicato, Blackbird

Pizzicato - Promenade Sagemore

After shopping for Ken's iPhone, we stopped by Pizzicato's and were not disappointed. They were still on the lunch menu, but you wouldn't know it by the portions - and everything was delicious.

Ken had sweetened iced tea, which was refreshing, and Jay had the lemonade, which tasted fresh squeezed.

Jay ate most of the sesame bread which came with an oil and balsamic vinegar dip. It was sooo good!

We shared the fried calamari as an appetizer, which Ken finally admitted was the best around.

We both ordered specials for our entrees - both cost under $15 each!

Jay had the lemon chicken, which came with spinach risotto, capers, tomatoes and the best lemon sauce she'd ever tasted.

Ken thoroughly devoured his Ravioli Del Giorno - seafood ravioli with a nice sauce.

We don't know why it's been so long since we visited this restaurant. We'll be back soon.

Marcello's Fresh Catch Bistro

In the mood for seafood, we revisited Marcello's on Saturday, July 19, 2008. We were not disappointed.

Good bread was brought out with olive oil, red pepper flakes and fresh garlic.

Appetizers:
Jay - Pan-seared scallops with crispy proscuitto & tomatoes
Ken - coconut shrimp - proclaimed the best!

Entrees:
Jay - Catchcrab Zucchini with crab stuffing and cheesy potatoes - yummy!
Ken - Seafood macaroni & cheese, shrimp, scallops and crabmeat with dill sauce and Parmesan cheese

Our server, Colleen, was very good.

Wines enjoyed:
2006 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc, Viognier
2005 Clayhouse Adobe Red

Elements Cafe (Tapas Style)

We visited Elements Café , 517 Station Avenue, Haddon Heights, NJ, 08035, 856-546-8840, on Saturday, April 26, 2008, with our friends Mary and Terry.

Since the dinner tasting menu was very descriptive, our server allowed Jay to write on, and take, the menu. Since this was a "tapas" style menu, portions were smaller.

Warm, crusty bread was brought out first, along with soft butter.

Starters

Pita bread and crostini accompanied the three starters that we selected: herb marinated olives, roasted garlic hummus and tomato bruschetta. Everything was fresh and delicious.

First Course

Mary ordered the crispy ravioli du jour, Ken had the spicy grilled shrimp w/tomatillo & feta cheese salsa, Terry had the crispy Asian vegetable dumplings w/sweet chili dipping sauce and Jay had the petite crab ball w/arugala salad & red wine vinaigrette (actually three nice-sized balls). Although Mary wasn’t thrilled with her ravioli, everything else was tasty.

Second Course

Mary, Jay and Terry ordered the soup sampler which contained grilled chicken & vegetable soup, shellfish bisque (a bit salty) and the soup du jour – black bean w/salsa fresco. By putting the shellfish bisque into the black bean, Mary and Jay were able to finish.

Third Course

Ken & Terry enjoyed the heart of romaine w/black pepper parmesan dressing & roasted garlic crustini; Jay had panzanella – warm Italian bread salad topped with asiago cheese & reduced balsamic vinegar; May devoured the endive salad w/roasted beets, toasted walnuts & blue cheese vinaigrette.

Main Course

Mary – sautéed asparagus, tomato & potato gnocchi with herb butter sauce

Ken & Mary – pan roasted scallops w/apple smoked bacon, granny smith apples & watercross salad

Jay & Terry – grilled rack of lamp chop w/potato puree & romesco sauce

Terry – venison special

Ken – Suzuki special (Japanese fish)

Dessert

Mary – Flourless chocolate torte w/vanilla ice cream & crème anglaise
Jay – Mint chocolate chip sundae with chocolate sauce

Terry – Bread pudding w/crème anglaise

Wines Enjoyed:
2006 Kali Kart Chardonnay
Chestnut Hill Winery Merlot (not the best)
Assorted red & white leftover from other tables

• Dress - casual
  
• Service - good
  
• Decor -
  
• Portions - Tapas style
  
• Price - reasonable
  
• Reservations - Highly recommended

We took a stroll afterwards but quickly returned to our car as there were groups of teenagers “hanging out” on the main street, skateboarding and being intimidating. It’s a shame because this could be such a nice spot for couples and families.

More restaurants in Haddon Heights to visit: Kunkel’s, Anthony’s, Francesca Room

Nunzio's (Italian)

On Saturday, April 5, after finally remembering to make reservations earlier in the week, we visited Nunzio's, 706 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood, NJ 08108, 856-858-9840. We arrived 25 minutes early and were promptly seated. Slightly warm bread was was brought out with a nice cilantro spread.

Appetizers:
Jay enjoyed the Calamari Dorati (baby squid lightly floured and crispy fried
with spiced marinara sauce)
Ken thoroughly devoured the scallops appetizer special. The scallops were expertly done and plentiful.








Entrees:
Jay enjoyed the yellowtail tuna special, slightly seared with peppercorns.
Ken had the Sea bass with shrimp. Both came with mashed potatoes.






Wines enjoyed:
2005 Clayhouse Adobe Red
2006 Pine Ridge (86% Chenin Blanc, 14% Viognier)

• Dress - Casual.
  
• Service - excellent. Our server, Caleb, was extremely knowledgeable and answered any questions we had.
  
• Decor - Italian villa, lots of tables, but not too close together. Stemware was nothing to write home about. The ladies room was clean.
  
• Portions - Perfect.
  
• Price - appetizers were in the $10-15 range; entrees ranged from $20-$30s
  
• Reservations - recommended.

Service was timed perfectly. We then walked around Collingswood to see any other restaurants we may have missed.

Joe Pesce Restaurant - 833 Haddon Avenue
Cafe Antonio II
The Painted Cottage Cafe, 712 Haddon Avenue - Breakfast, lunch and soon to open for dinner (Formerly Les Crepes - Thank God!)