B.Y.O.B.s in Jersey: January 2017

28 January 2017

Vientiane Cafe (Laotian-Thai) - Philly Again

We can't stay away from Vientiane Cafe, 4728 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA (215-726-1095), so we met Karin and George for our monthly 3-hour lunch, on Saturday, January 28, 2017.

Whatever is chosen is so flavorful, that you can't go wrong!

We shared the following:

Shrimp Fresh Spring Roll

Duck Crispy Spring Roll

Naam Salad

Laotian Sausage

Crepe, filled with shrimp, bean sprouts and other veggies...

Pad Kee Mao with Crispy Tofu - Jay devoured half of it herself!

Ken and George enjoyed this interesting coffee (look it up):

Wines enjoyed:

2015 Shaya

2012 Gloria Ferrer

As always, we enjoyed our times with our friends over a lovely meal and good wine.

We even stopped by Vietnam Cafe, 816 South 47th Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19143 (215-729-0260), and enjoyed takeout (crispy pork spring rolls and grilled pork rolls), and more wine:

Tarantella Ristorante (Italian)

Ken treated Jay to a surprise dinner on Friday, January 27, 2017. It was greatly appreciated and so good!

We arrived at Tarantella, 128 Route 70, Medford, NJ, 08055 (609-714-9050), without a reservation and were seated in just a few minutes. Everyone is so nice!

Make sure you are hungry, because you automatically get bruschetta, warm rolls, and salad with your meal.

Appetizers (both specials) enjoyed:

Pepper Shooters, which came with fried veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes, and zucchini). The shooters were delicious, and the veggies so crunchy that we couldn't stop eating them. The marinara dipping sauce was a nice complement.

Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
Half went home, because we wanted to leave room for our entrees...

Entrees (both specials):

Ken could only finish half of the Scallops Imperial, which came with lobster ravioli and asparagus. The scallops were quite large, and he was impressed.

Jay was delighted with the Ahi Tuna special (rare), which was a HUGE piece of tuna, with spinach, mushrooms, and lump crab meat.

Too full for dessert, we were still impressed by the large selection of Italian desserts.

We enjoyed complimentary Limoncello to end the meal.

Wine enjoyed:

08 January 2017

Il Villaggio (Again!)

We had such a great time last week that Jay chose Il Villaggio as her birthday dinner destination. [211 Berlin Road, Cherry Hill 08034 / 856-795-1778]

Although there was quite a significant amount of snowfall, friends Mary and Terry joined us for dinner on Saturday, January 7, 2017. Jay made a reservation through Open Table, requesting a table near the fireplace, and we were seated at the exact same table as last week! Yay!

It was surprisingly packed for such a messy drive.

We had a wonderful meal. Kayla was a very attentive server.

The bread was nice and hot, and the ricotta spread with peppers is addictive.

We shared the following appetizers:

Grilled calamari - once again, grilled to perfection!

Oysters - if Jay and Terry can get oysters, we always try them! Yum!

Stuffed Long Hot Peppers - with gorgonzola cheese & prosciutto, fig jam & balsamic reduction. They keep the seeds in so they were HOT!

Beef Carpaccio, with arugula and shaved Reggiano cheese. Very tasty.

Mary enjoyed the Beet Salad, with goat cheese, baby arugula, pistachios, balsamic, citrus lemon olive oil dressing. It was quite refreshing.

Entrees:

Jay and Terry each enjoyed the lamb chops, medium, which came with flavorful, not too bitter, broccoli rabe:

Ken was quite pleased with the Risotto Pescatore, with jumbo lump crab meat, jumbo shrimp, scallops, and calamari, with grape tomatoes in a white wine sauce.