Taste of Evesham 2011 (3rd Year)

For $15, you got all that you could eat and drink at the third annual Taste of Evesham, held today from 1:00-4:00 PM.  A good time was had by all!

Aaron McCargo, Jr. AKA Big Daddy

Aaron McCargo, Jr. AKA Big Daddy

Taste of Evesham - 3rd Year

Exciting news for Sunday, May 22!

"We are thrilled to announce that we'll have a celebrity chef signing his new cookbook at the Taste of Evesham! Camden-raised "Big Daddy" Aaron McCargo Jr will visit us beginning at 2pm Sunday. He won Season 4 of "The Next Food Network Star" and hosted three seasons of "Big Daddy's House" on the Food Network.

His new cookbook, "Simply Done Well Done" will be available on-site for purchase and signing. 

Learn more about him at http://www.aaronmccargo.com/

Looking forward to seeing you guys there!  Bring your camera!"

Best Indian Food is Homemade

We were invited to dinner by one of Ken's associates and had a fantastic time! Everything was delicious! We kept stuffing ourselves with food, only to learn that we were only at the appetizer stage!

Chicken Tikka

Warm cashews, pistachios and peanuts

Spring Rolls

Tilapia

Indian Sweets

Chicken Masala

Naan

Spicy papad

Marcello's Fresh Catch Bistro

Not Jay's first choice, but we went to Marcello's Fresh Catch Bistro tonight because Ken was craving seafood.

It started out well. We didn't make reservations; went right after Jay came home from work. Arrived 6 PM and were promptly seated to an empty restaurant.

Appetizers came out nice and hot.
Jay - Wrapped Scallops - bacon wrapped scallops were delicious.

Ken - Buffalo Shrimp - jumbo shrimp in a buffalo sauce, with blue cheese, celery and a creamy blue cheese dip. Very good.

Salad wedge - we were given the house dressing, which was very good. Normally, Jay gets blue cheese dressing and Ken gets creamy Italian.

Garlic bread was hot and delicious, as always.

Entree

Jay - Black & Blue Filet - covered in a creamy crab sauce with sauteed spinach and roasted potato spears. Asked for medium; since it was under the light for 1/2 hour, it was served well done. Tasty, but not to Jay's liking.

(OK - we did ask for them to "take their time," but it didn't mean to cook the food ahead of time and let it sit under the warming light. Normally that means when the previous course is finished, that you can start the next course, especially when NO one else was in the freaking restaurant!)

Ken - Fresh Catch Flouder Francaise - delicious. He ordered crab fried rice, but it never appeared and he didn't mention it. He didn't mention it until on the ride home, because Jay would have brought it up and checked the total.

When the server saw the Restaurant.com certificate (which we always use), she said "Oh, you have one of those." WTH

Since Jay didn't see the order ticket, and relied on Ken, she was not sure if the final total was correct. Were we charged for the crab fried rice? Was $25 removed from the bill? What was the problem in using the coupon, when we normally tip very well?

After returning home, as the evening progressed, Jay got increasingly agitated as she was not happy. She may not return unless strongly urged on by her husband.

When we left, around 7:30 PM, there were only 3 other couples left. Good luck to what used to be one of our favorite restaurants.

Wines enjoyed:
2007 Smoking Loon Sauvignon Blanc
2009 Cline Zinfandel

Update 5/6/2011 - Jay knows better than to order steak at a seafood restaurant. Won't happen again.

Pho Xinh (Vietnamese)

Back to Pho Xinh for lunch today. Love this place!

A1 spring rolls; A6 summer rolls with BBQ pork and A10 beef wrapped in grape leaves - everything tasted especially good today, for some reason.

Ken ordered M3 - crispy egg noodle with beef and vegetables. He enjoyed it thoroughly.

Jay ordered M11 - pad thai with tofu. Delicious! Half went home for dinner tonight.

Jay also ordered the honey dew shake, which she loves. This time it came with the bubbles (gelatin), which were really fun to sip through the straw.

Barnacle Ben's (Seafood) - New Location!

After receiving a gift card to Barnacle Ben's, we visited today for lunch at their new location: 200 Larchmont Boulevard, Mount Laurel, NJ, (856-235-5808). It was smaller than their previous location, but very well decorated.

There were only two servers, but service was still good. Unfortunately, there didn't appear to be anyone else around to bus tables, so many were left unattended.

We ordered the coconut shrimp as an appetizer. The four jumbo shrimp were very good and just enough.

Ken ordered the seafood crepe - shrimp, scallops and lobster in a champagne sauce. He ordered fries and wild rice as his vegetables. He said the crepe was delicious and just the right size.

Jay ordered the seafood newburg - crab, shrimp and scallops in a pink sherry sauce. It was delicious as usual and a nice portion. She took home part of her vegetables - sweet potato fries and cole slaw.

Food was good. We may return for lunch.

No wine, but the raspberry iced tea that Jay had was refreshing. Ken had root beer (his standby).

IndeBlue (Indian)

We're back! IndeBlue has moved across the street in Collingswood to a bigger, better facility (former Blackbird location).

We met our friends Karin and George and had a fantastic lunch!

We love the shrimp kaliwada and got two orders, plus an order of garlic naan.

Three of us ordered from the March special menu:

Jay and Karin and the Lamb Do Pyaza - delicious, tender and flavorful.

George had the crab cakes, but asked for them as an entree portion.

Ken ordered from the regular menu - seafood platter, which he enjoyed immensely.

Wines enjoyed:
2009 Babich Malborough Sauvignon Blanc
2008 Graff Riesling Kabinett
2009 Shaya Verdejo Old Vines
2009 Voluptuoso Malbec Mendoza Argentina

Can't wait to return to try new dishes. Can't go wrong with anything here.