Flavors of India

Catching up with Jay’s friend, Mary, who came to town on Thursday, March 19, 2015, we finally decided that we wanted Indian food, but not Monsoon. We decided on Flavors of India, 3111 Route 38 (Larchmont Commons Shopping Center), Mount Laurel, NJ 08054. We were not disappointed!

No reservations, but we were promptly seated at a booth.

Papadum was brought to the table, along with 3 sauces - one green (Jay’s favorite!), one a little spicy, and one a little sweet. Love papadum!

We shared the assorted Pakora appetizer: spinach, onion, and green chili. Each morsel was lightly battered and crunchy deliciousness!

For our entrees, we both ordered thalis, which came with tomato soup, Mulligatawny (lentil) soup, potato curry (oh my goodness!), rice, Raitha, Naan, and rice pudding with raisins and cashews.

Jay couldn’t finish the Goat Fry, which was wonderful!

Mary barely finished the Lamb Korma (medium), but she made it! Its sauce was so flavorful!

Mary commented that she was surprised that more people were not dining. Jay pointed out March Madness, and also noticed that there were many takeout orders.

We left full and satisfied. What a wonderful meal.

Wines enjoyed:

We will return!

Ginger Asian Cuisines (Yes, again!)

After a long week, Jay arrived home tonight hungry and wanting to go out to eat. Ginger's it is! We didn't make reservations, and were quite surprised to find the restaurant full. After being told we would have a half-hour wait, we were extremely happy to be seated in less than 10 minutes. We got to sit in one of their smaller rooms, by the window. Cozy. We liked it!

We visit often enough that most of the people who work there know us. Our server even remembered some of the appetizers that we normally order. Impressive!

Appetizers enjoyed:

Jay wanted spare ribs, and she got them! So good!

Ken ordered the Vietnamese grape leaves, which he hasn't had for a while. Still delicious!

Entrees:

Jay ordered the Bangkok Mango Shrimp - huge, tasty shrimp with fresh mango, peppers and snow peas. She couldn't finish it all - lunch tomorrow! The entree comes with either soup, salad or spring roll. She chose the spring roll.

Ken ordered the Honey Walnut Shrimp, which he preferred over Bhan Thai's version. 10 HUGE shrimp; he could only finish 5.

We always order the House Special Fried Rice, instead of getting white or brown rice. Delicious! Leftovers for another day.

We were given complimentary Mochi ice cream. Jay would describe the texture as being encased in a tasty sweet dough. She ate Ken's portion as well. Was told that one was mango and one was red bean. So good! (Forgot to take a picture - so excited to get it!)

We left pleasantly satisfied.

Wine enjoyed:

Allora by da Soli (Italian)

We looked forward to trying Allora, 892 Route 73, Marlton, NJ 08053, since we love Da Soli in Haddonfield. We were not disappointed! Chef Mark has done it again! We met friends, Larry and Linda, for a 7:15pm reservation on Saturday, March 7.

Ken devoured the bread and peppers that were brought to the table.

Appetizers:

Jay and Ken wanted to split the grilled calamari, but the server heard fried. No worries! It was lightly breaded and came with a delicious marinara sauce.

The server also brought the grilled calamari (on the house). That was so nice. The calamari was grilled to perfection and the spicy pomadora sauce with pepperoncini was AWESOME! Yum! Will definitely get again.

Linda and Jay shared the orange and beet salad - thinly sliced fennel, baby arugula toasted walnuts, honey maple dressing, creamy ricotta, balsamic drizzle, topped with grilled shrimp (hey! Jay didn't get any shrimp, Linda! LOL). Delicious and refreshing.

Larry enjoyed the sausage appetizer special - it was seasoned to perfection. Jay helped a little and couldn't stop eating it.

Entrees:

Larry ordered the beef special, which he couldn't finish and took the rest home. The gnocchi was heavenly.

Ken ordered the Tuscan Braised beef - fork tender beef, oven roasted in a rich red wine pan sauce with plum tomatoes, rosemary, and roasted vegetables (grilled zucchini). He devoured it. Jay didn't get to taste any...

Linda ordered the Herbed Crusted Salmon special, which came with white beans. She doesn't like a lot of sauce, so she didn't finish and took most of it home...

Jay ordered the Tuna Siciliano - grilled ahi tuna topped with diced tomatoes, fennel, capers, basil, and olives. She ordered it rare. Although it was very pink, it wasn't quite as rare as she'd thought it would be. She needs to keep in mind that this is not sushi grade, and order accordingly in the future. The entree came with risotto, which was a bit crunchy, although flavorful, and grilled zucchini. She devoured the dish anyway, because it was so good.

Wines enjoyed:

Since Larry and Linda helped us to celebrate Ken's birthday, 11 days early (we have a birthday MONTH), we were treated by the restaurant to a slice of creamy cheesecake! What a nice surprise! Ken doesn't like singing out in public, so we didn't (party pooper! LOL!). Jay ate most of the cheesecake.

We were too full once we got back to their house to eat the cake they bought Ken, so we took it home...

Good food! Good friends! Good times!

We will return in a few weeks with more friends. Hopefully, it won't be as loud (is the same group of obnoxious diners following us?), but we'll see.

Il Villaggio (Italian)

For our monthly lunch date, we met Karin and George at Il Villaggio, 211 Berlin Road, Cherry Hill, NJ, today. Since there was a baby shower, we were seated in the smaller room with windows. It was great that the doors could be closed so the noise was minimal.

We had a wonderful 3 hour plus lunch! Everyone was so awesome and knowledgeable!

Fresh, crusty bread was brought to the table, along with seasoned butter and olive oil. Yummy!

We shared the following appetizers:

Oysters special...

Clams Posolipio, littleneck clams sauteed in a zesty white wine sauce - tasty!

Broccoli rabe & sausage, sauteed in a roasted garlic olive oil, with grape tomatoes

We shared the following entrees:

Veal Tortellini special - so flavorful!

Gnocchi with gorgonzola and porcini sauce. The gnocchi is so light and airy. Wow!

Since we let them know we'd be sharing, they gave us small plates. How thoughtful!

Veal Saltimbucco (not on the menu, but we requested and voila!...)

Scallops Risotto, pan seared, served over mushroom risotto with truffle essence

Jay's small plate...

We finished with a cheese tray that included goat cheese, truffle honey, and manchego cheese...

Wines enjoyed:

Excellent meal - awesome friends!


We then stopped by the bakery next door for goodies for later...

Siri's Thai French

Since our anniversary is on Valentine's Day, and EVERYONE eats out on that day, we celebrated our 29th anniversary on Sunday at Siri's Thai French, 2117 Route 70 West, Cherry Hill, NJ. We had a wonderful meal.

We were promptly seated for our 6pm reservation, by a window, which provided a nice view, but was a bit chilly. We stayed because Jay knew that she'd soon be warmed by the wines that we brought.

Appetizers:

Jay enjoyed the seafood dumplings special, which were light and flavorful...

Ken loved the skewers of grilled marinated chicken satay with Thai Peanut Sauce, and once again asked Jay to make the cucumber salad...

Entrees:

Jay was impressed with the pine nut crusted rack of lamb. Mustard contributed to making the delicious sauce a bit tangy. Yum!

Ken devoured the chilean sea bass special. Both entrees came with scalloped potatoes.

Dessert:

Jay ordered the macadamia nut tart. Ken doesn't normally like dessert, nor does he like macadamia
nuts, but he ate more than Jay! LOL

Wines enjoyed:

Side note: There was a table of 6-8 really loud and obnoxious people. I guess they don't realize that BYOBs are a bit classier than the neighborhood bar that they normally go to. We were able to ignore them for the most part, but wow people! and you call us ignorant...

Ginger Asian Cuisines

After playing pool today, Ken came home starving. Where to go? Where to go? Ginger's of course! (7 Wilkins Station Road, Medford, NJ) We arrived at 4:30pm, and were promptly seated.

They had specials! Woohoo!

Jay was abstaining from wine today, so instead we enjoyed a pot of green tea. Jay forgot her phone, so Ken took pictures...

Ken enjoyed the coconut shrimp for an appetizer, and the Steak and Scallops for an entree. The entree was very flavorful.

Jay ordered the Hawaiian Breeze special: mahi mani with grilled asparagus and a salad. Appetizer choice was soup or spring roll - so she ordered the spring roll. Dessert came with the meal - Japanese ice cream - very interesting. She ate Ken's portion as well.

As always, we ordered the House Special fried rice to go with our meal.

Leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

While dining, we noticed a LOT of take out orders. So glad that they are doing so well. Such nice people...