Vientiane Cafe (Philly Favorite!)

For our monthly lunch, Karin and George were comfortable traveling to Jersey in the snow, so Jay and Ken made their way to Philly in the 4x4 on Saturday, December 9, 2017. We enjoyed a nice lunch at Vientiane Cafe, 4728 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA (215-726-1095) and swung by Vietnam Cafe for Grilled Pork Rolls and Crispy Spring Rolls (no pictures).

Appetizers shared:

Angel Shrimp

Duck Spring Rolls - so good, we ordered two!

Sticky wings and Naam Salad

Homemade Beef Jerky

Wines enjoyed:

Allora by da Soli

Allora by da Soli, 892 Route 73 North, Marlton, NJ 08053 (856-596-6882)
Note: if you experience seizures, try to bypass the home page... (12/3/17)

We love this place! A wonderful meal, and good wine, was enjoyed by six of us on Saturday, December 2, 2017. A 7:45pm reservation allowed us to take our time and enjoy each other's company.

We had 4 baskets of bread - it's so good!

Shared appetizers:

2 orders of Stuffed Long Hots - yes, they were! Stuffed with prosciutto di parma and provoline, with sweet onions and white wine

2 orders of Clams Casino, with sweet peppers, onions, crispy pancetta and fresh parsley

Entrees:

Jay enjoyed the Trio Di Mare (grilled ahi tuna, sauteed shrimp,  jumbo lump crabmeat, tomatoes, olives and capers, garnished with baby arugula, served over risotto.

Ken devoured the Veal Allora - with prosciutto di parma, topped with broccoli rabe (his favorite!) and fiore di latte mozzarella, sherry tomato sauce

Zack and Charlie enjoyed the Pan Seared Sea Bass Filet - Australian sea bass filet, herb crusted, topped with baby arugula, diced tomato, extra virgin olive oil over risotto

Diane and Kim were quite satisfied with the Pork Osso Bucco

Shared dessert:

2 orders of the Apple walnut spice cake, although all who tasted it said they couldn't taste the apple, but it was good anyway.

Good friends, good fine, good wine, good times!

Wines enjoyed:

Joe's Peking Duck House

The brother of one of Ken's co-workers owns Joe's Peking Duck House, Marlton Crossing Shopping Center, 145 NJ-73, Marlton, NJ 08053 (856-985-1551). We finally visited on Saturday, November 11, 2017. Jack was funny and personable. Everything was tasty, and we will definitely return for the duck! CASH ONLY (there's an ATM on site).

Crispy Seafood Roll - very interesting. Tasty, but would not order again.

BBQ Ribs - very meaty!

Jay had Dan Dan Noodle Chengdu Style soup (with Minced Pork & Peanut), which was supposed to be spicy, but she added extra chili sauce to spice it up a bit.

Ken enjoyed the Baby Pork Chops with Lemon Sauce, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Half went home for dinner for another day.

Complimentary House Special Fried Rice - one of the best that we've had!

No wine this time - we enjoyed a pot of hot tea.

Bistro SouthEast (Philly!)

Our monthly lunch with Karin and George brought us back to Philly to Bistro SouthEast, 1824 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146 (267-758-2838). They make the best Banh Mis! Our server, Van, although busy, was very attentive!

We shared the following:

Thai Sweet Chili Wings

Shrimp and Pork Potstickers

Bistro Southeast Wings with Caisian Sauce

Spicy Curry Shrimp with Rice

Lemongrass Pork Belly Banh Mi

Vietnamese BBQ Pork Banh Mi - so good that we ordered another one!

Everything was fresh, delicious and flavorful!


For future reference, must try the Lemongrass Crab (must be ordered a day ahead)

Making Vietnamese coffee:

Wines enjoyed:

Love the decor!

Tarantella Ristorante (Italian)

On Saturday, September 30, 2017, we celebrated Diane's birthday with Zach, at Tarantella Ristorante, 128 Route 70, Medford, NJ 08055 (609) 714-9050.

Although we had a big lunch earlier in the day, we still found room for the delicious food at Tarantella.

No reservations are accepted for parties less than 5, but we only had less than a 10-minute wait for a table. Steve was our server. He was very attentive, although he had a large anniversary party in another room.

Bread, bruschetta, and salad come with the meal...

We shared appetizers:

Broccoli Rabe & Sausage

Stuffed Long Hots - not too hot, but very good with lots of fresh garlic.

Entrees enjoyed:

Amatriciana with Cappellini (Jay) - fresh tomatoes, onions and bits of crumbled bacon.

Veal Sorrentino with Rigatoni (Ken) - veal medallions sautéed in marsala wine sauce with mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, topped with prosciutto, mozzarella cheese and sliced fresh tomatoes.

Veal Alla Parmigiana (Zach) - breaded veal cutlet topped with mozzarella cheese and special tomato sauce - Wow!

Clams in white sauce over Linguini (Diane) - she added the broccoli rabe from the appetizer.

Dessert:

Lemon Cake

Apple Crisp with Pumpkin Ice Cream

Happy birthday to Diane!

Wines enjoyed:

Homemade wine from Joe and Pearl:

Apothic Crush