Kunkel's Seafood & Steakhouse (A Favorite!)

Celebrating our Valentine Anniversary early, we dined at Kunkel's Seafood & Steakhouse, 920 W. Kings Highway, Haddon Heights, NJ 08035 (856-547-1225), on Saturday, February 12, 2022. It was wonderful!

It's always nice to be welcomed here.

We enjoyed the following:

Jay couldn't decide, so she had 6 raw Rhode Island oysters, and an order of grilled oysters [Description: Fresh shucked topped with butter, herbs and  parmesan cheese.] Yummy!

Ken and Jay both enjoyed the Fiery Thai Calamari, which was crispy and flavorful. [Description: Crispy fried calamari tossed in a spicy-sweet orange chili sauce with fresh scallion.]

Salads came with our entrees.

Ken had the Caesar...

Jay had the house salad with blue cheese dressing...

The bread was warm and crusty.

Ken's surf and turf was fantastic. He ordered the rib eye, medium rare, with onions and mushrooms. His turf was a shrimp and scallop cake, which was unique [Description: Dry scallops and shrimp blended with red pepper, herbs and panko, pan seared, finished with roasted red pepper horseradish remoulade.] 

Jay enjoyed the Lobster Butter Flounder, which came with mashed potatoes and green beans. [Description: Fresh flounder fillet stuffed with our scallop & shrimp cake, baked and finished with two sauteed U-10 shrimp, chiffonade sundried tomatoes in lobster butter sauce.]

Everything was so good. They let you take your time dining and are very attentive to your needs.

Wines enjoyed:

We hope to return for a "Burger Thursday" since the emails always show such tasty looking burgers.

JJ Thai (Philadelphia again!)

Celebrating Jay and Karin's birthdays, Ken and George revisited JJ Thai, 2028 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-568-7058, on Friday, January 14, 2022 for dinner. We had a wonderful time!

We shared the following appetizers:

Shrimp and Crab Roll (crispy fried with puree soybean and cilantro sauce)

Escargot (baked, with garlic, parsley and butter)

Curry Puff (puff pastry, minced chicken, onion and curry powder)

Duck Ravioli (duck, mushroom, truffle oil and red wine reduction) (2 orders)

Karin and George shared Pra Ram (crispy marinated pork loin, sautéed spinach, and spicy peanut sauce) - amazing!

Jay enjoyed the pan seared duck breast (snap peas, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, duck roll, potato au gratin, grand mariner and orange sauce) - delicious!

Ken devoured the Massaman Short Rib (slow cooked Angus short rib, pearl onions, cashews, Brussels sprouts, and Thai massaman curry) - fantastic!

For dessert, we shared the Fried Ice Cream.

Wines enjoyed:

We love this place!

Jules@Market (Seafood - Bristol, PA)

Craving seafood, Ken and Jay visited Jules@Market, 111 Market Street, Bristol, PA 19007 (215-458-7622), on Saturday, December 4, 2021. We were able to get reservations for the same day ONLY because we accepted the 4:30pm seating! 😁

We were able to park right by the door and were greeted by the servers setting up heating lamps.

Since the place was small, and due to the pandemic, our server Tyler made note of a few things:

1) all parties must be seated before ordering

2) all orders needed to be placed at the same time, as the chef determines when things come out

3) 1 1/2 hours is allotted for dining (we're used to 2 hours in Jersey)

Bread and butter was brought to the table. The bread was delicious.

Appetizers

Jay ordered 6 Pink Moons Oysters, which were excellent. They came with homemade cocktail sauce and an addictive combination of diced onions and vinegar(?).

Ken enjoyed the Shrimp Cocktail, 6 Oishii shrimp, with house cocktail sauce.

Entrees

Ken devoured the Blackened Red Drum, which came with avocado, cilantro cream, and sriracha mayo.

We split sides of garlic mashed potatoes and Haricots Verts. 

Jay enjoyed The Atlantic Black Sea Bass, with mustard & chicory greens, lemon, butter, and capers. She also finished Ken's avocado and cilantro cream.

Wines enjoyed:

We felt a tiny bit rushed, but the food was delicious. Perhaps when things get more settled, we may return since our friends enjoy this restaurant.

A nice touch is that they explain the source of the seafood and the method with which it was caught. A description of the taste (mild, etc.) of the seafood is also provided on the menu.

JJ Thai Cuisine (Philadelphia)

After a short hiatus, we met friends Karin and George at JJ Thai Cuisine, 2028 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215-568-7058) for a wonderful leisurely lunch on Saturday, October 30, 2021. Everything was flavorful, fresh, and delicious!

Appetizers shared:

Shrimp and crab roll. So good that we got another order!

Shrimp dumplings - shrimp and taro with soy dipping sauce

Curry puff - puff pastry, minced chicken, onion, potato and curry powder

Duck ravioli (two orders) - duck, mushroom, truffle oil and red wine

Grilled Lamb Lollipop - marinated lamb chops, garlic, rosemary, Thai BBQ sauce

Entrees shared:

Massaman Short Ribs - Angus short rib, gold potato, pear onion, cashew nut, Brussel sprouts and massaman curry

Grilled Seafood Combination - salmon, shrimp, mussels, scallops, served with grilled vegetables and sticky rice

Dessert shared:

Sea salt caramel gelato and mango sorbet - Wow!

Wines enjoyed:

Jay is looking forward to returning to try the escargot.

Tarantella Ristorante

Celebrating a friend's birthday, we visited Tarantella Ristorante, 128 Route 70, Medford, on Saturday, October 2, 2021. We had a wonderful time! There were five couples so we took up a lot of space, and the food was plentiful and delicious! We were seated at a long table, so we weren't able to get pictures of all the food, but most of us had enough leftover to take home for another meal.

Homemade wine - very good!

Fresh salad

Scallops, asparagus, ravioli

Warm rolls

Veal alla Francese

Fried mozzarella, zucchini, and calamari

Veal alla Piccata