Vientiane Cafe (Philly Favorite)

Celebrating George's birthday, Jay and Ken met Karin and George for dinner at Vientiane Cafe, 4728 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143 (215-726-1095). We had a wonderful time! Everything was flavorful, fresh, and delicious. Note: bring cash.

We got many of favorites since our last visit in June 2019 (except the Homemade Beef Jerky, which we JUST missed by one order!).

Sid and other servers were very attentive, even though it was almost a full house!

We shared the following:

Duck Crispy Spring Rolls - Filled with silver noodles, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, deep-fried until golden. Served with house sauce. 

Vegetarian Naam Salad -Marinated rice with coconut flakes tossed with scallions, cilantro, lime leaves, and chill; topped with crush peanuts served with lettuce to wrap

    We were treated to the som moo (cured pork), which was quite good

This is the one vegetarian dish that Ken doesn't mind eating because the texture reminds him of meat

Jay enjoyed the spicy Tom Yum Soup (she requested the Crispy Tofu) - Kalanga root, kaffir lime, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots and tomatoes in a spicy chili lemongrass broth.

Chicken Satay - Grilled on skewers; served with peanut sauce and cucumber salsa

Angel Shrimp - Wrapped in wonton skin and deep-fried until golden; served with sweet chili sauce

Homemade Laotian Sausages (sam-gawk) - Stuffed with chopped pork, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves; served with steam vegetables along with spicy roasted chili garlic sauce (jeow muk phet) and sticky rice

Ken was still a little hungry, so he and Jay shared the Shrimp Fresh Spring Roll - Soft rice paper with herbs and vermicelli, served with tangy tamarind and sweet chili sauce topped with crushed peanuts

Karen and George finished their meal with Banana Chocolate Spring Roll, served with peach sauce

Wines enjoyed:

Looking forward to our next visit...

June BYOB (French)

Celebrating Jay's and Karin's birthdays, Ken and George treated them to June BYOB, 690 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood, NJ, 08108 (856-240-7041). Reservations are a must! We arrived for our 5:30pm reservation and was surprised to see so many people already there. If you want the Beef Wellington, you should probably go before 6pm. Hours are Wednesday-Saturday: 5pm-9pm; Sunday 4:30pm-8:30pm.

Beautiful atmosphere, attentive service, and delicious food. Request Nalini - the way she describes the food is incredible!

The amuse-bouche was parsnip and truffle soup - heavenly.

Delicious crusty bread - we asked for seconds!

Appetizers

Jay and George thoroughly enjoyed Chef Pierre Calmel's Escargot, with sauce bordelaise, royal trumpet mushrooms, haricot vests, tarragon.

Karin and Ken were impressed with the Crab Ravioli, with celery root, butternut squash, chervil, crab beurre blanc, sturgeon caviar.

Entrees

Ken and George shared the Beef Wellington for two, 12 oz filet, mushroom duxelles, spinach, puff pastry, watercress salad, sauce bordelaise - amazing! The presentation was outstanding!

Karin couldn't quite finish the Boeuf - braised short ribs, pomme puree, roasted carrots, Brussel sprouts, sauce bordelaise. Tender and flavorful.

Jay enjoyed the Lapin au Vin, red wine-braised rabbit leg, pappardelle pasta, lardons, mushroom, carrot, pearl onion, rabbit jus.

Dessert - Meringue with lemon curd and blueberries. Perfect ending to the meal.

Wines enjoyed:

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We plan to return for another special occasion.

Sophie's Kitchen (Cambodian) - Philly

For our monthly lunch with Karin and George, Jay and Ken FINALLY returned to Sophie's Kitchen (after 2 1/2 years!), 522 Washington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19147 (215-271-0888), on Saturday, November 12, 2022. We had a wonderful time! So happy they reopened for lunch!

We shared the following dishes, which were all very flavorful and tasty:

A4. Muhk Bom-Bpong - deep fried calamari tossed in salt & black pepper, served with sweet chili sauce

A3. Slaab-Mohn Bom-Bpong - deep fried chicken wings, with sweet chili sauce, lemongrass, and tamarind sauce

A7. Plov-Gkong-Gkaeb-Bom-Bpong - lightly battered friend frog legs, served with black pepper and lime sauce

A5. Bong-Gkeah Bom-Bpong - lightly battered, salted & black pepper seasoned fried shrimp, served with sweet chili sauce

E3. Chha-Gkroeung Sach Samoth - shrimp, calamari, and mussels sautéed in coconut lemongrass spices with celery, bell peppers and topped with Holy basil seafood (we asked for 4 spice level, but it was not very hot)

T8. Trey Jearn Juorn - fried fish with ginger - we had the branzino and selected the sweet and sour tamarind sauce. A small mango salad was included which was delicious!

A1. Sach Gko Aang Jong-Gkac - grilled beef skewers marinated in Khmer spices (Kroeung)

We were quite satisfied - no dessert this time!

We were not rushed, which was pleasant and our server was very good, even though she was the only one on duty for quite a while. We will return!

Wines enjoyed:

Instagram

Black Olive (Greek) - NEW OWNERS!!!!

Jay and Ken met friends Karin and George at Black Olive, 910 Haddonfield Berlin Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043 (856-435-5500), on Saturday, October 1, 2022, for our monthly lunch. We were apprehensive, because a past visit was disappointing, but...

NEW OWNERS - they have been in business for 3 months. You MUST visit!

Everything was FRESH and we immediately tasted the difference. The owners explained that very few things are frozen (like the phyllo dough, for example). Our server, Lily, was the BEST!

We shared appetizers;

Calamarakia - fried calamari, served with zesty marina sauce. From the first bite, you could taste how fresh it was; it melted in the mouth. One of the best we have ever had, and we have tried many.

Black Olive - crisp fried zucchini and eggplant rounds, served with tzatziki sauce. Although Jay doesn't like eggplant, these were so thin that she enjoyed them. Ken doesn't like zucchini, but enjoyed them as well. So good!

Keftedakia - mix of ground beef and pork, onions and fresh herbs, rolled to bit size meatballs. Crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. Wow!

We asked to see the dinner menu, just to see if there was anything different. There was!

Garides Sharas - grilled JUMBO shrimp served with extra virgin olive oil and fresh herbs. Grilled to perfection and very tasty! We had two orders.

Entrees shared:

Souvlaki Platter - we ordered one pork (grilled) and one gyro (lamb). Excellent, served with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, tzatziki, pita bread (we asked for more!), and fresh cut fries.

We were thinking - who needs fries? But they were so good!

We saved room for delicious desserts:

Baklava - phyllo pastry filled with chopped walnuts, cinnamon, cloves, and syrup.

Galaktoboureko - creamy custard and flaky phyllo pastry, drenched with lemon infused syrup.

Ken enjoyed his Greek coffee (medium sweet)...

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch (we like to take our time) and we were not rushed.

Wines enjoyed:

As Jay said, everything was fresh and flavorful. WE WILL BE BACK!