Tarantella Ristorante

Celebrating Jay's mom's birthday a day early, we took her to Tarantella Ristorante, 128 Route 70, Medford. Nice celebration! She was excited and happy!

Bread, bruschetta and salad come with every meal. Yum!


Ken enjoyed the Bacon Wrapped Scallops special, which came with a creamy peach sauce. The scallops were huge!

Entrees enjoyed:

Jay made it halfway through the Veal and Chicken Zingara:

Mom Lou was happy with the Scallops Imperial special:

Ken has been craving Veal Saltimbocca and was satisfied with his dish:


Dessert:

Ken enjoyed a glass of limoncello.

Jay enjoyed the Flute Limoncello (non-alcoholic), which is mixed with gelato. So good!

Mom Lou enjoyed her Bomba:


The staff sang a beautiful birthday song, which was appreciated by Mom Lou. They truly make you feel like family here. Everyone is so attentive and friendly!


Wine enjoyed:
Chianti


Alissa, and everyone else, helped to make this a special celebration!

Problems with photos - coming soon!

Indeblue (Indian)

Celebrating Jay's and Karin's birthdays, we enjoyed a 3 1/2 hour "lunch" at Indeblue, 619 Collings Avenue, Collingwood, NJ. Of course, we had a wonderful time!

Appetizers enjoyed:

Ken and Karin each ordered the Shrimp Koliwada - battered shrimp with a sweet & spicy chili aoli- always a favorite!

George enjoyed the crab soup and naan:

Jay thoroughly enjoyed the crispy spinach chaat - crispy baby spinach, shallots, chopped tomatoes, sweet yogurt, tamarind chutney. Very tasty!

Ken devoured the garlic naan:

Drums of Heaven - battered chicken wings with garlic, tomato and chili. Delicious!

Entrees shared:

Wild boar sausage, with cannelloni beans and lots of flavor!

Goat mirch masala - grass feed, Australian, boneless, with caramelized onions, cardamom, and house blended spices. Very flavorful!

Desserts:

Chocolate sutra (dark chocolate layered mousse cake) and lemon "cheesecake!" Awesome!

Wines enjoyed:

We also enjoyed a Chenin Blanc, which didn't come through in the pictures...

What a nice way to spend our birthdays!

Kunkel's Seafood and Steakhouse

Jay wanted oysters for her birthday, so Ken took her to Kunkel's Seafood and Steakhouse, 920 Kings Highway, Haddon Heights. We had a wonderful time!

Jay had St. James River oysters (Virginia), which were quite tasty...

Ken enjoyed the Crispy Crab Rolls. They were quite delicious!

Salads with house made dressings...

Ken ordered the Catalina dressing

Jay ordered the Blue Cheese dressing - yum!

Entrees...

Jay enjoyed the Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp, which came with wild rice and roasted pepper cream sauce. She could only finish half...

Ken devoured the Surf & Turf - he selected the New York Strip, medium, with Kunkel Love (marinated special steak sauce) and the lobster tail. It came with steak fries. Everything was done to perfection!

Wines enjoyed:

Too full for dessert. We'll be back!

Ginger Asian Cuisines

After a short shopping trip, we decided to stop at Ginger Asian Cuisines in Medford. We were happily greeted by Dannon, who hadn't seen us in a while due to the holidays. She asked us if we ate pork, and we said "yes," not thinking anything of it.

We just wanted to eat appetizers for our late lunch, and Jay has been fighting a sore throat, so we ordered hot Jasmine tea, and egg drop soup for Jay. Ken loves the Vietnamese Beef with Grape Leaves, so he ordered that.

Imagine our surprise when we got the fried pork dumplings. They were wonderful!

Jay then ordered the Baked Scallops with Garlic Mayonnaise. Garlic, yum! (Sleeping in another room tonight! LOL). The mayonnaise was very flavorful with large chunks of garlic in it. Soooood good!

Ken had to have the BBQ ribs. We were both full, but still managed to finish. Everything was so tasty, as usual.

No wine this time.

Vientiane Cafe (Laotian-Thai)

We always have a wonderful time with friends, Karin and George and today was no exception! We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Vientiane Cafe, 4728 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143. It's not Jersey, but worth a mention.

We stuck with appetizers and let George do most of the ordering. Everything was delicious!

Duck Spring Rolls

Crispy Tofu Spring Rolls and Shrimp Spring Rolls (not shown)

Crispy Tofu Pad See-Eew

Vegetarian Naam Salad - even meat-eater Ken loves this!

Beef Jerky - Ken's been talking about this for days!

Sausages with chili sauce and mushroom sauce - very tasty!

Wines enjoyed:

Love this place! Everything is so flavorful!

Ginger Asian Cuisines (Still a Favorite!)

After a productive day working at the library (some time in October, although not posted until November 9!), Jay didn't feel like cooking, so she suggested Ginger Asian Cuisines. Ken readily agreed. We made reservations for 6:30 pm, since we wanted a booth. Great idea! It was packed!

A beautiful rainbow greeted us as we left the house...

It's always nice to see the people at Ginger's - they are truly happy to see you again!

We love the fried noodles with hot mustard sauce and duck sauce...

Soup came with Jay's meal. She meant to order the Hot & Sour, but requested Egg Drop by mistake. It was tasty!

Appetizers enjoyed:

BBQ ribs - these are the BEST!

Vietnamese beef grape leaves. Ken's favorite!

Entrees:

Not on the menu, but Ken (and two other diners) requested the Salt and Pepper Shrimp. He devoured it!

Jay enjoyed the Stinking Shrimps  (garlic) - sleeping in the guest bedroom tonight, but it was worth it! LOL

We meant to order the House Special Fried Rice, but were given just plain fried rice instead. It was still good.

Oranges to enjoy while paying your bill:

Wines enjoyed:

Nancy recommended a few other dishes to try (both must be ordered a day in advance):
Chinese Fried Chicken - whole chicken, fried, and sliced with bones (sounded awesome!)
Pork Chop with lemongrass - can't wait to try!

Black Olive (Greek)

Although Jay wasn't feeling well (cold? flu?), she and Ken met Karin and George at Black Olive Greek Cuisine, 910 Haddonfield-Berline Road, Voorhees, NJ, 08043, for our monthly lunch, on Saturday, November 8, 2014. Everything was delicious!

Our server, Victoria (who waited on us last time), was very accommodating and knowledgeable. We'll ask for her again!

Jay enjoyed the Avgolemono Soup (chicken broth with eggs, lemon and rice).

We all shared everything else:

Saganaki (pan fried Kefalograviera cheese) - salty fried goodness...

Shrimp Tourkolimano (jumbo shrimp sauteed in white wine with fresh tomatoes, garlic, feta cheese and Kalamata olives and a touch of ouzo), with potatoes and spinach:

It came with a house salad, which was very fresh:

Fried Calamari. Perfectly breaded and seasoned:

Pork Souvlaki platter:

Baklava for dessert:

Wines enjoyed:

We'll be back. More dishes to try!