Toscano Ristorante- Bordentown, NJ

Sometimes you just don't feel like going far for dinner, and on chilly nights like that, a little jaunt to Bordentown seems to be just what the doctor ordered!  So we hit Bordentown and took a stroll down Farnsworth Avenue, and happened into Toscano Ristorante.  This is yet another great place with a very small, but cozy bar!  We walked in to find the bar at full capacity, but owner John said he had a 6 top at the bar that was getting ready to be seated.  That said, we waited about 5 minutes, and then we had the whole end of the bar to ourselves, with a stool to spare for our friend Charnel who was on her way up.

While we waited, Zelda enjoyed a Tanqueray and Tonic while I sipped on a Blue Moon.  They do have some decent wines on the list, but I just wasn't diggin' the vino tonight, and I really hate paying 2-3 times retail for wine in a restaurant.  Hence the reason we love going to BYO's.  But even so, this is a given anywhere, and one of those things you just have to accept.  The Blue Moon hit the spot tonight though!

Usually, we'll each do an app and split a salad and entrée, but tonight we opted to go straight for the entrees.  Zelda went with her favorite, chicken parm, and I went for the scallops over spaghetti in a carbonara sauce.  Charnel wanted to go a little lighter, and ordered the Italian egg rolls, which are one of my street fair favorites!

First out came the salads, and these are always a good little starter.  Just enough to keep you satisfied, but not enough to affect your meal.  The vinaigrette is nice and light, with good flavors, and the lettuce is crisp, paired with some cucumber and other veggies.

In the mean time they had the Yankee game on the flatscreen, and we just shot the bull and caught up on things.  Charnel's Italian egg rolls came out, and they looked delicious.  These are filled with sausage, broccoli rabe, and provolone cheese, served over a bed of white bean bruschetta.  But like I've said before, I could wrap up my shoe in egg roll wrapper and deep fry it, and probably love it!  ;-)

Our entrees came out a few minutes later, and as always, Zelda's chicken parm was massive!  I really want to see the chickens that these chicken breasts are pulled off of!  They must be the size of a dog.  This was fried up nicely to a golden brown, and smothered in their delicious red sauce.  Zelda made the comment that she thinks that Toscano's red sauce just might be the best in the area, and I might have to agree.  It is just a good, simple, no frills red sauce.  I'd love to have the recipe for this to make it myself.

I went a bit out of my Toscano norm tonight and ordered the pan seared sea scallops Carbonara.  This came out in a giant bowl of creamy goodness, and looked awesome.  This was 4 nice sized scallops, served over spaghetti with a caramelized onion cream sauce with pancetta.  This sauce was yet another I would love to know how to make.  The flavors in this sauce were perfect, with a nice cheesy creaminess to it, and just enough flavor from the pancetta to make it awesome.  In some cases, the pancetta may take over the sauce, or the entire entrée for that matter, but that was not the case here.  I was very happy with this, and by the time I finished it, a piece of bread was used to wipe the bowl dry.  I am actually surprised that I finished this all, as it is a large portion, and a medium heavy dish.

We ended up skipping dessert tonight, finished our drink, and figured we'd head to The Cool Cricket from here for some karaoke since we were in the area.  What can I say?  I'm Filipino...karaoke is in our blood!  ;-)  But in short, another great meal at Toscano, and another Bordentown staple.  Keep up the great work!  Cheers!

Toscano Ristorante
136 Farnsworth Avenue
Bordentown, NJ  08505
(609)291-0291
http://www.toscano-ristorante.com/