Under the Moon - Bordentown, NJ

Tonight, we met with fellow Ebob and Chowhound members tom246 for another evening of fun food and vino at Under the Moon in downtown Bordentown City. Tom had made a a 7:30PM reservation, and they had our table ready and waiting for us. Thank God Tom had made a reservation, as there wasn’t an open table in the house. Always great to see this restaurant thriving! As a matter of fact, all the restaurants in town were packed tonight as we walked by, and that is always nice to see.

We were greeted and seated by Fawn at a round table that we have been seated at quite a few times in the upper ½ of the restaurant. Many great items on the menu tonight, but unfortunately they were sold out of the strip steak. Bummer as this is always one of my favorites, and such a great bargain, but never fear, there are always some other great entrees to chose from.

As usual, we both brought many options for wine. From Tom’s stash, we opted for a 2004 Copain Cerise, and from my bag we went with the 2005 Tobin James Dusi Vineyard zinfandel. I also asked Silvi to throw a 2006 Tobin James Charisma into their fridge for dessert. Feel free to read the wine reviews in previous posts, or see my notes on CellarTracker.com. Fawn brought some of their signature bread out, which is small, sliced, light and fluffy bread rounds, toasted on the Panini press with a little oil and garlic. It’s always nice, and gets a little something in your belly before the salads come out. The side of chimichurri that comes with it is to die for, and one of Mama's many homemade treats.

For dinner tonight, I was torn between the Autumn Pork, which I have had on a few other occasions, as well as the French Pork, which I have never had. I ended up going with the French Pork just to try something new. Zelda ordered the seafood enchiladas tonight, while Tom ordered the Autumn Pork, and Denise opted for the crab cakes.

A few minutes after ordering, out came the house salads that are always included with the entrees. These are always nice little salads, with fresh lettuce, a couple sliced tomatoes, some red onion, dried herbs, and a nice balsamic vinaigrette. This is a nice, light salad, and yet another pleasure while we waited for our entrees to come out.

With great conversation throughout the night about wine, it seemed as though our entrees came out in no time...which they probably did. As usual, the portions were very large. I had two nice pork medallions on my plate, that were the perfect thickness. Not too thick as though they will not cook through, yet not to thin that they will dry out. It came accompanied with a nice side of rice, and the pork itself was smothered in a nice medley of apple, fig maybe, cinnamon, and some other spices. It really brought out a nice flavor in the pork. Zelda's seafood enchilladas were absolutely phenomenol. Not only were they large, but they were filled with some great shrimp, scallop, crab, and I am not sure what else quite honestly. The texture was wonderful, the filling was rich and creamy, and the sauce on top was a a perfect finisher. I look forward to ordering these for myself in the future. The other entrees at the table looked nice as well, and I have had them both in the past. As much as I love the crab cakes that I make, Santiago uses my same concept...let the flavors of the crab shine. Don't doctor them up with a bunch of vegetables or seasoning, and use as little filler as possible. This is a great philosophy! After dinner, we were all absolutely stuffed, and instead of ordering dessert, we opened the Charisma that I had brought, which actually turned out to be thin, alcohol tasting, and rather disappointing. I guess we should have brought some Tobin James Liquid Love instead, but at least we know for next time. All in all, a wonderful evening with some friends that we really enjoy chatting with about two of our favorite hobbies, food and wine. As always, the Under the Moon gang provided great service and a wonderful dinner, and we always look forward to visiting them. Hopefully we'll be back soon! Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: this review was written in a hurry, and I need to go back in, clean it up, and add some details when I get some more time.

2004 Copain Pinot Noir Cerise Vineyard

It sure is nice having friends with a cellar that is not nearly as young as our is. Tom also has a great choice in wines that he brings to dinner, and as usual, this was no exception. This is a pinot that is drinking very nicely with a few years in the bottle. This was popped and poured tonight at Under the Moon, and was a treat. Gorgeous dark ruby color in the glass, that was very fragrant right out of the bottle. As we waited to have a toast, I could smell this as the glass sat on the table, and it had a very fragrant nose. Nice raspberry and blueberry notes on the nose, with a subtle hint of spice and oak. On the palate, more dark fruits, raspberry, cranberry, cherry, and hints of spice and clove. This was delicious, and I am glad that the others moved onto the zin as I got to finish the last of this bottle. The finish was nice and smooth, very well integrated, and left me wanting more. What a treat, and I think I know a place where I can find this vintage locally. I true treat! Thanks Tom and Denise! 90 Points! Cheers!

2002 Copain Pinot Noir Cerise Vineyard

Not your typical pinot from Copain, but who knows, may have had poor storage conditions prior to my purchase. This wine was definitely lacking in the typical California fruit parade. The nose was definitely muted, with the faintest hints of red fruits. Nothing at all stood out. On the palate, tiny hints of cherry and strawberry, with a short, bitter finish. I thought maybe this just needed to open up with time, but it didn't seem to get any better. Maybe this was just a bad bottle, or maybe the '02 is over the hill now. 84 points. Cheers!