Toscano Ristorante - Bordentown, NJ

What better reason to head to Bordentown tonight than to enjoy some of the great restaurants in that great little town. You've heard me say it before, and I will say it again, Bordentown City, NJ is a great little place, and it certainly has a special place in my heart. If you've never stopped in the historic downtown off of Farnsworth Avenue, I highly recommend you take a drive over, and stop in one of the restaurants for a nice lunch, and browse some of the neat little shops. You just never know what kind of treasures you might find.

We arrived in Bordentown City around 7PM tonight, and figured we'd try to grab a seat at the bar at Toscano. If you want to dine in the dining room at Toscano on the weekend, I highly recommend that you call early in the week to make a reservation. Toscano has a good following, and it is really hard to get a reservation on a Friday or Saturday night.

We however love sitting at the bar, and tonight was no different. When we arrived, there wasn't an open table in the restaurant, and not an open seat at the bar. That said, we bellied up to the one open round bar table in a corner, and I headed to the bar for a couple glasses of wine.

Tonight's wine of choice was a Centine, but I forget what producer it is from. Two glasses came out, as well as two single serving carafe's. This is an affordable Super Tuscan blend, that I am assuming is sangiovese based, with some cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and who knows what else. At $7.50 a glass, this is decent by restaurant standards, and we enjoy it. If I had to guess, we can probably pick this up for about $15 a bottle, and it would make a decent house wine.

As we finished out first half glass, two ladies from the bar were seated at our table, and tonight was our lucky night. We grabbed up two stools at the bar, asked for some menu's, and got ready to order some dinner.

The portions at Toscano are always pretty large, so we typically order a soup or salad course, and appetizer, and split one of the huge entrees. Tonight, the seafood bisque was very tempting, but we instead opted to order a Caesar salad, that was plenty large for the both of us. The salad came out with a nice creamy dressing, and good crispy romaine, with nice slices of roasted red pepper, crouton, and parm. A few twists of fresh ground pepper, and this salad was a treat.

Next out was one of my favorite appetizers, the Pane Toscano, which is a thick crusted loaf of bread stuffed with mozzarella cheese and caramelized vidalia onion, and topped with more vidalia onion, roasted garlic cloves, and Romano cheese. This is then baked to a golden brown, and absolute heaven by my standards. This is a dish that I enjoy visit after visit, and I really need to figure out how to make this one at home.

The bread was nice and crusty, the onions and garlic added great flavors and elements, and the stuffed mozzarella was heavenly! This is such a treat, and I have never been disappointed by this dish. This could easily fill me up for lunch, and it is just a joy to eat, but don't forget the breath mints!

As our entree tonight, we settled on the chicken Parmesan, which I don't think we have ever had at Toscano now that I sit here thinking about it. As with their other dishes, the portion came our HUGE with two large chicken breasts, pounded thin, but not too thin. Zelda and I each grabbed on, and noticed the nice golden brown crust, with tender, juicy chicken on the inside.

The top was smothered in a nice melted mozzarella, and the sauce had a really nice spice to it. Accompanying the entree was a nice side of penne pasta, with the same sauce. There is definitely something about the sauce that we like. It is not your typical marinara, but a marinara on steroids, with a bit of spiciness that really gives it a nice edge. This was perfect, and we loved it. Needless to say, we both could not finish our portions of the chicken, verifying the reason we love to sit at the bar, split a soup or salad and appetizer, then splitting an entree. It is just too much food for the both of us, but I am definitely not complaining.

All in all, a great night for comfort foods in "The Little City with A Lot of Charm," with great food, great service, and a decent house vino. Keep up the good work at Toscano! We love stopping in from time to time! Cheers! -F. Scott

Toscano Ristorante

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

PS: I am sorry to say that I forgot to bring the Blackberry tonight, so there are no pictures. Stay tuned for a picture of the Pane Toscano in the future!

Torp's Deli - Bordentown, NJ

So as much as I didn't want to leave the house today in the gorgeous Jersey snow, duty called and I had to run some errands even though the snow gave me a day off of work. What better however than a good cheese steak on a nice snowed in Jersey day? So on my way back towards home, I took a quick detour and stopped in Bordentown, NJ, and picked up cheese steaks for Zelda and I from Torp's Deli on Farnsworth Avenue. I opted for a traditional cheese steak "with wiz," which I never do as I prefer a classic cheese steak with American, or even Provolone, and Zelda went with the chicken cheese steak with classic American. Many people were ordering sandwiches today, and they had the grill going, and the slicer going. Must have been one of the only places in Bordentown open today. The cheese steaks came off the grill quick, and were still piping hot when I got them to the house. Great size on both of them, and I only ate half of mine, and Zelda did the same. These may not be the best cheese steaks you'll ever have, but the meat was nicely seasoned, the cheese was good, and the bun had a nice little bite to it, though a bit soggy by the time I got them home. No surprise after the drive, but what can you do? All in all, not a bad meal in the least, and this definitely wasn't the first or last time we'll get some carry out from Torp's. Nice comfort food on a snowy day, and I think we'll enjoy the other halves along with Zelda's famous layer dip for dinner tonight with some vino. Cheers! -F. Scott

A Busy Night in Bordentown, NJ

It was night of gorgeous weather tonight, so what better place to visit than "the little city with a lot of charm." Upon arriving in Downtown Bordentown, there was a buzz about Farnsworth Avenue. All the stores were open late tonight, with lights on and front doors open. The streets were a mob scene, and the people were wandering, window shopping, and waiting for tables at the many Bordentown establishments. Crowds were gathered outside the Farnsworth Gallery, some waiting to enjoy their dinner next door at Toscano Ristorante, others just browsing the artwork and enjoying good conversation. John Wehrman and Officer Gary Rutherford greeted us, and we talked for a few minutes about the normal stuff....Bordentown, work, weather, etc. Inside the gallery you could see folks talking and looking at the various paintings that coat the walls from floor to ceiling. Colorful martinis, bubbly champagne, and red, white, and rose colored wines wandered the gallery with a friendly chatter that is only Bordentown. As we continued down Farnsworth, it was nice to see the new framing and antique shop buzzing as well, with their moon shaped bench out front, and colorful decorations in the window. From here we looked inside Silk and Tweed, where Mak was celebrating the 3 year anniversary of her store in Bordentown. An older woman browsed the jewelry case in front of the register as Mak boxed something up, and wrapped it with a grassy papered ribbon and bow. From here we looked next door at Personables where Zelda saw something in the window that caught her eye before continuing down Farnsworth Ave. Across the street the Artful Deposit also had a gaggle of people out front, talking on the corner, and you could see smiling faces and pointing fingers appreciating the old construction in Bordentown. People were pointing to the many old structures, and just taking in the gorgeous sites and weather. Shoppe 202 was also celebrating their anniversary tonight, 15 years in Bordentown. Congratulations to Tom and Pete! We ran into many friends here, and the Shoppe was at full capacity. More red and white wine was flowing here as well, along with some Cosmo's and other flavored martinis. We ran into many friend and neighbors up here tonight, Nancy Minnick, David and Sherry Gutierrez, and others. It's great to see people supporting these stores, helping the downtown become a great area to shop, and supporting the local businesses. Both women's stores were packed today, first was Necessities for the Heart, packed with women looking at "Betsyville" purses, and trying on big, colorful hats that you would see at the Kentucky Derby. As we walked by the deck at Marcello's, we saw Dee and Tracy enjoying some sangria at the outdoor bar, where every stool was full. The tables on the deck were also full of diners enjoying their Italian fare. Next we passed Loretta C. Boutique, the new women's boutique, located in the old Miller McGowan men's store, and you could see the women browsing their different dresses and accessories. Next door, Colonial Delights had a few people wandering the store, eyeing up their different cookies, biscuits, chocolates, and other gourmet items. Check them out sometime as they have some great hard to find cookies and crackers! Upon continuing on passed Oliver-A Bistro, you could see 2 or 3 open tables, with people standing out front looking at the menu. It is always great to see Oliver's filled, and Bruce and the staff working hard. We love this restaurant! From there, we walked down the street toward Tsukasa, and you could see that every table outside of Jester's Cafe was occupied, with people sitting out enjoying good conversation and dinner. The bar looked packed, and there were some diners inside as well. From here, we continued to Tsukasa for dinner, and you can read the review for that as well. In short, it was a beautiful night to visit Bordentown, and it is nice to see the city hopping with all kinds of foot traffic. If you have never been to Bordentown, check it out sometime. It's a great little city, with a few good restaurants, and plenty of stores with browsing!

Under the Moon - Bordentown, NJ

As many times as we have frequented Under the Moon, I have yet to do a review on the restaurant and their food. Well, it's about time! Tonight we had the pleasure of meeting up with the Tom and Denise, of which Tom frequents one of the wine forums that I like to spend some time in. We both brought a great selection of wine, but unfortunately, we didn't get around to any of the wines that we brought. Special thanks to Tom and Denise for providing the wine for our dinner. Upon arriving, it was great to see "Mama," "Santi," and "Fawn," as well as some new faces in the dining room and in the kitchen. As usual, the menu had 6-8 appetizers and salads, as well as 8-10 entrees. First up was the wine, and Fawn opened up two wines that Tom and Denise had brought. The first was a 2004 Copain Pinot Noir Hein Family Vineyard that was absolutely fabulous. It was good "pooped and poured," and only got better as the bottle had time to breathe, and the wine had time to breathe in the glass. On the glass, it had a nice ruby color, with lots of red fruits on the nose, mainly bold cherry and strawberry. On the palate, there was the faintest hint of spice, with hints of cherry, cherry cola, and the smallest hint of earth. The finish was vibrant and balanced, with some hints of raspberry. All in all, a great wine that I would love to revisit in the future. I still think this wine is a bit young. For dinner, Zelda and Tom had the chicken tikka. This is an Under the Moon staple as far as Zelda is concerned, and is a real treat. Denise had an eggplant dish of sorts, that I think had thyme in it, and it too looked fabulous. I had the wasabi crusted tuna, and it was incredible. Sushi grade tuna served rare over wasabi mashed potatoes that were to die for. The dish came with more tuna than I could eat, and it looked and tasted absolutely gorgeous. Next up in wine was a 2003 Rhys Syrah Alesia Sonoma Coast that had a good hour to breathe in the bottle. Nice medium red color in the glass, with tons of blue and black fruit on the nose...blueberry, blackberry, pepper, and the slightest hint of oak. On the palate, there was great depth with more of the black fruits and spice. All in all, a nice finish with very fine tannins that were not overpowering in the least. For dessert, Zelda had the triple chocolate brownie that was also incredible and sinful! All I can say is yum. I had the green apple bread pudding, with homemade caramel sauce on top, and it goes to show that Santiago knows how to make some great desserts. All in all, another awesome night at Under the Moon, and this just solidifies the fact that they are one of Bordentown's best BYO's! I look forward to our next trip to Under the Moon!