Toscano Ristorante - Bordentown, NJ

Once again, we ended up in Bordentown tonight, and took a little stroll around town to see which places were hopping.  The bar at Toscano Ristorante happened to have some seats open, so we sat at the bar where Shannon was working to have a few glasses of wine and a couple of dishes.

It was nice to see some of the locals in there that we know from town.  Aja was there, and later her Mom Joanne showed up, alongwith our friends Don, aka "The Pro," and his girlfriend Noreen.  Our other friend Charnel showed up after a while, and it is always a pleasue to run into the old Bordentown crew, as we spent so many years in town in the past.

For wine tonight, we had the usuall Centine there that we usually have.  It's not the best wine in the world, but by Bordentown standards, and many restaurant "by the glass" options, it isn't bad in the least.  Yes, Toscano has a full bar, so BYOB was not an option tonight.

In the spirit of Lent, we staye away from meat tonight, and Zelda opted for the seafood bisque as her starter.  As usual, this was a gorgeous cream based soup, filled with lump crab meat, as well as a whole shrimp.  Awesome flavors, and nice creaminess, this is aways a tummy pleaser!

In the mean time, I enjoyed the house salad that came with my entree, filled with nice crispy lettuce, and a medley of veggies, tomato, celery, onion, cucumber, etc, with a nice house dressing.  This was the perfect starter to tide me over.

For an entree, Zelda opted for the Wild Mushroom Angolotti, topped with a truffle cream sauce.  Nice large chucks of mushroom, with some chopped mushroom as well, with really nice, meaty flavors.  This was a very nice appetizer, and the perfect entree for her tonight.

I went for the Angel Hair Pasta with Crab Meat and Asparagus, and it too was perfect for tonight.  The pasta was cooked al dente, just how I like it, and topped with jumbo lump crab meat, and chopped asparagus.  The sauce was nice and creamy, and had some citrus notes too it.  This was nicely seasoned, and great comfort food.

After dinner we hung out at the bar with the gang for a while, before calling it a night and heading home.  All in all, another nice meal in the "Little City with a lot of Charm," and we always look forward to our visits to Bordentown!  If you have never been, I higly recommend taking a drive to the little one square mile city as there as many restaurants in town worth visiting.  Cheers!  -F. Scott

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

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!

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!