Toscano Ristorante - Bordentown, NJ

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/

Toscano Ristorante - Bordentown, NJ

After an incredibly insane day at work, and having to work a 14-18 hour day tomorrow, we headed into Bordentown for some comfort foods at the bar at Toscano in Bordentown.  We walked in and were pleasantly surprised to find room at the bar.  We sat and the bartender immediately grabbed us some drinks.  Zelda going for a Tanqueray and tonic, and I opted for a Blue Moon from the tap.  Sometimes it is just too hot outside to drink vino, and tonight was one of those nights.
 
We sat at the bar perusing the menu.  Sometimes we’ll do a few apps, while other times we’ll do an app, salad, and then split an entrée.  Tonight, Zelda went for the chicken parm which is as good as anywhere.  I on the other hand was feeling some fresh seafood, and went for the linguini with fresh clams and shrimp.
 
It couldn’t have even been 2 minutes and our salads came out.  Nice lettuce with fresh vegetables in a nice, light house dressing.  Add some fresh cracked pepper to this, and it makes for a nice palate pleaser while we waited for dinner to come out.  Not even 15 minutes later our dinner came out, and as always, the portions were monsters.
 
Zelda’s chicken breast looked like it came from a small dog!  I would really love to see how big this chicken was, as it was a huge piece of chicken pounded flat, but with a nice meatiness to it, not your paper thin chicken breast to say the least. This was served over some pencil points covered in marina sauce, with the chicken parm on topped, smothered in melted mozzarella cheese and topped with some parm.  As always, this was delicious, and more than most humans can eat in one sitting.  The flavors were nice, and it was cooked perfectly with a nice crispness to it.  The sauce is always well seasoned, and this is Italian comfort food at its best.
 
My pasta came out in a giant bowl, and the shrimp were monsters!  4 large shrimp, deveined nicely, giving them that good curl and meatiness to them when they were cooked.  These could not have been cooked any better, and they were tender and succulent.  The clams were also very well cooked, and were plump and sweet right out of the shell.  The pasta was then covered with some chopped clams, and the sauce was a whole lot of creamy garlic goodness!  Very thinly sliced chunks of garlic topped the entire dish, and this truly gave the broth it’s great flavor.  What is there to say other than awesome about this dish, and I could eat it once a week with no problem.
 
In short, another good meal at the bar at Toscano, with good food and good service as always.  I look forward to our next trip back!  Cheers!  -F. Scott

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!