Tastebuds - New Hope, PA

Well, my first Friday night home in almost 2 months, and you bet I wanted to have a great dinner!  I was craving a steak, so Zelda recommended we head back to Tastebuds in New Hope!  Great call, and once again, we were super impressed, and our stomachs left very happy!  This place has a solid meal dinner in, dinner out, and at VERY affordable pricing for the quality of food you get, it's amazing that they are not reservation only on the weekend!  Add BYO to that, along with great service from the two man team on the floor, and you have a recipe for some serious success!  Stay tuned for another shining review in the next day or two!

ARTICHOKE FLAN, BURRATA, ROASTED TOMATO COULIS, ANCHOVY OIL $9

AVOCADO AND WILD MUSHROOM DUMPLINGS, TAMARIND-SOY SAUCE, CILANTRO $9

ROMAINE, HERBED CROUTONS, GARLIC LEMON ANCHOVY DRESSING $8

Again, this is one of the best cuts of meat you will find at a restaurant in this area.  The grade of beef rocks, and the flavors here are awesome!  FILET OF BEEF TENDERLOIN, ANCHO CHILI RUB, PEPPERY GREEN BEANS,  WHIPPED POTATOES, CUBAN ESPRESSO SAUCE $33

CASHEW CRUSTED COD, BRAISED FENNEL, CILANTRO, SPARKLING GRAPEFRUIT SAUCE, LIME $25

Coffee Creme Caramel?

Cherry bread pudding?








Tastebuds
49 West Ferry Street
New Hope, PA
Phone: (215)862-9722
http://www.tastebuds-newhope.com/

Melange - Haddonfield, NJ

In celebration of Zelda’s birthday, she decided that she wanted to go to Melange in Haddonfield, NJ tonight, so that is where we went. This was our first trip to Melange, and it has come highly recommended by our friends, and fellow foodies/oenophiles Tom and Denise. Needless to say, they have never let us down on a recommendation, and the same holds true.


We walked in the restaurant and were greeted by Chef and owner Joe Brown. We had a reservation, and arrived about 10 minutes early, but they had no problem seating us whatsoever. We were sat at one of the side tables in the back portion of the restaurant, and they had a great crowd tonight.

Like many of the restaurants we enjoy visiting, Melange is BYOB, so I grabbed a 2006 Kosta Browne Keefer Ranch pinot noir from our Riedel carrying case, and decided to use their stems tonight. Kosta Browne has always been one of our favorites, so I figured we’d drink something tonight that Zelda would really enjoy, whether it would go with the Cajun cuisine or not. Needless to say, it stood up OK to the food and spice, so feel free to read the 90 point review below.

Lisa, I think, was our server tonight, and she came over and opened our wine for us and told us about their specials. There were definitely some specials that sounded delicious, but I think our minds had already been made up after looking at the menu online earlier in the week. For starters, Zelda ordered the Louisiana Barbecued Shrimp with Cheese Biscuits, and it was gorgeous. The shrimp were cooked to perfection, and the light tomato colored broth had some great spice to it. The flavors all melded together very nicely, and this is just one of those dishes you could eat for dinner. The cheese biscuits were good and dense, and were a very nice addition to the soup. I could eat these biscuits all day long, but who couldn’t.

I on the other hand went for the surf and turf appetizer, consisting of 3 very nice pan seared scallops, topped in slow roasted short rib, and drizzled with a barbequed butter. There was also a side of saffron truffle risotto. The scallops again were cooked very nicely with a great caramelized sear on them. These were delicious, with some great sweetness to them, and the texture was just so nice. The short rib was tender and very sweet, and couldn’t have been more enjoyable. The sweet BBQ sauce was again a great touch, and these were just gorgeous. As much of a waste as it would be, I would love to get a heaping helping of these, put them on a bun, and eat them like a BBQ sandwich. The risotto was very nice as well, and the flavor of the pungent truffle was nice.

In the meantime, Chef Brown had stopped by our table to see how everything was, and as we told him, everything was great thus far. He seemed to make his way around the restaurant, visiting every table, and checking on his clients. This is always a nice touch, and it is good to see a chef who cares. He would then disappear back into the kitchen for a few minutes at a time to make sure his chefs were cooking to his standards. I also asked him if he had his cookbook there for sale, but unfortunately, he hasn’t done another run of these. So if anyone knows a publisher looking to print a great cookbook, have them get a hold of Chef Brown! I would love to pick up a copy of this, and am going to have to look for it online.

For entrees tonight, I was shocked to see Zelda order the Chicken, Red Beans and Rice instead of the Shrimp and Cheese Grits after she had been talking about them all week. Regardless, she enjoyed it. This had slow simmered Andouille sausage, peaches, brown sugar, Chef Joe’s Cajun seasoning, served with biscuits and sour cream. I had a few bites of this, and really enjoyed the flavors of the Andouille. The sausage had some very nice spice to it, and paired nicely with the beans and rice. One of the comments that Zelda made was the fact that she would have preferred the peaches on the top, giving them more flavor, and making them a more substantial element of the dish. But even so, she enjoyed it, and mentioned that she could even do without the chicken as the beans and rice were a dish in itself. She didn’t however eat the sausage, as she is not a beef or pork eater, but she would didn’t want to order it without the sausage as this is what gives the dish some of its flavor.

I too went against my original plan which was to order the short ribs, but having them in my appetizer, I instead opted for the rack of lamb, which was roasted with a crusted herb crumb mustard, a Dijon reduction, and fresh vegetables and potatoes. I do have to say that no rack of lamb ever lives up to Chef Matt’s rack of lamb at Oliver-A Bistro in Bordentown, but I did like the mustard elements of this dish. The lamb was cooked nicely, but I wasn’t able to tell if this was New Zealand rack of lamb, or where it was from. Did it blow my mind? No, not at all, but it was still tasty, and I cannot eat enough lamb. The potatoes were very nice, and the vegetable medley paired nicely as well. Regardless, I focused on the lamb, and left the potatoes and veg to save room for dessert.

For dessert tonight, Zelda ordered the pecan pie, and it did not disappoint in the least. The flavors of this pecan pie were awesome, with small, chopped pecans. This came out piping hot, and was not overly sweet. I on the other hand could not pass up the bread pudding, which was absolutely massive! So massive in fact, that I had to bring half of it home. The bread pudding was sliced thick, and was very dense, served with a good vanilla caramel sauce on the side. The furthest thing I was was disappointed or hungry! I was absolutely stuffed, and couldn’t eat another bite.

So after a great evening, we finished our wine, and just had a great evening. From the service to the cuisine, everything was excellent. I love the fact that Chef Brown was all about being out in the dining room, and making sure his customers were happy. This is always a nice touch, and it shows that he really cares about his customers. What a great evening, and a great way to celebrate Zelda’s birthday. Cheers!

18 Tanner Street
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Phone: (856)354-1333
http://www.melangerestaurants.com/

Under the Moon - Bordentown, NJ

Once again it has taken us far too long to get back to Under the Moon in Bordentown, for no good reason at all. It has also been way too long since we have gotten together with Chowhound and Wine Board friends tom246 and his lovely bride DW. But with the snow apocalypse on the horizon, we decided to brave the elements for a little get together at Under the Moon, and as always, we left with happy belly's, and had a wonderful evening. Under the Moon is still one of the treasures in downtown Bordentown. It is a quaint little place on the main drag of Farnsworth Avenue, and us just so friendly and cozy. From the great family and friends who work their, to the dishes made with love and great flavors, you just cannot go wrong. . We arrived at Under the Moon steps behind our friends, and said hello to Mama's crew! Mama is actually on her way back from Argentina as I type this, but her son Santiago had the kitchen well under control, and did a great job. We sat and caught up with tom246 and DW while we were trying to decide on the wine selection. They brought an '03 Richioli pinot noir, as well as an '03 Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel, while I brought a selection ranging from an '05 Kistler chardonnay, '03 Fiddlehead pinot noir 728, '05 Sea Smoke pinot noir Southing, and an '07 Stefania Haut Tubee. We finally decided on going with the Sea Smoke and the Tablas Creek. Feel free to read those tasting notes below once I get them posted! Before ordering, Santiago came over and sat with us for a few minutes, talking about their new menu that they are going to debut next Tuesday, February 9th, as well as their new take out menu, delivery services, etc. Let me say that the new menu looks great, and is also very ambitious in my opinion. There will be many dishes on the new menu, including some of Mama's staples! One thing that I am really looking forward to is the Beef Wellington, and we are also really looking forward to the new guacamole addition to the appetizers! YUM! Regardless, we are wishing them the best on the premier of their new menu! I think it is going to be fabulous! So on to appetizers, tom246 ordered the soup, which I think was a white and black bean soup, and Zelda opted for the Tempura Cauliflower. In the mean time, out came the toasted signature bread and mama's chimichuri, and we just enjoyed some great wine and conversation while catching up. A bit later the apps came out, and the soup looked really nice, as did Zelda's cauliflower, smothered in melted cheese, with a nice breading and topped with tomato sauce. I will say that I am not a big fan of cauliflower, but bread anything and top it in cheese and I will eat it! It was nice and tasty, and a massive portion! Needless to say we didn't finish it all as we had to save room for dinner, and I was determined to save room for dessert tonight as well! For entrees tonight, Zelda opted for the homemade Lobster Ravioli, and I opted for Silvi's Short Ribs. Other dishes at the table included Paella, as well as Joel's Chicken. Dinner came out in what seemed like no time as we were all busy catching up. The paella and Joel's chicken looked fabulous, and as usual, looked like massive dishes! It looked as though there was 2 pounds of paella on DW's plate, formed from a bowl in a large mound, and topped with a gorgeous orange puree of some sort. Tom246's chicken was covered in a beautiful, thick, and chunky fresh tomato salsa, and too was a heaping helping of Argentinean hospitality that can be seen above. Zelda's lobster ravioli looked fabulous, and is there really anything better than homemade, handmade pasta? This was served with a beautiful creamy tomato sauce, that was nice and light in color, garnished with some roasted red peppers. Upon cutting into the ravioli, Zelda pointed out a gorgeous chunk of what looked liked lobster clam meet. WOW! I have never seen such a large chunk of lobster meet stuffed inside of ravioli, but this was incredible. This was not pureed with a bunch of cheese and filler, this was chunks of lobster heaven with some cheese. This is how every restaurant should make lobster ravioli, and was absolutely delectable! Out came my short ribs, and again, another massive portion! Two giant short ribs on the bone, smothered in a sauce that had some mushroom, served over a bed of ginger mashed potatoes, and some Julienne vegetables consisting of carrots and other veggies. These were as tender and fat free as can be, and cooked very nicely. All of the fat had been burned off, and these could be cut with a fork...no knife needed here. The flavors we awesome, and the textured of the short ribs was perfect. The portion was huge, and I couldn't have eaten another bite without killing my appetite for dessert. The ginger mash paired nicely, and were seasoned perfectly. I was a little hesitant about the ginger element, but it was a nice combination. As we finished the bottoms of our bottles of vino, we ordered dessert. I am a huge fan of Santiago's bread pudding, and the apple bread pudding was fresh out of the oven tonight. Really nice chunks of fresh apple, with a nice breading and smothered in a homemade caramel sauce. It again was huge, and I couldn't finish it all. Tom246 and DW went for the lemon meringue pie, another Santiago staple, and it too looked great. Santiago also sent out a piece of his chocolate peanut butter cheesecake for the table to share, and it too was great. . All in all, what can we say other than the fact that we had another great night at Under the Moon with great friends, food, and service. Santiago did a great job as always, and the service from Sarah was once again fabulous! Great job from the Under the Moon family, and as always, we look forward to our next visit! I'll clean this up and make some more comments after doing some snow shoveling! Cheers!