Tastebuds - New Hope, PA

Well, this year we agreed to celebrate Valentine's Day a few days early, so we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Under the Moon in Bordentown this past Saturday night. But with our busy schedules, and the fact that I was feeling a bit lazy today and not feeling like making lobster tails or something elaborate, I decided to test my luck to see who might still have room tonight for a nice dinner out.

First I checked Open Table, and then I got the brilliant idea that I would try calling Tastebuds in New Hope, PA, where we spent our Valentine's Day last year, just to see if by chance they had room for two. Low and behold, today was our lucky day, and they had a cancelation, and room for us at 7:30PM.

It's actually hard to believe that it's been a year to the day since we have been to Tastebuds. We loved our meal here last Valentine's Day, and I am almost embarrassed that we haven't been back in the 365 days that followed. What a shame, and we definitely need to move Tastebuds up on our list.

We arrived in New Hope about 20 minutes early, and I found parking just up the block at the top of the hill. By the time we walked down, we were about 15 minutes early, and were greeted by the gentleman who was our server last year. Funny enough he remembered us, mentioned the fact that he remembered our blog, and even mentioned the fact that he saw us featured in the NY Times. What is there to say about that other than awesome, and what a great memory.

He seated us at a great 4 top in towards the rear of the first dining room when you come into the old house. The room is rustic, and dimly lit, with gorgeous orange lights hanging from the ceiling, that is composed of old exposed beams, and the underneath of the hardwood floors from the second floor. It really is a beautiful room, and very romantic.

We sat and I grabbed the Riedel XL's from the carrying case and a 2007 Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast pinot noir, which was fitting for a variety of reasons. First, what is there not to love about pinot noir on Valentine's Day? The only thing that could be more fitting would be a little Champagne. Secondly, I need to order my 2009 Kosta Browne appellation wines tomorrow, so I figured it would be fun to check in on the 2007's for the first time! Needless to say, I am glad I did, and this was in a gorgeous place.

Our server came over and filled the wine glasses on our table with some sparkling water, which we asked for when given the choice as we perused the menus. One of the things that I love about Tastebuds is the fact that there is no "gouging" on Valentine's Day, and they have their regular menu. How can you not respect a place that doesn't try to take advantage of you on Valentine's Day? Gotta love it!

The other gentleman came over and was our server tonight. I can't remember his name for the life of me, but they are both great guys, attentive, friendly, and just downright great servers. But they represent Tastebuds, so they should be! We ordered our starters, enjoyed our wine, and just had a nice romantic evening.

Zelda ordered the Baby Spinach salad with endive, wonton strips, and a honey-ginger dressing. These were gorgeous leaves of spinach, and the honey-ginger dressing was light and elegant. If I remember correctly last year, they used and sourced fresh local lavender honey for one of the dishes we have, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was the same. The wontons had a really nice crisp to them, and overall, this salad was a winner.

I started with the steamed mussels in a curry-coconut milk broth with granny smith apples, ginger, and lemongrass. The mussels were cooked perfectly, and the flavors in the broth were very nice. The apple was prominent, and it added a succulent sweetness to it, and the broth was nice and creamy. This was the perfect starter also, and didn't fill me up, yet it held me over until our entrees came.

For entrees, Zelda had the Herb-Roasted French cut chicken breast with spinach, yogurt mashed potatoes, and a lemon pulp jus. This was a gorgeous, thick cut chicken breast that was juicy, and had great flavors. All of the elements of this dish complimented each other very well, and this too was a winner.

The piece de résistance tonight hands down was my filet of beef tenderloin, with an Ancho chili rub, under a bed of peppery green beans, that was sitting on top of whipped potatoes that were surrounded by a Cuban espresso sauce. This was hands down the best filet I have had in probably the last 3-5 years. In all honesty, I can't remember the last time I had such a delicious filet, with such a great, tender cut of meat, that was cooked to absolute perfection.

The inside of the filet was cooked as perfectly to medium as possible, and from the first slice into this with my knife, it was as tender as tender could be. This was actually fork tender, but being so thick, there is no way a fork could cut through it. If I could cook a steak this well, I would be in heaven, and would have no need to ever go out to dinner. The inside was steaming hot, juicy, and perfectly cooked! All I can say is WOW!

The spice from the Ancho chili rub was very nice, but not for the faint at heart. It definitely added some heat, but was not offensive (to me) in the least! It also did not overpower the great flavors from the grill, and from the meat in general. The whipped potatoes were smooth and creamy with great flavors, and the green beans had a peppery spice and great snap to them! Finally, the espresso sauce was nice as well, and added some good smoky flavors to the dish. All in all, this was amazing, and again, the best filet I've had in years!

I actually asked our server where they got their meat from, and he told me, but of course I didn't write it down, and can no longer remember. I do remember that they were located in Newark though, so if you are reading, feel free to shoot us the name again! ;-)

After dinner we were both happily satisfied, with no room in our stomachs for dessert, but as the trends seems to be as of late, we ordered dessert anyway, and went with the crème de caramel, which was almost like a flan, but made with cream opposed to milk. Both the texture and the flavor were great, and I am glad we ordered it.

At the end of the day, we had another great experience at Tastebuds, and I truly hope that it's not another year before we make it back! But I am going to put a meeting reminder on my calendar to call and get another Valentine's Day reservation for 2012! From the great service, to the great steak, to the romantic environment, to my beautiful companion, it was the picture perfect Valentine's Day meal! I hope that yours was as well! Cheers!

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

Present Day Club - Princeton, NJ

As you may remember reading, we were invited last winter to speak at the Present Day Club in Princeton, NJ.  What made this opportunity so unique was the fact that the person who found us, Ms. D'Amico, just happened across our blog, and after a few minutes of reading, she though that we would be fun to have as presenters at their prestigious Princeton organization.  Needless to say, we were very honored, and today was an absolutely beautiful day to speak to their group.

We had stopped by last Thursday to take a look at the space that we would be presenting in.  The Present Day Club has a gorgeous facility at the corners of Stockton Street and Library Place in downtown Princeton, practically on campus.  We met with Marge and Chef Christine, and took a look at the ballroom, and figured out logistics for our presentation.  Needless to say, Ms. D'Amico and Chef Christine were fabulous, and made sure that we had everything that we needed.

We arrived today, and were greeted by a few of their members.  First we met Ms. Kathleen Fluss, and then we met Present Day Club President Barbara Purnell.  Upon walking in, we went into one of their gorgeous sitting rooms, and spent about a half hour doing a meet and greet with a few of their other members who's names I cannot remember at the moment.  We sat and enjoyed a glass of white wine, and talked about ourselves a bit, and also listened to information about them, about the Present Day Club, and about Princeton in general.  There were several different topics of discussion, and it was nice to hear some little tidbits from some of Princeton's elite.

One of my favorite topics of this conversation was talking about The RIVERLine, and how nice of a resource it is to have.  From here, one of their members started talking about the train in Princeton that runs from campus, to the Princeton Junction NJ Transit station.  This train is affectionately called, "The Dinky" because of its small size.  It's actually funny to see that someone has even created a Facebook page dedicated to saving the Princeton "Dinky!"

From here, we were rounded up, and went into their smaller formal dining room.  I say smaller and formal as I don't want to confuse this with the gorgeous ballroom that we will be speaking in after lunch.

The table was set with nice China, and had a gorgeous centerpiece of fresh cut flower.  Nice name place signs had our names hand scribed in wax pen letting us know where to sit, and it was all done very elegantly.  A server came out of the kitchen and offered us coffee or tea, and just a few minutes later our came out lunch.

Lunch came out, and it was a stuffed chicken dish, that seemed to be pounded thin, stuffed, and rolled.  This was then topped with a gorgeous sauce, and the plate was garnished with fresh carrots with a nice sweet glaze on them.

The flavors in this dish were just what the doctor ordered for an overcast and chilly fall day.  The chicken was very flavorful and tender, and the stuffing paired very nicely.  The stuffing was made from fresh bread crumb, mozzarella, and pancetta.  The flavors from the sauce and the pancetta that topped the sauce was just couldn't have gotten any better, and it was pure joy on a plate.  The sauce was a roasted plum tomato puree, with garlic, tarragon, and cream.  That being said, I would love to get this recipe from Chef Christine, and this would make a great dinner for one of our dinners that we host throughout the year at our home.

Conversation continued over lunch, and everyone seemed to have an enjoyable time.  From judging everyones plates, they also enjoyed their lunches!  This was the perfect portion, and we even had room for dessert, which came out a few minutes later.  This was a baked apple cake of sorts, with a very nice sauce, and this too was wonderful.  In short, lunch was very enjoyable, and our stomachs left the table very happy.

From here, President Barbara Purnell escorted us to the ballroom, which looked to be filled with 60-70 members.  This was definitely a diverse crowd, and we looked forward to speaking to them.  Ms. Purnell read a short introduction, and to the podium we went.

We had a PowerPoint that we had customized to this event, and they supplied us with a laptop and projector.  As always, the PowerPoint wasn't really necessary, but we know how people like to look at visual aids. 

Some agenda items from our presentation included:

• Personal Introductions
• The beginning of our foodie adventures
• The F. Scott and Zelda reference
• What is a BLOG, and what do bloggers do?
• What is a “Foodie”
• What is an “Oenophile"
• Being a “food critic"
• How do we choose restaurants
• How we write our reviews
• Social media to promote our blog
• Features
• Cooking
• Wine

Once I can figure out how to upload files here, I will upload our PowerPoint, as well as our script.  One thing I will note, is that for the first time, I uploaded my script to the iPad via e-mail.  All I had to do was e-mail the file to myself at the address I have linked to the iPad, and there it was!  This worked wonderfully, was easy to read and scroll through, and it saved trees and paper as well!  Awesome!

From here we did a question and answer, and we were amazed at all of the questions that we received!  All in all, I thought this was yet another successful event, however, you could tell that there were some people in the audience that were not all that interested, but this was their Wednesday activity, and this is what they do every week.  That said, we were not offended in the least, and we never claimed to be that entertaining to everyone!

All in all, we have nothing but great things to say today, and we can't thank the Present Day Club enough for their hospitality!  From Ms. D'Amico for reaching out to us, to Chef Christine for such a great menu, to President Barbara Purnell, and Kathleen Fluss, we cannot thank you all enough!  We had a great day, and we were truly honored to be a part of your weekly luncheon!  Thank you!  -F. Scott and Zelda

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!