Coltello Ristorante Italiano - Crosswicks, NJ

Tonight Zelda and I headed out with People Papers pioneers Bill & Marilee, and headed back to one of the best Italian restaurants in New Jersey, Coltello Italiano located in Crosswicks. 

For whatever reason, we haven't made it back to Coltello in the last 8 months, so tonight was a great night to do so.  And yes, that is Chef Mario Batali in the picture with Chef Dominic.  And let me tell ya, if it is good enough for Mario Batali, it's good enough for us!  But we know that long before "Molto Mario" showed up there!  ;-)

We have frequented Coltello quite a few times, and have always enjoyed the food and the service.  So much in fact that last year we hosted my holiday party there, with about 50 guests in attendance, and our group is begging to return!  That being said, we have already booked our December party for Coltello once again this year!

Tonight we were greeted and seated at a nice round table in the back right hand corner of the restaurant, and had plenty of room.  Coltello is BYOB, so our wine selection tonight included a 2006 Antica Terra pinot noir, as well as a 2008 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountain, and a 2008 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon Crimson Clover Vineyard.  Both of the cabs were decanted for 4 hours in the cellar prior to dinner.  Though they are young wines, they are very open for business with a nice decant, and all showed nicely.

Our server tonight was great as she came over and greeted us, and let us know that there were no special tonight as Chef Dominic was launching his new menu this evening.  Even so, the menu has plenty to offer, so who needs specials tonight anyway?  We certainly didn't, and with the care that Chef Dominic puts into each and every one of his dishes, they are all special.
We popped and poured the 2006 Antica Terra pinot noir as we ordered appetizers.  Our starters tonight included the Pane, which is actually no longer on the menu, but this is a delicious, fresh baked stuffed bread with fresh mozzarella, fresh garlic, and topped with caramelized onions.  I am so glad that they could do this as this is a Coltello staple in my mind, and absolutely delicious!  The bread had a nice crust, and the mozz, onion, and garlic were delectable.  Until you have had this, you just might never understand!

Our second appetizer tonight was the Pork and Figs, and what a perfect combination this was.  These were pork medallions and figs cooked nicely with a hazelnut glaze.  The pork was tender and delicious, and the glaze was sweet and savory.  This was one of those dishes that I could eat anytime!  I could probably even eat it for dessert!  It was fabulous.

Finally, we had the Seafood Trio, consisting of a butter poached lobster tail, Colossal lump crab meat, and jumbo shrimp!  I had some of each element of this dish, and if I had to pick a favorite, I would have to go with the crab!  I buy lump crab meat often, but more often than not it is pasteurized.  In all honesty, I have no idea if this was pasteurized or not, but if it was, I would never be able to tell.  The pieces were huge, and had just a slight mustard (?) sauce on them that was awesome!  The flavors were fresh, and it was the best crab meat I have had here in New Jersey.

The lobster was also nice and tender, and shouldn't be over shadowed by the crab meat.  The flavors were nice and simple, and it was just downright good.  But how can you not love lobster?  The shrimp were also fresh and flavorful, and this was just a great way to start a meal tonight.

Soups and salad followed, and as usual I ordered the salad with the house dressing.  The greens are always fresh, and the homemade dressing is always tasty.  This is always a winner, and a nice pre-dinner treat.

The entrees around the table varied tonight, but I can tell you that not a single one of us left anything on our plates, and everything was awesome!  Marilee ordered the pork chop, which wasn't on the menu tonight, but she had Chef Dominic do it up in a Cajun style with Cajun spices and it looked awesome!   She very much enjoyed it, and I am sure that I would have as well.  Bill had the Veal Carcofi (I think), with artichoke, tomato, mushrooms, lump crab, in a lemon white wine sauce.  I too thought about ordering this, and it too looked great!  I am sure that Bill enjoyed this as well.

Zelda ordered the house made gnocchi tonight, in a basil pesto, plum tomato, and whipped ricotta sauce.  If there is a gnocchi connoisseur, Zelda is definitely that person.  She truly enjoyed these, and from the taste that I heard, they were very flavorful.  The sauce was nice and fresh, and the homemade gnocchi were great.  We both liked the gnocchi so much that it has actually inspired us to make our own at home, which is something that I have never done.  I've made enough homemade pasta to stretch from Princeton to Hollywood, but we've never done gnocchi.

Zelda also had a side of creamed spinach, and even me, who is not a spinach fan LOVED this.  The spinach was cooked perfectly, and the cream based sauce was rich and flavorful.  If I could figure out how to make this, I would eat it constantly, and this is something that I would love to have the recipe for.  I guess I will have to do some searches and look for recipes!

I went the filet Mignon route as this would pair perfectly with the big, juicy, Santa Cruz Mountain cabernet, and I was indeed correct.  This was the 10 ounce filet served with a parsnip puree, fresh spring vegetables, and a citrus gremolata.  The last few years, I have been saying that Tastebuds in New Hope just might have the best steak in the area, however, I think that this may just take the cake.  The mean was tender, perfectly cooked and seasoned, and extremely delicious!  I can definitely say that Chef Dominic is acquiring good beef, and I would go back for this in a heartbeat.

At this point of the evening, nobody had room for desserts, but how could we come here and not order something?  Bill and Marilee both ordered chocolate based desserts.  Bill had an Oreo dessert of sort, and I think that Marilee had a mousse of sorts.  I forget what they were exactly, but I had a taste from both, and there we very rich, and definitely tasty!

I ordered the Italian custard, and I can't remember what it was called, but it was rich, fluffy, and elegant.  This screamed homemade, and is probably my favorite dessert so far this year.  This alone would be worth going back for, and just the kind of thing that I love as I am more into something like this than something with a lot of chocolate in it...unless of course I am craving chocolate.

Overall, it was a great evening at Coltello.  From the amazing dishes coming out of the kitchen, to the awesome service, to the well done, cozy decor, it was an evening to remember.  The restaurant is just done with such coziness and class, it makes it the kind of place where you could sit for hours.  The vibe in the restaurant is alive with joy, and you could see nothing but smiles and happiness as the customers enjoyed their dinners!

Hopeully we can get back before our holiday party in December, but if not, we will definitely enjoy our holiday event there.  Kudos to Chef Dominic and the Coltello team for one of the best dinners of the year!  If you are anywhere in the area, I highly recommend calling ahead and making a reservation!  You'll be glad you did!  Cheers!

Coltello Ristorante Italiano
460 Main St
Crosswicks, NJ 08515
http://www.coltellorestaurant.com/

Hannah and Masons - Cranbury, NJ

After a long Air Force day, then a little shopping, what better night to go out on a nice date with Zelda. We left Quakerbridge Mall, and headed to Canal's Mercerenceville to find a nice bottle of wine for dinner, since more than likely we'd head to one of Jersey's great BYOB's.

Our original plan was to hit Fiddlehead in Jamesburg, but upon arrival, we found out that you have to call the day of to get a reservation. That being said, off to Hannah & Mason's in Cranbury we went. We were originally going to come here on our anniversary, but now it looks like we'll hit Fiddlehead instead.

A little background on H&M. This is a restaurant that we have driven past many times, and have never stopped. For a long time, we didn't even know that it was there, but the restaurant really got into the public eye when world renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay showed up there to film his show Kitchen Nightmares. Since hearing of the filming on Valentine's Day 2008, we have been meaning to get the H&M, and now we finally got the chance.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the gracious hostess who was helping and elderly gentleman come down the stairs. When asked if she could squeeze us in, she managed to get us a great table right in the center of the first floor dining room. The room was finished in a nice green/blue color, with nice, clean white trim. I am assuming that this is the color scheme that Chef Ramsay chose for the re-launch, but without asking we'll never know.

Our hostess returned and opened up our 2005 Chateau Montelena, and came back with some red glasses. Our waitress, Britney then came over to our table, and greeted us with the days specials. We both opted for the Seafood Chowder as an appetizer, and while we waited, we were brought out a basket of nice, grainy wheat or pumpernickel rolls. I'm not sure what exactly they were, but they tasted nice with some butter, as well as a whole clove of roasted garlic. That was a nice touch.

Our soup came out later, and there were all kinds of large chunks of cod, salmon, and scallops. They definitely did not skimp on the fish, so that was nice. There was also corn and potatoes, along with various spices. One thing that I can say about the soup is that it needed just the slightest bit of salt and pepper. As much as I would have loved to do this, none of the tables at H&M have s&p shakers on them, yet they are on the wall in the back near the kitchen. What do I make of this? Maybe the slightest bit of arrogance, but this seems to be common practice these days at many restaurants we have visited.

Next were our entrees. Zelda ordered the Tuscan Chicken - palards of chicken, aged provolone, marinated tomato bruschetta, lemon beurre blanc, and orzo salad. This was a very tasty dish, and to me, it was the melted provolone that made it so tasty. I know, it's just cheese, but I love it. One thing that we found odd however was the orzo salad as we weren't sure at first, and it was not specified on the menu that the orzo was served cold. This is not a bad thing at all, but I would either mention it on the menu, or I would change it and serve something warm with it. Just a minor detail really, and a pick by myself.

I opted for the H&M Class Filet Mignon - porcini mushrooms, imported blue cheese, port wine reduction, toasted walnuts, and garlic whipped potatoes. I ordered it medium, and the chef truly knows how to cook a steak. This came out absolutely perfect! The steak was also rather large for a filet, and for $26, I would not have expected such a large filet. What a treat! The beef was from a good grade, and tasted absolutely delicious! One thing I did however was remove all the blue cheese. I am not a big fan of blue cheese, but I don't mind it. I did however find it overpowering, and it really took away from the beauty of this cut of beef. Once it was gone, it was perfect. The porcini mushrooms however were almost non-existent, but that is a good thing as I am not a big fan. I also did not see or taste any of the toasted walnuts, but to me, I want to taste the beef! The garlic whipped potatoes were nice, but there is nothing special about making garlic mashed potatoes. The blue cheese did however make a nice mix into the potatoes.

Dessert was skipped tonight as we were both stuffed, so we finished our glasses of wine and hit the road. All in all, a great little restaurant close to home, with a nice atmosphere, and great service. The entire staff was a treat to dine and chat with, Britney was a great server, and we really look forward to seeing their episode air on Kitchen Nightmares! We'll definitely be back! Cheers!

39 North Main Street

Cranbury, NJ 08512

Phone: (609)655-3220

http://jamesburg.net/fiddleheads/