Coltello Ristorante Italiano - Crosswicks, NJ

For the second year in a row, I have held my holiday party at Coltello Ristorante Italiano in Crosswicks, NJ, and based on tonight's performance, you bet we'll try to book Coltello again next year!


We had a party of 42 tonight, and Chef Dominic and the Coltello staff had us. set up at one HUGE table down the left hand side of the restaurant.  The setup was perfect, with 2 large round tables at either end, and rectangular tables joining the two down the middle.  The festivities started with the Commander making some a few statements, and then we were on our way to yet another one of Chef Dominic's incredible meals.


The first course of the evening was a Spedini alla Romana, a thin, pan fried mozzarella that is breaded, with an anchovy and caper sauce served family style.  Everyone LOVES fried mozz, and this was a great way to set the tone for tonight's meal.  The mozz was fresh, and fried to a crispy golden brown, and the anchovy sauce paired with the capers gave it some great flavor.  Everyone ranted and raved about this, and I am guessing that half of our people wouldn't have touched it had they known it was an anchovy sauce!  But what they don't know, won't kill them!  ;-)

The second course was a flatbread, topped with an aged cheddar cheese, prosciutto, and a sunny side up egg.  The flatbread itself had the perfect texture, with a nice crunch on the outside, with a soft chewy center.   I'm not sure if Chef Dominic makes the bread in house, but it sure tastes homemade!  The cheddar had great flavors, and the prosciutto was perfect...not too salty, and not bland at all.  This is the kind of prosciutto that I could snack on all day long.  I was a bit worried that people may not understand the sunny side up egg, but I found it to be an awesome element, and innovative.  The ones that didn't understand why the egg was on here just don't get it, but what a genius take this was for Chef Dom to come up with this.  This was absolutely awesome!

Needless to say, the appetizer plates were clean and crumb less, and and there was no shortage in portions.  Chef Dominic sent out a lot of food, and for the price what we paid for this party, I could not be any happier.  You just cannot get the quality of food at the price as we are tonight.

Next course was the salad course, with a fancy green salad of mixed greens and a house made balsamic vinaigrette. Again, served family style, and a huge helping of salad for the entire table.


From here, we went onto the pasta course, and Chef Dominic did not skimp once again, and pulled out all the stops.  I was actually walking around making sure all our personnel were enjoying themselves, and if it wasn't for the Commander filling my plate, I would have missed out as these giant bowls went fast.  This was a Rigatoni Carbonara, with pancetta and caramelized shallots with a Parmesan cream sauce that was to die for.  Again, delicious, and again, there were no leftovers here anywhere on the table.

For entrees tonight, Chef Dominic came up with 4 choices for us.  The first, and the entree that I could not pass up was a marinated flank steak with a jalapeno chimichurri sauce with grilled fingerling potatoes.  All I have to say about this is AWESOME!  The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare/medium, and was juicy and tender.


This was so good in fact that many of us in the office were craving it the following morning, stating how good it would be with some eggs for breakfast.  This was perfectly seasoned, and the chimichurri added such great flavors, but this would have been good on it's own.  This is definitely an entree that I will order again, and I hope that Chef Dominic decides to leave this on the menu as it is such a great entree.


Some of the other entree selections tonight included a salmon dish with roasted corns and scallions.  I was actually hoping to get a bite of this from someone, but unfortunately, there was nobody near me who ordered it, and when I did finally make my way around there restaurant, there wasn't any left to be found.  From one person I talked to that had it, they said it was one of their favorite salmon preparations ever, and that the salmon was fresh and cooked perfectly.


We also had the option of a chicken marsala, with wild mushrooms, and a marsala wine demi-glace.  This is a staple in any Italian restaurant, and Chef Dominic does it right.   Again, everyone who had this enjoyed it, and enjoyed the freshness of the mushrooms, and the flavors in the sauce.


Finally, Chef Dominic also prepared a pork tenderloin, with wild mushrooms and a truffled demi-glace.  Again, the pork was flavorful and juicy, and once again, the plates were clean!


By this point of the evening, the rest of the restaurant had been turned over, and all the tables had been reset and filled.  In talking with my Squadron, everyone had been having an enjoyable evening, and there wasn't an empty stomach in the house.  The food was absolutely amazing, and everyone could not have been any happier...and many said that they will be back often.

I also brought plenty of wines to be shared with the table, and some of the selections went over very well.  Some wines to note that were enjoyed by many included a 2007 Stefania Haut Tubee, 2009 Congruence Zinfandel, 2009 Stefania Chardonnay Chaine D'Or, 2007 Curran Grenache Blanc, and a 2005 Stefania Uvas Creek cabernet sauvignon.  All of these showed very well, and even the non-wine drinkers enjoyed them.  That being said, how can you not absolutely LOVE the fact that Coltello Ristorante is BYOB friendly?


From here, HUGE helpings of cannoli's were brought out to the tables, along with coffee.  The shells of he cannoli's were crunchy, and the filling was sweet and creamy and delicious.  Though already stuffed, I forced myself to eat one, and it hit the spot.  It actually drank really nicely also with the zinfandel, so I was a happy camper.


At the end of the evening, I have no doubt in my mind that we threw the best holiday party within the Wing, and we were truly blessed to break bread with our Air Force family tonight.  Our squadron was lucky enough to be joined with our Wing Commander and Command Chief, and all had a great time.  People ranted and raved about the menu, the atmosphere, decor, etc.  We couldn't be happier, and we hope to have Chef Dominic and the crew at Coltello Ristorante host us again.

I have said it before, and I will say it again.  Coltello is hands down the best Italian restaurant in this part of New Jersey, and when I need a go to Italian restaurant, Coltello is the place!


On behalf of our entire Squadron, we cannot thank Chef Dominic, the entire staff at Coltello, and the Conti family for all of the support they show for the United States Air Force.  For what we paid per head for tonight's dinner, there is absolutely no way any restaurant could match the quality of cuisine that we had tonight, and we are all truly grateful!  Thanks a million for your support Coltello Ristorante, and we look forward to spending many more holidays with you!  Thank you for being such good friends, and know that your generosity is second to none!  Cheers!


Coltello Ristorante Italiano
460 Main Street
Crosswicks, NJ  08515
Phone:  (609)298-6128
http://www.coltellorestaurant.com/

Photos compliments of:
| r media photography and design | www.rmediainc.com | rashad pleasant | phone:  202-642-6642 |

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Hamilton Grill Room - Lambertville, NJ

Friday night fireworks in Lambertville from Memorial Day to Labor Day?  Did I hear that right?  Every single Friday night?  If that's the case, then how about a little dinner at Hamilton Grill Room!

We once again took a chance tonight, and Zelda ran up to see if she could use her charm and grace with the well dressed maitre d, and it worked!  Moments later, she sent a text to my iPhone to let me know that "we were in!"

Once again we sat in the grill room, where we had a good eye on Mark, who mans the grill!  If there is one thing I can say about Mark, he is cool, calm, and collective, and he knows how to man the grill.  This guy has got some skill, and I would love to have just a fraction of the knowledge that he does.  While I think I do OK on the grill in the backyard, my skills do not compare to this mans!

I pulled out our glasses and popped and poured yet another wonderful 2006 Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast, and this one may have been the best one yet.

For appetizers tonight, we started with the crab cake appetizer, just to see how they were.  The funniest thing about this was that we heard Chef Mark say to our waiter, "I need a crab cake on table 1."  This guy really knows what is going on, and I find that tough considering he is separated from the main kitchen.  This guy is on the ball, and really knows his stuff!

But back to the topic at hand, anyone who knows me knows my love for crab cakes, and how I make mine with as little filler as possible, and jumbo lump crab meat.  Well, these too were made with very little filler, and while not entirely jumbo lump, they still used good crab in here.  There was a slight crunch from some celery in here, but it was not overwhelming or offensive in the least, and if anything, added just a little texture.  If I had to complain about one thing, it would be the fact that there was too much citrus drizzled over the crab cake.  While I am not a big fan of citrus, it is more or less the fact that I want to taste the crab.  Nonetheless these were still good crab cakes, and next time I would ask for no citrus.  The citrus mustard sauce on the side was however a nice accompaniment.

For entrees tonight, Zelda went the salmon route, made fresh on the grill of course, served over a bed of beans of some sort.  This came off the grll with nce flavors, however, I think the kitchen took a little too long to plate this once Chef Mark pulled it off the grill, as it came out a bit on the cold side, and one end started to get a bit mushy.  Regardless, it was just a small corner of the fish that made it that way,and the grilled flavors were nice.

For my entree tonight you bet your bottom dollar that I was ordering a steak, and I went for the grilled Wagyu Strip, served over a bed of mashed potatoes.  Again, it is the grill that gives this restaurant the praise that it deserves, and this was cooked to a perfect medium.  While the sauce for this steak was absolutely delicious, it wasn't needed at all.  But even so, I enjoyed it!

We also enjoyed a side of pomme frites, and these are always delicious at Hamilton Grill Room!  We skipped coffee tonight, but we did however spit their grappa cake of sorts, which is almost more like a flakey biscotti.  I wish I could describe it better, but I really can't.  Even so, it was good, and served with fresh blackberries.

All in all, the tab was just under $100 pre-tip, and worth every penny in my humble opinion.  We got out of there, and walked down to the bridge, and were just in time for the Friday night fireworks to kick off!  All in all, another great meal, a delicious bottle of wine, and great fireworks!  Cheers!

Hamilton Grill Room
8 Coryell Street
Lambertville, NJ 08530-1727
(609) 397-4343

Manila Bay - Philadelphia, PA

Here it is on the eve before New Year's Eve, and what better to do with tomorrow being a federal holiday than head out for a little Filipino cuisine at what I consider the best Filipino restaurant on the East Coast, Manila Bay. We loaded up the car, and headed over to Northeast Philly to get our grub on.

We arrived at Manila Bay about 45 minutes later, only to find the restaurant empty. We were greeted by the owner and our waiter, Caroline, and grabbed a table near the bar. They are always so nice in here, and tonight was no different. I was actually a bit dumbfounded as to why nobody was in here, but then I also realized that it was barely 6PM.  DUH!

Zelda ended up starting off with the Spring Rolls, and I went with the Filipino staple, Lumpia Shanghai! I grew up eating lumpia, and as much as I love to make my own, I have to say that these are better than anything I can make at home. Unfortunately, I have no idea why, as I am sure that I use the same elements as they do. Zelda enjoyed her vegetable spring rolls also, but I didn't get them a try for whatever reason. Both appetizers were huge, and I probably shouldn't have eaten the entire of lumpia by myself, but I did! They were that good!

For entrees tonight, Zelda went the salmon route, and she has yet to be disappointed with a salmon dish at Manila Bay. If I remember correctly, she ordered the Grilled Salmon Medallions, which came out as more salmon than she could possibly eat in one sitting, with a nicely flavored garlic sauce!  The true beauty of this dish, or any grilled item at Manila Bay is the flavor from their grill. The grill is seasoned as perfectly as you could ever believe, and it puts off the best flavors. It just doesn't get any better to me!

For me, 2011 brings eating healthy, so I had to get my grub on tonight, and order a lot! That said, I ordered 2 different entrees, both Filipino staples!

First, I ordered the Tilapia! This is a whole tilapia, cleaned and gutted, then friend whole and served with a vinaigrette sauce on the side. I can't tell you how many times my mother made this as a child, but it was delicious! There is no fork needed for this, and true Filipino's just dig in with their hands. The flavors were awesome, and you can tell that this is fried in good, clean oil! As always, the best flavors came from the cheek meat, as well as the belly meat. This was no different tonight, and absolutely awesome!

I also ordered the pork inihaw, which was spectacular the last time I ordered it here! Tonight was no different, and the great flavor truly comes from the grill! Like Zelda's entrée, the grill puts so much flavor into your dish, and is perfectly seasoned! This was cooked nicely, the sauce was tasty, and it is just damn good! The pork is thinly sliced, and seems to be marinated for a long time as it has nice flavors! Maybe not though!In short, the flavors rocked, and I wish I could eat this once a week!

Once again we were too full for dessert, and once again our bellies left extremely happy! In short, Manila Bay is such a great restaurant, and the owners really know how to make you feel welcomed, and like family! I've'said it once, and I'll say it again: this is the best Filipino restaurant I've found on the east coast! The flavors are awesome, and it's just like eating back home in my mom's kitchen! Kudos to the Manila Bay team!  Cheers!

Manila Bay
6724 Castor Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19149
Phone: (215) 722-7877
http://www.manila-bay.com/

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant - Bordentown, NJ

Another nice dinner in Bordentown.  Full review to come by the end of the week!

Thanks for your patience!

Cheers!

Oliver - A Bistro Bordentown, NJ

It's Friday night, so what a great excuse to take a ride to Bordentown City, NJ to meet up with our good friends John and Liz for dinner. They are always a joy to get together with, and John is such a funny guy, but after all, that is his job! John is a "funny man," impersonator, actor, movie star, writer, celebrity performer, etc. Call him whatever you want to call him, and be sure to check out his work at http://www.johnnyd.net/ So tonight, what better restaurant to fit the bill than Oliver-A Bistro. You've heard us rant and rave about Oliver, and it is one of our favorite restaurants to frequent in "The Little City With A Lot of Charm." It is a husband/wife owned and run establishment, and we truly love Matt and Danielle. They are great kids, who have a great vision! Danielle is the smiling face running the front of house, while Matt is the executive chef making sure that all of his creations come out of the kitchen to his liking. They are great kids with a great dream, and their success has been outstanding! We walked in around 7PM and were greeted by owner Danielle, who had our 4 top ready and waiting or us. The first thing I notice on the table was the new stems they got! This is a nice new addition to the restaurant, and very welcomed! Ask, and you shall receive, but these are great all purpose restaurant stems, and it is nice to see restaurants upgrading their stemware! Shortly after being seated we were greeted by multiple members of their team, from Kevin the bus boy, to Bruce and James their servers. You really couldn't ask for a better team, and they have all become great friends over the years. It is truly a joy to come in and have the chance to see all of them and to chat. Out came the vino tonight, and we started off with a (Non-Vintage) N.V. Dr. Konstantin Frank Riesling Célèbre. Danielle brought over some Champagne glasses as James opened the bottle for us. This is a riesling based sparkling wine that we were turned on to from one of our friends Mark, and is always a treat. At $20 a bottle, it is a nice QPR, and a fun sipper. Feel free to read the notes below on this sparkling wine! In the meantime, I opened up the 2006 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains to give it a couple of hours to breathe before dinner. Moments later, John and Liz arrived, and we toasted and cheered, and then took our time looking over the menu. Bruce came over and read us the specials, ranging from 3 different soups, to 5 different entrees, in addition to their regular menu, and their $35 pre-fixe menu. . Tonight, John and Liz and I opted for the pre-fixe tasting menu, while Zelda opted for an appetizer and an entree. I started off with a caeser salad, and John and Liz opted for salads as well. As usual, these came out and were the perfect size for the tasting menu. As always, the flavors were perfect, and the salads were nice and crisp, using great fresh ingredients. . At this point, we opened up a 2008 Frank Family Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve that John and Liz had brought back from their recent trip to Napa. While this wine is a bit young, and needs time for the oak to integrate, this is going to be a going to be incredible in another year or so. Absolutely awesome elements, but again, it needs time for the oak to integrate, and some of that buttery popcorn to settle down as well. But don't get me wrong, this is not the "buttery oak stick" that so many do not like about California chardonnay. . For the appetizer round, Zelda and John opted for the Truffle Mushroom Bruchetta with an extended Boursin crouton, baby arugula, and a balsamic reduction. This has always been one of Zelda's favorite appetizers, and the flavors work together so well. The crouton has a great crunch on the outside, while the center is nice and soft, and really soaks up the flavors of the mushroom and the balsamic. This is then topped with some shaved cheese heaven, that really meshes with the other ingredients. This has been a winner since it was introduced, and continues to be an Oliver staple! Both Zelda and John seemed to be in mushroom heaven. . Liz and I both opted for the Peppercorn Seared Ahi Tuna with white truffle risotto, brown butter, cherry tomato & a balsamic gastrique. This is such a gorgeous dish with really nice elements. The tuna is seared to perfection, with a really nice pepper crust. The tuna itself is such a nice sushi grade, with a nice and tender texture, and awesome flavors. The pepper adds a nice element of spice, and pairs nicely with the brown butter and balsamic gastrique. The white truffle risotto is such a nice accompaniment, topped with a gorgeous cherry tomato, and a few bean shoots of short. I could eat the risotto alone as an entree and fall in love! What a great elegant dish! . At this point, we dove into the Stefania cabernet, and as many of you have already read, their wines are always winners! For what these wines cost, you just cannot beat them, so feel free to check them out at http://www.stefaniawine.com/ . Johnny D's entree tonight was the Seared Salmon with garlic confit, new potatoes, overnight tomato, baby green bean & kalamata ragout in a Saffron Broth. This looked like a nice portion for the tasting menu, and looked really nice. Unfortunately, I don't think I even asked what he thought of it at this point, but if I remember correctly, his bowl went back to the kitchen empty, so I am assuming that it could not have been that bad! Regardless, the presentation looked nice, and you really cannot go wrong with Chef Matt's salmon. . Tonight, Zelda opted for the Wasabi Dusted Shrimp with jicama & Chinese cabbage slaw, brown rice, and a citrus soy nage. I consider this to be one of Oliver's winter staples, and yet again, Chef Matt did his research creating this dish to make the flavors work in harmony together. From the tasty brown rice to the crunch of the slaw, the sweetness and spiciness really meld well together making this a treat. The giant shrimp are always cooked to perfection, and Zelda had more than enough to give everyone at the table a nice taste. I really like the flavors of the wasabi here, which doesn't overpower the other spices, and is seasoned perfectly. This looks like such a simple dish, but the flavors are far from simplistic! What a treat! . Liz and I both opted for the rack of lamb, and as I have said before, this is some of the best lamb you will find in New Jersey. These "lollipops" come to us from New Zealand, and are served on top of a bed of goat cheese smashed potatoes, with French green beans and a port wine reduction. As always, these were cooked absolutely perfectly to the temperature of medium rare, and the chops themselves are big and thick. They are not fatty in the least, and the sear on them is really nice, with a nice char on the outside, and a hot pink tender inside. The goat cheese smashed have a really nice texture, and the goat cheese has it's opportunity to shine here. The tang from the goat cheese is stellar, and the port wine reduction compliments both the lamb and the potatoes with some good pizazz. The Stefania cabernet was the absolute perfect pairing for this dish. By this point, we were all stuffed, but how could we possibly pass up dessert when we were having a great night, with great friends, and great conversation. Bus boy Kevin came over to take after dinner drink orders, and to tell us about the dessert specials. You want to talk about a nice young ma with great manners, this is him. This is the boy that every parent would love for their daughter to bring him. He is just a nice young man, and is very well mannered, and he knows the menu to a "t." John and Liz opted for some coffee and tea, while Zelda and I finished the last of our cabernet. . We opted to have the creme brule tonight, while John and Liz had the flourless chocolate decadence cake, and the chocolate pecan pie. The desserts that James makes speak for themselves, and as always they are a pleasure. All in all, what is there to say other than an awesome night with good friends, an incredible meal, and some of the best service around? It was one of those nights that we just didn't want to end, yet, at some point it had to, so we said our goodbyes, and stopped by The Cool Cricket in Fieldsboro on our way home for a nightcap, and to sing a few songs at karaoke. What can I say...I'm Filipino! I'll try to clean this up more when I get some time, as it is just thrown together with details, but it's a busy day, so I will have to get back to it! Also, please excure the pictures as they are from my Blackberry and do not do Matt's creations justice. I really need to get over my fear of looking like a dork, and start bringing the XLR with us for high quality pictures! Cheers! -F. Scott Oliver-A Bistro 218 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown, NJ 08505 Phone: (609)298-7177 http://www.oliverabistro.com/

Oliver - A Bistro Bordentown, NJ

Dinner at Oliver - A Bistro in Bordentown on a Friday night? Go figure! Another great meal! Kudos to the Oliver crew! Crispy Chicken Salmon

Tsukasa Japanese Restaurant - Bordentown, NJ

Another great meal at Tsukasa! Kudos to this family, and we'll do whatever we can to ensure that they are successful! A nice fresh breath of air, and just what Bordentown needs! It's nice to have another option other than Italian in the "little city with a lot of charm." Upon walking in, we were lucky enough to snatch up the last table, so it was great to see their business thriving during this "Street Fair Weekend." Skipped the white wine tonight and enjoyed a Melville pinot noir with dinner. Not the best pairing for sushi, but it definitely worked! See the review here as well! Tonight we opted to do a soup and sushi combination. No, this is not a combo on the menu, but one that we created ourselves. Zelda opted for the Tempura Udon, which was a nice soy based soup, with big, thick, white udon noodles. We've never tried the udon before, and I do think that I prefer the soba over udon personally. I opted for the Tempura Soba, made with thin buckwheat noodles, and made from the same soy based broth. Both soups came with 2 nice sized shrimp tempura on the side, as well as a nice pairing of tempura vegetables. A lot of places will serve the tempura in the soup, however I think that it is much more enjoyable when placed on the side, so you can really enjoy that tempura crunch! On the sushi side, I opted for the delicious Philly roll, containing salmon, cream cheese, and cucumber, as well as the spicy tuna roll, which is a staple at Tsukasa...at least a staple for me. Zelda opted for the salmon and avocado roll, as well as a California roll. As always, the fish was very fresh, and very enjoyable. This sushi chef has some skills, and he knows how to make some damn good rolls! If I had to pick a gripe, I would mention that I would enjoy the rolls to be about 10 degrees colder, as I like my sushi very cold, but the temperature that it is currently served at is probably right at industry standard. As always, the service was great and friendly. It really is a pleasure to dine with the folks at Tsukasa! Check it out and support them! They need to stay in Bordentown! That's my 2 yen. Cheers! 1 Crosswicks Street Bordentown, NJ 08505 Phone: (609) 298-3838