West Side Gravy - Collingswood, NJ

It's been way to long since we've made the trip down to West Side Gravy, so why not on a rainy Friday night?  We parked out back as the streets were packed, and as we walked up, we could see that Blackbird was absolutely packed.  For those that don't know, Blackbird is Chef Alex Capasso's first restaurant, that moved to this location earlier in the year.  Now, Chef Capasso has both great restaurants under the same roof, working out of the same kitchen.  It just doesn't get any better than that!  Pretty awesome!

As we walked past West Side Gravy, I was super disappointed to only see one other table seated in the restaurant.  Maybe it was the rain ad weather, maybe it is the nasty construction in Haddonfield.  I don't know, but for the quality of fare you get here for the price, I just don't get why this restaurant isn't packed every night of the week, especially the weekends!

Our server came over and opened our wine, and we started off with some apps.  Zelda ordered the lentil soup, and not being a fan of lentils, I actually really liked te flavors and texture of this.  The flavors in the soup were great, and for once, the texture of the lentils didn't bother me in the least.

We also had the ahi tuna tacos, which we have had on many ocassions here, and these were delicious. Awesome sushi grade ahi, piled onto a mini flour tortilla, and topped with avocado, a rice noodle of sorts, and a sweet chili sauce. What can I say other than the fact that we love these. The tuna is always fresh, and the flavors are just so nice.

Zelda opted for the mac and cheese tonight, which again, is always a treat!  This is made with shell shaped pasta, and made with cheddar, gruyere, fontina cheeses, fresh herbs, and toasted breadcrumbs.  Again, this is another favorite, and some of the best mac and cheese around.  Add some fresh lobster, and this is mac and cheese at it's best!

I opted for the steak frites tonight, and this was absolutely delicious!  This is a nice, thin rib eye, cooked to a perfect medium, and packed with flavor.  The flavors from the seasoning on here were perfect, and guessing it was just a little salt and pepper.  The flavor from the grill however are what makes this dish a thing of beauty.  The grill is nicely seasoned, and busting with flavors.  The fried onions added a tasty element, and I opted for the truffle oil upgrade for the fries.  Awesome!

We ended up skipping dessert tonight as we were both stuffed, and I have to say, that for under $50, this is one of the best bargains in New Jersey.  Where else can you go and get great entrees for under $20?  From a kitchen with this much talent nonetheless?

There has been a lot of criticism as of late from friends who's restaurants we've supported as of late, but when you have bargains like this, it is hard to support restaurants where entree's are $25-$40.  If only there were more restaurants like West Side Gravy!  Keep up the good work Chef Capasso! 

Gourmet-Delights.com

Anyone who loves to cook knows how nice it is to have access to a local gourmet shop, however, a good gourmet shop in your local area can be hard to come by! Until now!

Let me introduce you to Gourmet-Delights.com, an awesome gourmet shop online owned by Jeff Pfohl. Gourmet-Delights may not necessarily be local, but with an online store and shipping across the country, who needs a local store when you can have everything delivered directly to your home. You have got to love mail order!

I discovered Gourmet-Delights.com via the frequent Wine Message Boards that I frequent, and became really intrigued when I saw that they carry fresh truffles, shipped directly from France. Many people will travel to France when they are in season just to taste these delectable treats! Gourmet-Delights.com works directly with the farm in France to acquire these truffles, so there is no middle man. What does that mean? Well, it means that you are buying straight from the source, which saves you a bundle! We all know how expensive truffles can be, if we can even find them in a store in our area.

Jeff sells his truffles for $119.95 an ounce, and sells them in 1oz increments. You might think that this is crazy, however, in doing a search online, I discovered that this is by far the best deal out there for fresh truffle.

Not only does Gourmet-Delights.com sell truffle, but they also have a wide array of other awesome goods. Some items that we ordered recently include fresh olive oil, that will be shipping in March of 2010, and will be a 2009 vintage, as well as Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Black Truffle , Pecatti di Ciacco Alba White Truffle Oil, and Black Winter Truffle Salt . In using the truffle salt today on a pizza, it added a really nice earthy element to the pie, and smells absolutely heavenly. This is such a great product, and something that we will stock in the pantry at all times. I look forward to trying this on anything from popcorn, to using it to season steaks, chicken, and other foods. This is heaven!

Some other items of interest to me include: Saffron & Salt , Veleta Saffron , I Peccati di Ciacco Black Truffle Honey , Griottines, and Belazu Balsamic Vinegar just to name a few things.

That being said, check out Gourmet-Delights.com, and let me know what you think. Not only do they carry some awesome items, but they also have incredible customer service, not only from the e-mails I received from them, but even to the follow up phone call I received to see what I thought about the products that I have ordered. This is a great resource to have at your disposal, and I look forward to doing much business with them in the future! Cheers!