Monthly Archives: November 2013

Whole Hog Cafe – Cherry Hill, NJ

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Bluejeanfood

Whole Hog Cafe – Cherry Hill, NJ

The influx of BBQ restaurants in the Philadelphia/South Jersey this past year was phenounal. It was a long time coming, and the region finally seems to have embraced it.

Whole Hog Cafe (WHC) comes to Cherry Hill, New Jersey by way of Little Rock, Arkansas. Coming along with them is a spotlight on competition BBQ style of cooking. They came to Jersey on a mission to compete and accomplished a huge one by taking first place in the pork division outshining all other competitors at the New Jersey Championship BBQ 2013 Event held in Wildwood, NJ. Not a bad way to say hello to bbq enthusiasts and to those of us around the area not familiar with them. With their focus on competitive cooking, the restaurant features the most poplar competitive meat categories to chose from being pulled pork, pork ribs, pulled chicken, and beef brisket. With a huge sign profiling the wonders of their pulled pork sandwich as soon as you walk in the door of WHC, I decided to go with that for my order.

whole hog cafe

I went with the jumbo sandwich which serves 7 ounces of pulled pork on a bun, one of their many sauce options to choose from, and coleslaw all included. My sauce of choice would be their traditional which along with the coleslaw I asked for on the side. The sauce was very good. Not too thick and not too thin, while having a nice flavor that was robust, but not overpowering the smoked meat flavor. The meat was cooked to perfection and I can see why they have won so many awards for their pulled pork. They season it beautifully, while the meat is nice and juicy throughout and not the slightest hint of being chewy at all. Even after adding the sauce to top the sandwich, the bun held up admirably without falling apart at all. WHC knows what they are doing and their finished product is proof enough.

As great of an experience that I had at WHC, the only thing that gives me concern is that somehow they are not getting others to join in on the fun. I arrived slightly past noon which is normally a busy time for a lunch crowd at any restaurant, but sadly I was the only diner at WHC during my stay. I even had a sampling of WHC’s ribs which I thought were fantastic as well, but only a sample as that is why I did not review them. Even with just a sample though, WHC has made me believe they have a superior rib offering to accompany their award winning pork and I would gladly grab an order of ribs next time I am there. If WHC can get the word out, they have plenty of parking available, a gorgeous large room perfect for private parties and events, friendly staff, great competitive style bbq menu, and a location that is easy and accessible to get to from most major roadways. I am sure WHC is used to the ups and downs of the bbq world being competitors and shown they can win the big one. So here is hoping for them to keep on swinging and possibly come out on top in the South Jersey bbq restaurant market as well.

Overall
Four and One-Fourths out of Five Stars

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Misson BBQ – Glen Burnie, MD

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Bluejeanfood

Misson BBQ – Glen Burnie, MD

Concept restaurants worry me. I feel that whenever I step foot inside one, that the concept is usually larger than the food. I am happy to report that at Mission BBQ (MB) the food was just as good as their great concept. It is said that the founders of MB traveled across America sampling the many different varieties of BBQ this great country has to offer in order to provide patrons of MB a little bit of everything BBQ. The concept portion of MB comes in with homage to individuals who serve this country to protect our lives, liberty, homes and community with their interior decor dedicated to honor these professions and a portion of sales directed to various charities of these groups.

mission outside

MB provides each table with a large selection of sauces from each region of BBQ. I tried each and every sauce, and I must admit there was not a bad one in the batch. Half the fun at MB was trying all sauces, and letting every person find what works for them is a great idea. In my opinion, if you go to MB, choose a few different meats and then find the correct sauce for each meat and you could have yourself one of the best BBQ experiences in a long time.

mission sauce

The meal I selected was a half rack of Bay-B-Back Ribs with sides of Baked Beans with Brisket and Green Beans with Bacon. The ribs were simply fantastic. Cooked perfectly with not too much pull on the bone, but also not falling right off of it. Then add the Bay-B Que sauce and it was a heavenly experience. Sadly both bean dishes were not up to par of the ribs though. The green beans were too watery and tasted like canned green beans to me, and the baked beans while having nice chunks of brisket in it, lacked any sort of defining taste to push it over the edge of average. As I have said many times, sides are usually overlooked at BBQ places, but thankfully MB hit all the right spots with the meat. I literally crave the flavor they provided on all fronts of ribs and sauces at MB. Mission Accomplished on the the ribs and sauces fellows.

mission ribs

The staff was very friendly and accommodating throughout my time there from ordering my meal and being thanked for upgrading to the 9-11 tribute cup, to the waitstaff making sure anything I needed was provided. The sides may have been a bump in the road, but I was pleasantly surprised and had a great time. Now my only wish is since they are getting close to Philadelphia with a new MB in York, PA just having their grand opening this Monday, I hope that they make it down soon to the City of Brotherly Love with another MB outpost.

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Blueplate – Mullica Hill, NJ

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Bluejeanfood

Blueplate – Mullica Hill, NJ

Culinary greatness it not the first thing that comes to mind When I think of Mullica Hill, New Jersey. I relate this town more with farmland, old houses, antique shops, and Route 322. Well Blueplate Restaurant (BR) is looking to change all of that. Chef James Malaby opened the place in 2005 and has gained an occult following, with many people singing their praises for delicious breakfasts and dinners. So of course I decided to go to BR for lunch.

The buzz at BR should also be about lunch. I started out with a french onion soup that made my knees buckle with robust flavor. I have had a lot of french onion all over the Philadelphia area, and I do not know if I just caught BR on their greatest made soup day, but they served me one of the best french onion soup I have ever had. It hit everything you look for in a good version of this soup and then some. I almost wanted to break my way into the kitchen, steal the entire crock and make a run for it. It was that good!

blueplate french onion

Up next was an order of Chicken Tenders. I could tell that the tenders were fresh and breaded in-house. They were juicy, pulled apart nicely, and had a nice flavor to them. My only complaint is that they did not come with any sauce to dip them in and when I asked for a side of BBQ sauce, what came out was obviously the jarred variety of bbq sauce. With Chef James’s eye for detail and fresh ingredients shown with the soup and tenders, that surprised me a little bit. Making a few homemade sauces to accompany the tenders, this could be a knockout appetizer.

blueplate chicken tenders

I could have left happy after my first two dishes, but being extra hungry I pushed the envelop with the Blueplate Steak Sandwich which is Andouille Sausage, Steak, Sweet Peppers and Provolone with a side of fries. All I have to say is “Wow”. I can not believe the precision and perfection BR has with this sandwich. The bread was the right texture holding everything in and not being too starchy, the peppers sliced so very tiny and thinly to hide in every bite, the Andouille Sausage giving it just that little bit of spice to made it stand out, and the steak was such a nice cut that not one bite of my entire sandwich was chewy at all. The only gripe, is that even though the fries were good, I would have went bonkers if they were fresh cut french fries.

blueplate cheesesteak
People may be talking about breakfast and dinner at BR, but I am hear to sing their praises for lunch. I can not recall a more enjoyable and surprising lunch experience than I had at BR in a long time. It started out rough with just a few lags in service that came with the waitstaff switching from breakfast to lunch. Being given the dinner menu instead of the lunch menu causing me to change my order all together, and disappointed over the jarred bbq sauce, but BR’s kitchen staff made anything that seemed wrong at the moment all right again with dishes exuding fantastic flavors and once the waitstaff regrouped service went beautifully. With BR now on my radar, I will have to see what all the talk is about the other two meals of the day, but in the meantime you should try them for lunch.

Overall
Four out of Five Stars

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Benny’s Burger Joint – Collingswood, NJ

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Bluejeanfood

UPDATE: Benny’s Burger Joint and all of Chef Alex Capasso’s restaurants are closed as he was arrested for child molestation 

Benny’s Burger Joint – Collingswood, NJ

Chef Alex Capasso is like a phoenix rising from the ashes in Collingswood, New Jersey. Just when one of his eateries close, he opens another one in this tiny town to take their place. His critically acclaimed Blackbird restaurant has had two locations, both now closed (he is currently in the process of opening another Blackbird in Philadelphia this time), and another casual restaurant West Side Gravy that was held in the same building of the later Blackbird incarnation.

Both Blackbird and West Side Gravy closed simultaneously, and he replaced the vacant space a month later with Benny’s Burger Joint (BBJ). BBJ is very laid back, extremely family friendly, and a throwback to the 1980’s with old school arcade games throughout the place and paintings depicting that era adorning the walls. The place was packed with diners of varying age, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I would order the Let the Apline Play burger which is an 8oz angus beef burger with sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, and Alpine Swiss cheese with a side of hand cut fries.

benny burger

The flavor profile was spot on and a very nice combination. The roll held it all together without getting soggy, while being soft throughout, onions were like candy and the mushrooms were cooked perfectly for a burger. A minor error was that my burger was split in half. I do not know if it just fell apart when they were taking it off the grill or if they purposely did it to check how pink it  was in the middle. Either way it was a slight inconvenience as I had to make sure to balance the roll and hold it with both hands at all times so that one side of my burger never fell out. The other misstep would be the fries were overcooked. I know a lot of people love extra crispy fries, but the allure of hand cut fries allows for them to be a bit on the softer side and have that fresh potato taste that lacks in an ordinary french fry. Even though they were extremely crispy, they were better than your ordinary order of fries.

BBJ was very affordable, family friendly, service above average, and a fun ambiance floating throughout the place. If they tightened the few details I mentioned above they really could set themselves above and beyond the influx of burger joints that seem to have invaded the Philadelphia area recently. I enjoyed my stay at BBJ and just have to remember to bring a roll of quarters with me next time so I too can play a few songs from the jukebox and play a few games after I am done eating.

Overall
Three and Three-Fourths Stars out of Five

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Flying Fish Brewery

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Bluejeanfood

(The following is a special series on Bluejeanfoodcritic.com written by guest contributing writer William Knowles. He highlights his passions of trying something new whenever the opportunity presents itself, or possibly something old, but new again since it has been awhile. I hope you enjoy his very special perspective that I am sure many of you can relate to. Follow him on his exciting journey “Around Town”)

On October 24th, the Flying Fish brewery located in Somerdale, NJ held an open house event to debut their new facility and tasting room.  The turnout was quite impressive as many local beer aficionados packed the joint to sample the fresh brews on tap, as well as partake in some food fare from several local establishments that were on hand for the occasion.

flying la es

The culinary representation varied greatly, including local Mexican staple ‘La Esperanza Restaurant and Bar’ in Lindenwold, and Indian fare from ‘Coriander’ in Voorhees.  Collingswood, NJ was heavily represented with selections from ‘Cheese ETC’, ‘The Tortilla Press’ and in the dessert category with the renowned ‘DiBartolo’s Bakery’.  Also impressive were the chocolatiers from ‘The Candy Jar’ (also in Collingswood), who seek unique shapes and flavors for their confections.

flying candy

Hosted by Edible Jersey, in conjunction with Flying Fish owner Gene Muller, the event was a great way to showcase the dynamic new green-friendly facility for the increasingly popular local brewer.  Any beer lover should stop in and visit for a tour, some merchandise, and most importantly a cold, home grown beer!

photo 1

Hope to see you again soon “Around Town”

Bill

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