Category Archives: Restaurants

Bo Ne Restaurant – Woodbury, NJ

Posted on September 20, 2016 by Bluejeanfood

Bo Ne Restaurant – Woodbury, NJ

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I would have never thought to visit Woodbury, New Jersey to have some amazing Vietnamese food. Sitting in a small non-descript building close to the hospital is Bo Ne (BN). The staff makes you feel like family from the minute you step inside until the time you leave. They were very attentive to what everyone ordered and wanted to make sure you know what was in each dish and described them to make sure you would like it, or recommend something else that may be more to your liking. They hit the nail on the head for everyone that came. My meal would be their Thai chili glazed chicken wings that were FABULOUS and could be one of the best non “buffalo” style wings in South Jersey. Then I had the beef stew noodle soup that was fresh, flavorful, and delicious from first bite all the way to the last bite which was even more impressive than the first after all the different ingredients had time to simmer together to form on of the best bowls of this version of Pho around the area. There may not be much around the area to visit besides the hospital, or things to do, but BN is reason enough to make a visit to this part of South Jersey.

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The Inn at Pocono Manor – Pocono Manor, PA

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Bluejeanfood

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The Inn at Pocono Manor – Pocono Manor, PA

I was lucky enough to visit The Inn at Pocono Manor (IPM) which mixed luxury, history, and nature seamlessly all into one. They have been open since 1902 and are on the National Registry of Historic Places. They have a little bit of everything for everyone and a wonderful staff. You could relax and enjoy your time around the resort all day with a movie theater, very nice arcade room, activities, indoor and outdoor pools, a fun little playground for kids, and multiple restaurants. If you need to get a little deeper into nature, they have a few nature trails that were easy to walk, and a Sports Centre that had lots of things to do for every age and skill level. Best of all, at IPM many of the outdoor sports to do were included free of cost from fishing, archery, and the bb gun range. Then for those interested, for an additional charge a golf course, stables with horseback riding, or a full service spa is available on the resort property as well. Add this to being in a central location that within a 15-30 minute drive you have luxury shopping, antique shopping, small towns to explore, multiple indoor water parks to choose from, lakes, state parks to hike, and nice restaurants to dine at; IPM truly was a wonderful break from city life and the noise that comes with it. I highly recommend giving IPM a try. Below are a few pictures of my meal at “The Exchange”, one of the restaurants available to dine at onsite at IPM and I thoroughly enjoyed every course.

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Abby’s Café – Pennsauken, NJ

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Bluejeanfood

Abby’s Café – Pennsauken, NJ

Cooper River Park has had a dramatic transformation with a fancy new restaurant, running trials, bridge, dredging of the water, ice rink in the winter, and more. I decided one morning to try Abby’s Café (AC) for breakfast. The area surrounding AC may be up and coming, but AC seemed a little behind the advances. The gentleman behind the counter could not have been nicer with a bubbly personality and extrememly friendly and welcoming, but the food was surprise for me.

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I would go with bacon, egg and cheese on rye. The eggs were cooked on an electric griddle that was giving some problems and took longer than desired, but the real downfall came when the sandwich was topped with prepackaged bacon out of a box sitting on the counter. It was such a shame as AC is now sitting on prime real estate in my mind with all of the new happenings going on a Cooper River Park and the man behind the counter was nice as pie and outgoing, but location and charm only go so far with me. Hopefully something can be done to upgrade the cooking method and use more fresh ingredients, and if so, AC could be a breakfast destination to the new crowds coming to the area.

 

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Society of Burgers – Sewell, NJ

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Bluejeanfood

Society of Burgers – Sewell, NJ

With a catchy nickname SOB, I was hoping Society of Burgers stood out from the crowd. What I can tell you is that the service was very friendly, interior fresh and modern, and a large variety of things to eat with SOS Society of Salads in the same space SOB/SOS has a little something for everyone. I would get their BBQ bacon cheese burger with applewood bacon, American cheese, haystack onions, bbq sauce and a side of crinkle cut fries.

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SOB/SOS was nice, but just did not stand out and scream a must visit for me to go out of my way to go there. I think they have a very nice concept to be able to franchise and become a new fast casual destination, but they need a little more something for me to make it a staple of my food travels. If you are in the area, certainly give them a try though, you might find a new stand-by for the nights you do not feel like cooking.

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Tiffin – Cherry Hill, NJ

Posted on August 9, 2016 by Bluejeanfood

Tiffin – Cherry Hill, NJ

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I find that great service goes a long way. Great service and good food go even further. I enjoy dining with my wife and three-year-old son. Some establishments I can see the hostess, server, or owner cringe when they see a toddler walk through the door. Others such as Tiffin embrace it. The staff as Tiffin was not only impressed with my son’s palate, they treated him like family and made sure he enjoyed himself and felt right at home. That alone would make me want to go to Tiffin again, but thankfully Tiffin served up some pretty good food as well.

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I would be served fish kali mirch which was tilapia marinated with crushed black pepper and fried, garlic naan, and lamb roganjosh which was cubes of lamb leg cooked with spinach, spices, and herbs. Tiffin’s food was not the best Indian food in the area, but they held their own, were very affordable, and were the first Indian restaurant that embraced a family dining atmosphere that I have dined at. A decent meal that the whole family can enjoy is hard to come by, and I commend Tiffin for being able to deliver.

 

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The Pocono Mountains Preview

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Bluejeanfood

The Pocono Mountains Preview

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The Pocono Mountains is such a large and beautiful area with such great natural wonders and family fun around every town offering a little something for everyone. Below are some highlights of my recent visit there. The three must visits in my opinion are Boulder Field, Piggy’s Restaurant, and Powerhouse Eatery in the area I toured, but I will certainly be back to explore more of the area and its dining destinations.

Sadly I deleted the food pictures of Piggy’s Restaurant, but trust me the breakfast here is delicious, the staff is amazingly friendly, and their gift shop has tons of great shirts, toys, and other things to buy. Highly recommended!

Boulder Field – Hickory Run State Park – No food, but an amazing sight to see in person and that a picture does this place no justice. Just go there!

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Powerhouse Eatery – Fried Chicken Teriyaki Dumplings with honey mustard sauce, Colossal crab cocktail, sautéed soft shell crabs with fresh veggies and potatoes, vegetable soup. This place was from beginning to end my favorite place to eat at.

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Sunset Green Restaurant and Bar – Sunset Sea Scallops (blackened sea scallops with a saffron cream served with grilled garlic bread), Cattleman’s BBQ wings, Beef vegetable soup. Great service and good food.

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Nick’s Lakehouse Restaurant – Smoked Sea Salt Rubbed Grilled Rib Eye with smoked gouda, peppers, onions, on a garlic shallot ciabatta roll. An amazing view, very friendly, and the deck is a great place to hang out and be with the cool crowd 🙂

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Feed Mill – Portobella mushroom stuffed with claw crabmeat and topped with mozzarella cheese, mini-shrimp cocktail, lobster bisque soup, red snapper topped with lump crab meat with broccoli and fries. An interesting history and friendly service here. Snapper was tasty and crab was nice pieces of lump crabmeat.

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Jin Jin – Sewell, NJ

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Bluejeanfood

Jin Jin – Sewell, NJ

I am always fascinated with trying new dining destinations in strip malls around South Jersey. Sometimes you find the most amazing surprises. My surprise visit this time would be at Jin Jin (JJ). As soon as I entered JJ I could tell that their bread and butter is the take-out type Chinese food we have all come to know.

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My order would be wonton soup, which was surprisingly delicious and better than the average variety around with a really nice pork mixture inside the wonton and broth very flavorful. The entrée would be boneless spare ribs and pork fried rice. If you have ever had this entrée from any take-out Chinese establishment, you know what JJ served to me. No better and no worse than anyone else. The staff at JJ was friendly, the décor extremely bland, and reasonable prices. JJ is not for everyone, but I would say having them deliver to your house on a night you did not feel like cooking is probably the best way to experience JJ since there is no need to dine-in.

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Local Links Market Café – Haddon Heights, NJ

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Bluejeanfood

Local Links Market Café – Haddon Heights, NJ

During a visit to the quaint tiny town of Haddon Heights, New Jersey I found Local Links Market Café (LLMC). Immediately upon walking inside LLMC you can tell they are part of the “local and sustainable” mantra of doing business. They have a tiny section of goods to purchase, a few tables and chairs to dine in, and a beautiful display case of their specialty meats and products. I would go with the sausage sandwich special of the day.

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The sandwich consisted of Guiseppi Link Sausage, broccoli rabe, fresh roasted peppers, onions, and was topped with sharp provolone. LLMC impressed with a delicious sandwich with the perfect combination of flavors and cooked it beautifully. I really enjoyed my time at LLMC with extremely friendly service, nice and interesting goods to buy at the truest meaning of a “mini-mart”, a community minded business model, and the ability to take quality fresh meats home. LLMC may abide by the “local” mantra, but I will not. Since I am not local to LLMC, I will be going for a drive to see them more often.

 

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Larry’s Steaks – 10th & Girard – Philadelphia, PA

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Bluejeanfood

Larry’s Steaks – 10th & Girard – Philadelphia, PA

Cheesesteaks, cheesesteaks, cheesesteaks! That is what anyone who is not from the Philadelphia area thinks about. Well there are many well-known cheesesteak proprietors around Philadelphia and Larry’s Steaks (LS) is one of them with a few locations to help satisfy your need. My visit to LS would be their 10th and Girard location.  Upon entering LS they had a very diverse mix of clientele inside, some more together then others. LS was packed with every seat and counter seat taken and the staff buzzing around wildly filling the orders. The service was blunt, loud, and a little hectic. I would go with a cheesesteak with American cheese, fried onions, and ketchup.

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I will give LS credit, where credit is due. The sandwich was filled nicely with meat, roll stood up well, and price was reasonable. I can see why they are successful and if I around a LS location again I would not hesitate to patronize them again. Was this the best cheesesteak around? No, but sometimes convenience and price is a good consolation prize and to be the best at that moment.

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Ocean Asian Cuisine – Sewell, NJ

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Bluejeanfood

Ocean Asian Cuisine – Sewell, NJ

New Jersey is known for their abundance of strip malls, whether good or bad. Well Ocean Asian Cuisine (OAC) falls into the good category. The saying, do not judge a book by its cover fits OAC perfectly. Completely unassuming on the outside, the second you step foot into OAC you are transformed to an entirely different world especially for the location they are at. You would expect such décor, music, food styling, and service in the city, but not in the heart of Jersey’s suburbs. I was happy before I even ordered, but when I did finally decide what I wanted; my order would be Red Snapper with Thai Chili Sauce.

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The dish was lightly fried red snapper beautifully plated and displayed. My fish was slightly overcooked and sauce was more than the dish needed, but I must say I did enjoy it nonetheless. OAC has a very large menu and goes from Chinese to Japanese and by the looks of the sushi coming out OAC has some nice options that I hope to try sometime soon. OAC was not perfect, but they were a pleasant surprise and one of the better options around the area they serve.

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