The Perfect Peach

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Bluejeanfood

(The following is a special report on Bluejeanfoodcritic.com written by guest contributing writer Angela Timm)

Tuesday, September 9, The Tortilla Press, Collingswood, New Jersey. Summer comes to a triumphant end for one South Jersey amateur baker. After months of delicious competition the five South Jersey finalists for the 2nd Annual Perfect Peach Pie Contest sponsored by the New Jersey Peach Promotion Council sat face to face in a final showdown of the sweetest kind. Phyliss Rudolph, of Ventnor, impressed judges at the Margate Farmers Market. Anne Danilak, of Mickleton/East Greenwich Twp, took the title at the NJ Peach Festival at the Gloucester County 4-H Fair. Gretchen Gautier stole the show with impeccably fresh glazed peaches and shortbread pie crust at the Hammonton Downtown Market. Bill Paulin, Brigantine’s Pie Guy, won first place against friendly but fierce competition at the Brigantine Farmers Market. Cheryl Pope was the hometown favorite after her victory at the Collingswood Farmers Market. Judges Chef Mark Smith from The Tortilla Press, Michael DiBartolo, owner of DiBartolo’s Bakery, and John and Mary Ebert, from Springdale Farm crowned perfection among its peers.

pie judges

And the Grand Prize winner was….Gretchen Guatier from Hammonton!

pie winner

After the announcement, I enjoyed carne asada tacos served on fresh corn tortillas topped with onions, lime, and cilantro garnished with generous amounts of roasted tomato jalapeno salsa and tomatillo avocado salsa.

There could be no finer way to celebrate this season’s delicious and abundant harvest of peaches.

pie pie

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Little Tuna – Haddonfield, NJ

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Bluejeanfood

Little Tuna – Haddonfield, NJ

Situated right in the heart of Haddonfield, New Jersey’s bustling downtown is Little Tuna (LT). You walk through a small, yet charming seafood market in order to get to the restaurant. Once inside the décor is modern and fresh and a nice change from the usual fishing nets and ocean paraphernalia found hanging around most seafood establishments. LT had a decent sized crowd for lunch the day I visited and I would start my meal off with a bowl of roasted lobster bisque with sherry.

little tuna soup

This might have been one of the top five lobster bisque soups I have ever had. If this soup tastes this good every day, I wonder how LT does not have a line of customers out the door with bowls in hand waiting for a ladle full of this liquid gold. It was creamy, sweet, extremely flavorful and generous with portions of lobster meat. The only thing I would change would be that I would like a jar of large oyster crackers to accompany the soup instead of two packets of the smaller crackers. Up next would be honey jalapeno sea scallops.

litte tuna scallop

The scallops came served in a metal sizzling dish topped with a honey jalapeno sauce and stuffed with crab meat. The meal also included carrots, broccoli, and mashed potatoes. I really liked the flavor combination of the honey jalapeno topping the scallops and the crab meat added was delicious and portion generous. The vegetables were crisp and cooked nicely as were the mashed potatoes. The scallops were overcooked just slightly, but were of decent size. The service at LT was efficient and friendly and the prices were reasonable for a nice seafood restaurant. LT served me one of the better lunches I had in some time and I look forward to trying even more things from the in the future, unless I just fill myself with that amazing roasted lobster bisque with sherry.

Overall

Four and quarter Stars out of Five

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Iron Hill Brewery – Maple Shade, NJ

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Bluejeanfood

Iron Hill Brewery – Maple Shade, NJ

Situated a little off the main roads sits Iron Hill Brewery (IHB). It was a zig-zag of roads it seemed to get there, and their sign popped out of nowhere. Once inside the place is gigantic. It is a good thing as a large crowd was already there and they were hopping for lunch service. I can only imagine what happy hour or the weekends look like at IHB. It is no secret IHB’s big draw is beer, but I came here to eat, was with my toddler aged son, and for his mother to approve of this lunch I did not think drinking would be advisable having to drive him home. After a brief overview of IHB from the bubbly server, the order of the day would be their House Smoked Pork Sandwich.

iron hill

The pork sandwich consisted of hickory smoked pulled pork with St. Louis style barbeque sauce on a toasted bun. I must admit that I was not expecting much, and was pleasantly surprised. The pork was moist, not chewy in the least, and had a nice even consistency throughout while the sauce really enhanced and was a joy to eat. The fries were above average, cooked perfectly, and portion size was not an issue in the least.

One of the things that surprised me the most about my visit to IHB was the amount of children present. I second guessed bringing my son there, but once inside they treated him like a rock star, provided him with his own crayon set to keep, and they have one of the best children’s menus I have seen around at a very affordable price.

This was my first time to any IHB as they have many locations, but it will certainly not be my last. They have intrigued me with their menu, quality, fast and friendly service, and most importantly their unique beer selection which I will try next time without bringing the little guy with me.

 

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Belinda’s Lunch Bus – Camden, NJ

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Bluejeanfood

Belinda’s Lunch Bus – Camden, NJ

bus

Sitting on a sidewalk across from the South Jersey Port Corporation in Camden, New Jersey that has definitely seen better days is Belinda’s Lunch Bus (BLB). If and when I would have a reason to divert through this area to get on Interstate 676, BLB always intrigued me. I decided to stop in and get a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on a bagel.

bus sandwich

The inside of BLB is somewhat amazing with the transformation as they were able to turn an old school bus into a quasi-diner. They have a television to watch, a long table and chairs on the driver side of bus, drink and condiment station on passenger side of the bus, counter in the middle of the bus, and kitchen taking up the entire rear. The interior of the bus is very clean and immaculate and the two women working that day could not have been nicer to the crowd waiting, which you could tell had a lot of regulars as each person knew each other by name. The bus was packed with patrons and tractor trailers surrounding it on both sides of the road waiting to get in or leaving the port. I called my order in twenty minutes before arrival, but sadly still had to wait another fifteen minutes before my order was ready. I do not rate breakfast, but what I can tell you is that my sandwich was delicious, bacon crisp the way I like, and felt welcome at BLB. You may have to wait quite a while to get what you came for, but you will as least hear the news of the day in and around the port while you are there.

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Porky’s Point – Philadelphia, PA

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Bluejeanfood

Porky’s Point – Philadelphia, PA

I love the other white meat, pork. I also loved my visit to Puerto
Rico a few years ago with their love of pork on almost every menu.
Well Puerto Rican pork is alive and well sitting in the Hunting
Park section of Philadelphia with Porky’s Point (PP). PP may be
located in a rougher area of Philadelphia than most are comfortable
to visit, but they are serving some of the best pork around.

As soon as I walked up to PP’s windows to order, I knew I was in
the right place for me with a sign that states, “We do not sell
lean pork”. What they do sell is tasty pork, as well as many other
specialties like tostones, mofongo, pastellios, rice and beans,
relleno de papa, and platano con carne. My order would be a pork
sandwich with hot sauce.

porky's point

The roll was fresh with a nice crisp exterior that enabled the
interior to suck up all the pork juices and hot sauce, while the
roll did not become soggy at all on the outside. The pork was a
mixture of pieces from all over the hog, skin and all, then put on
a butcher block and chopped to perfection allowing each bite to be
uniform with very generous serving of pork in the sandwich. The
hot sauce gave the sandwich just that extra flair, while not
overpowering the pork’s fantastic flavor.

Service was very friendly, but the menu seemed a little erratic in
a mix of some things only listed in English and others only listed
in Spanish with some items crossed out on both and additional
signs dotting the windows of other options to possibly order. The
prices were very reasonable and line moved quickly at the rush of
a lunch crowd. If PP could put the time into making two excellent
signs of their menu offerings, one in English and one in Spanish
to hang in the windows, they could really help out a lot of
prospective customers to choose wisely and returning customers to
try new things. I would not recommend a night-cap at PP to give
them a try, but a mid-afternoon lunch should be a must for any
pork lover out there.

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Cap’N Cats Clam Bar & Tavern – West Deptford, NJ

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Bluejeanfood

Cap’N Cats Clam Bar & Tavern – West Deptford, NJ

Cap’N Cats Clam Bar & Tavern (CNC) feels a bit out of place in West Deptford, New Jersey. The exterior and interior of CNC seems more fitted for an on the water back-bay sort of local seafood bar, not a landlocked standalone establishment. Doing the best they can with no water around them, I give CNC credit for doing it up in the middle of nowhere. I just wish they would have given as much thought and energy towards the food as they did the decor.

Ever hear of the saying what goes up, must come down? Well that is how my meal went at CNC. Things started out quite nicely with an order of Steamed Shrimp. They were generous in size, seasoned beautifully, steamed to perfection, and came with a nice cup of melted butter that most places do not give with an appetizer of shrimp. The sweet shrimp combined with the warm salty ooze of the butter had the shrimp just melt in my mouth.

captin cat peel shrimp

The downhill spiral started to begin my cup of Snapper Soup. The soup was extremely light in any aspects of snapper or seasoning being in the soup and it almost had a taste of being thinned out. I do not know if they were running out of the soup and decided to stretch the last bit out for me or if this is how it is always served. If this is how CNC always serves it I would recommend anyone who has never had snapper soup to try it here first as it is a light version of a very thick and hearty soup that I am used to and if you like CNC’s version of the soup you will love other places that do it even better.

captin cat snapper soup

To finish the evening, my scallops with a side of french fries were served. I will begin my rant by stating they were served with double-breaded french fries. Anyone who has followed me in the past knows my feelings of a restaurant copping out by using these cheap incarnations of something resembling a french fry, but are far from it. To make matters worse, the scallops were so overcooked it might have been easier to digest a bouncy ball instead of these things. Scallops are such a wonderful treat to eat when done well, and a terrible tragedy when done wrong. I had such high hopes for CNC after the steamed shrimp, but sadly things ended much worse than they started out.

captain cap broiled scallops

CNC has a nice bar area and an even nicer seafood display as soon as you open the door to enter. I have a feeling I may have ordered completely wrong at CNC. They call themselves a clam bar and I shied away from eating even one clam from them. If someone was to invite me to have a drink at CNC, I would order the steamed shrimp again and try my luck with something clam related. I could even see myself just buying some fresh seafood from the display case and taking it home to enjoy. I just can not see myself ordering the snapper soup or scallops again.

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Honey’s Sit N’ Eat – Philadelphia, PA

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Bluejeanfood

Honey’s Sit N’ Eat – Philadelphia, PA

With the gentrification of South Street west of Broad Street came along Honey’s Sit N’ Eat (HSE) just as a HSE came to North 4th Street with the gentrification of the North Liberties neighborhood many years ago. HSE touts an American comfort food menu with breakfast served all day and dishes heavy on nostalgia with locally sourced ingredients. The crowd the day I visited was quite eclectic and seemed HSE was more of a place where to be seen instead as opposed to what should be eaten. I decided to go with the Patty Melt.

honey

The Patty Melt consisted of a burger with swiss cheese and caramelized onions on marbled rye and a side of fries. The burger was nice, but slightly dry and completely overcooked as it was well done and I asked for it to be medium. The fries also were overcooked in a major way as instead of having the consistency of a French fry they had the feel of potato stix as they were beyond crispy, they were dehydrated and hard.  It was such a shame as the caramelized onions were beyond wonderful. Some of the best I have had anywhere, and  I do not see French Onion Soup listed on their menu, but I would be first in line to try it if they put that quality of caramelized onions in the soup and wonder why more menu items do have them included. The rye was grilled well and had a nice consistency to it showing that the bread was fresh, not overcooked, and holding up well throughout the meal.

HSE had such a high with the onions and such a low with the fries and overcooked burger. What I ordered was basic and there really is no excuse for the way it was executed. The staff seemed a little standoffish to me, but very welcoming to those who were obviously regulars. They were one step up with the onions and many steps back on many other fronts. I would give them another try, but nothing is having me rush back anytime soon.

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The Farm & Fisherman Tavern + Market – Cherry Hill, NJ

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Bluejeanfood

The Farm & Fisherman Tavern + Market – Cherry Hill, NJ

Just because a dining destination is great or successful in Philadelphia does not mean that it will translate well over the bridge in New Jersey and vice versa. With keeping this in mind, Chef/Owner Josh & Colleen Lawler have done it right with The Farm & Fisherman Tavern + Market (FF) in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Realizing that as wonderful as their Farm and Fisherman Restaurant in Philadelphia is, with them living in New Jersey they knew it would not be the right fit to just duplicate what they have in Philly to Jersey. They had to come up with something a little bit different, but with the integrity and mission statement they hold dear, and with that in mind came the concept for FF. I came for lunch and I would get things started with a beer I do not see offered much in places around Jersey and is one of my favorites for summertime, 21st Amendment Brewery’s Hell Or High Watermelon Wheat Beer with a snack of 24-Hour Onion Dip & Chips.

beer

chips and dip

I could not have asked for a better way to start things off. The chips were some of the best around, and the dip was by far and away one of the best dips I have ever had. The onions were so flavorful and cooked just right, and I guess from having them stew in the dip for 24-Hours just made it all that much better. The beer and chips were dangerous combination and one that if I could eat regularly could cause my doctor to not be very pleased with me. The next order of business on my to-do list would be their Smoked and Grilled Wings.

smoked and grilled wings

The wings had a nice smoke flavor to them, grilled nicely, and the sauce and cheese on the bottom of the dish really complimented themselves perfectly. The only downfall was that the wings were a little tough and rubbery. They did not pull apart nicely, and the meat stuck to the bone a little too much. I think I may have just had a bad batch with the cooking temp or timing being slightly off, because with the quality in flavors and effort that was put into preparing them, I find it hard to believe this is how they are served regularly. Even with the minor flaw, these wings were still by far and away much better than your standard order of wings at a bar, so do not let my criticism steer you away from trying them. To end my lunch I would have the Turkey Ruben with Swiss cheese and local sauerkraut on Rye with a side of fries.

turkey ruben

The turkey meat was fabulous, the rye was better than most, just the right amount of Swiss cheese melted on point, and the fries were delicious and cooked perfectly. My only complaint would be that the sauerkraut was ice cold. I would have enjoyed if it was thrown on the grill to warm up. The difference in temperature distracted from the overall experience, texture, and maybe even if it was just subconsciously to me the flavor. Even though that could have been different, I really enjoyed my time at FF. The service and staff were very efficient and accommodating, bar area is beautiful, ambiance is relaxing, and the tiny market is amazing with some neat local foodie products to take home and enjoy. FF provided me with one of the best lunch experiences around the South Jersey area.

Overall

Four out of Five Stars

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El Sitio Grill & Cafe – Collingswood, NJ

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Bluejeanfood

El Sitio Grill & Cafe – Collingswood, NJ

Strolling down Haddon Avenue in Collingswood, New Jersey your eyes
and nose are in for a treat. This street has a little bit of
everything for everyone and since I had never eaten at El Sitio Grill & Cafe
(ES) before I decided to give them a try for lunch. The inside is
very relaxing with a nice ambiance and mood about the place and
they have a large, if not the largest outdoor seating space of any
of Collingswood’s restaurants. ES starts your experience off with a
dish of Olive Oil sauteed mushrooms and herbs and fresh bread.

el sitio olive oil

I could have eaten ten dishes of this stuff, it was that good. It
was a nice change of pace from the normal and a great beginning.
My appetizer would be Argentinean Style Empanadas.

el sitio empanada

My Argentinean Style Empanadas consisted of wheat flour empanadas
stuffed with seasonings, fresh vegetables, herbs, chicken, and
beef. I went with the chicken and beef all in one since I could
not decide on which version I wanted more and my server
recommended to put them all in one. Well kudos to my well-informed
server, because they were fantastic this way and I highly suggest
any meal at ES to start out with them. My lunch entrée would be
the El Sitio Burger.

el sitio burger

The El Sitio Burger was beef, cheese, breaded onions, and homemade
BBQ Sauce. I will start out with the good. The fresh breaded
onions were fantastic and some of the best I have had in a long
time and the homemade bbq sauce was great. It gave the entire
burger a very nice distinct flavor unlike other burgers I have
had. It was not overpowering, yet it was strong enough to let you
know it was someone special and out of the ordinary. Now sadly on
to the bad. The roll was stale and just fell apart with each bite.
I requested my burger to be done medium, and it came out VERY well
done. It was served with provolone cheese. Not to say that I do
not enjoy a burger with provolone cheese, but this was not the
burger to be putting it on. It just put the flavor profile all out
of whack. Last but not least, the burger was served with the
dreaded double breaded french fry. Please I beg of all restaurants
to throw them in the trash, and either make your own or buy a
higher grade of french fry.

ES had their ups and downs, but I really did enjoy their ups
allowing me to slightly overlook their downs. The service was very
pleasant and efficient, prices were affordable, and they are
providing dishes not seen everywhere done well for the most part.
If they can keep an eye on the freshness of their rolls, be a
little more aware of overcooking their burgers, not putting
provolone cheese on them, and get a fresh french fry coming out of
the kitchen, ES has the potential to go from a place people are
talking about them for having dishes that are a little different then the
norm, to start talking about them having dishes you have to see and eat
to believe because of how good they are.

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The Crab House at Two Mile Landing – Wildwood Crest, NJ

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Bluejeanfood

The Crab House at Two Mile Landing – Wildwood Crest, NJ

Sitting far back off a tiny winding road that leaves Wildwood Crest and heads toward Cape May is The Crab House at Two Mile Landing and Marina (CH). I arrived during lunch time and was welcomed warmly. CH is a beautiful building with a picnic tables and a large bar as soon as you walk in and a gigantic dining room area as well as an even larger deck and bar in the rear of the place. They are setup nicely for the crowds that pack this place during the peak shore season and the views of the bay from CH are gorgeous and I can only imagine siting out and enjoying a nice sunset from CH. I came to eat for a quick off-season lunch and my order of the day would be a clam basket since my first choice of soft shell crabs and second choice of blue claws were not available.

crab house

The menu stated the fried clams strips were colossal Jersey clams. That may true, but with the amount of breading and the strips being so overcooked, all I tasted was beyond crispy fried bread to go along with the dreaded breaded French fries. It was such a disappointed with the superb service and nice atmosphere CH has going for itself. I came for crabs, but sadly only walked away crabby. I have a feeling if CH does crabs right, it may be one of the best places to go to, but with me not able to experience them I can only judge them with what I had. Even though my meal was not great, I enjoyed my time enough at CH to give them another try when I am around the area again, but next time I will call in advance to see if the crabs are available before I go.

 

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