Pizza and Sandwich Heaven

Riviera Pizza

6 Stokes Road

Medford, NJ 08055

Growing up in the Medford area, I got used to eating at a lot of the same restaurants growing up because there simply was not a whole lot of places to eat at. One of the few good ones is called Riviera Pizza, and it has two different locations in Medford. One is more of a sit down restaurant, which is the one that I went to recently, and the other is more of a take-out place, but they do have some stools at which to sit and eat your food.

Riviera does a lot of great things, including their pizza, but this particular trip I ordered a delicious sandwich containing grilled chicken, broccoli rabe, provolone cheese, and roasted peppers. I added a handful of hot peppers as well for a bit of diversity.

The sandwich was steaming hot when it came out, and once it had cooled a bit, I began eating. It was a sandwich that was packed with flavor. The chicken was seasoned with a bunch of bold flavors, and the grilled taste really came through in each and every bite. The addition of the spicy peppers was bomb because the spice really added another element to the sandwich.

Riviera is a must visit for anyone looking for a meal in Medford. They not only do sandwiches very well, but any kind of pasta or Italian favorite would be a good choice. Their pizza is really phenomenal as well. Give either of their Medford locations a try and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Fall Preview

Hey everybody,

I hope you have all enjoyed your summers. I did for the most part, if it wasnt for the CPA exam studying. However as we switch gears into my favorite season of the year, I wanted to update you all on a few things. I have 30 or more reviews written that I will be posting over the following weeks. They include restaurants from Jersey to Miami, Philly to Puerto Rico. I wish I wasn't so far behind, but I have been busy, and the CPA studying is really killing my free time, so I apologize for that.

On another note, I will be going to Buddakan based on your answers to the poll question asked a few months ago. I am not sure when, but I will be going in the fall sometime because you all voted for it! Speaking of the fall, here's a little preview of what to expect from my fall reviews:

Bindi - Indian (closing September 24th, so go try it now!)

Union Trust - Steakhouse

Barbuzzo - Mediterranean

Casona - Cuban

Amada - Spanish Tapas

Triumph Brewery - Brew Pub

Devon Seafood - Seafood

Monk's Cafe - Belgian

I will also periodically be posting about things like my first from scratch baking experience, and other cooking adventures I take on along the way. Any feedback, praise or criticism you want to give me will be greatly appreciated as I continue along my blogging journey! Cheers!

Sunday Brunchin' in Philadelphia

Fairmount Water Works

640 Water Works Drive

Philadelphia, PA 19130

www.thewaterworksrestaurant.com/

My girlfriend recently graduated from Villanova University’s Master of Accountancy program, so her parents were in town for the weekend. We decided to do a brunch together with both our families at the Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia. I was very excited to do this because I love brunch and have heard nothing but good things about the Water Works.

From the minute that we entered the building, I knew that it was going to be a great experience. The decoration is amazing, and the high ceilings really blew me away. It had an old time feel to it that I loved. I ordered a bloody Mary to start, and I was really happy that I did once I tasted it. It was a very delicious bloody Mary. It was spicy, salty, and acidic; I enjoyed each and every sip.

When we made our way outside to the canopy under which the buffet was set up, I was in complete awe. The entire buffet was extremely elegant, and I didn’t even know where to begin. They had a buffet line for breakfast items like bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and smoked salmon. Additionally, they had an omelet station, waffle station, crepes station, carving station, fresh seafood table, and a dessert table. I wanted to try everything, but there was simply too many things to try. I made about three different trips simply trying to taste as much as I could, but I had to throw in the towel before I could try it all.

Notable items that I would recommend trying would be any kind of crepe or omelet. I had a crepe filled with apples, nutella, cream, and cinnamon sugar. It was amazing! The bacon and sausage were good, as well as the biscuits and gravy. I had not had good biscuits and gravy since I moved back to the area from North Carolina, but these particular biscuits were fluffy and scrumptious. The other thing not to miss was the smoked salmon. The smoke flavor was incredibly prevalent in it, and it was definitely a homerun.

Nothing that I tried at Water Works was bad, and I would say that most likely anything that you would get there would be pretty well done. Sunday brunch is a really fun thing to take part in, and Water Works only made it that much better. Liquor drinks are not included in the price, but I still think that it was a great value for what we got. Get out there and try it! Cheers!

Mexican...Yes, Chinese...Yes, Mexican/Chinese...No

Mei Wei Diner

85 Route 70 East

Cherry Hill, NJ 08034

http://www.meiweidiner.com/

On a recent Friday, three of my friends from work and I went to try a new place in the Barclay shopping center for lunch. My friend had originally told me that it was Mexican/Italian, but it is actually Chinese/Mexican. I was hoping that we would find a good Chinese place to go, but we did not find it here.

We were the only diners in the restaurant, and now having eaten there, I know exactly why. The food was of very low quality. Maybe it was because I ordered from the Mexican side of the menu at a Chinese restaurant, but boy was my choice poor. Don't get my wrong, I love both Mexican and Chinese food, but ordering Mexican at a place that is really meant to be Chinese was probably a bad move on my part.

I ordered the Special Lunch which is a burrito filled with ground beef, refried beans, topped with white Mexican cheese. The only good part of the whole meal was the spicy sauce that was served with the burrito. The burrito itself was very plain. It had no flavor, the beef was dry, and I could not taste any hint of the refried beans. The cheese on top was not very good either. I definitely could have done without it completely.

I will not be returning to Mei Wei again. I know of enough Asian places in the area to keep me satisfied, and they are of much better quality than this particular one was. Stay away from Mei Wei, and look at my blog for some other good choices in the area if you are looking for a good Asian meal. Cheers!

The "Champpion" of Good Bar Food

Chammp’s

25 Route 73 South

Marlton, NJ 08053

http://www.champps.com/default.aspx?tabid=265

On the final day of field work for me a few weeks ago, it was my choice of where we should eat, and since Redstone was out of the question, I decided on one of my favorite places to eat in Marlton; Chammp’s.

I have been to Chammp’s quite a few times over the years, and I am almost always very satisfied. This particular time would be no different. I decided on ordering the firehouse burger with their fantastically delicious waffle fries. As I have mentioned before, I am a sucker for anything spicy, and that carries over to burgers as well. I appreciate all types of burgers, but a spicy burger is what can really make a lasting impression on me.

This burger was amazing. The charred crust was perfect, the exact amount of grilled flavor that I look for in a burger, and the spicy pepper medley on top was the real kicker. I added my usual additions of mustard and ketchup, and the perfection was complete. Each bite was full of delicious flavor and the heat was dispersed nicely throughout the entire burger.

The waffle fries at Chammp’s are famous. They are so incredibly delicious that any time you say the name Chammp’s around people they will bring up the waffle fries. I always make up a little sauce concoction to dip them in, but they do not really even need it. They are crunchy, salty, and screaming with fried potato goodness.

Chammp’s is a must visit for anyone that gets the chance. They have great barbeque items, including the burgers, but they also have all different kinds of delicious treats. The draft beer selection is stellar as well, so it’s a great venue to go out and have a few drinks at as well. Give it a shot and then give me a shout and let me know what it was like! Cheers!

Yet Another Fantastic Italian Spot

Ragazzi

44 Route 70 East

Marlton, NJ 08053

ragazzimarlton.com/

On Tuesday of the week that I was out at a client, my friend from work got to choose the place we ate at, and he chose Ragazzi. It is another Italian joint in Marlton, owned by the same people that own Franco’s. I was happy that I did not have to be paying for my meals, so I did not really care where we ate! Haha.

Ragazzi was as good if not better than Franco’s. I had a bowl of chicken pastini and a half of a roast pork sandwich. It was an interesting experience for me because the chicken pastini was completely different than the chicken pastini I had had just a few days earlier. This chicken pastini was a clear broth and the pasta was quite different as well. In this particular pastini, the pasta was a small pearled pasta as opposed to a full pasta like in the previous chicken pastini that I had had. However it was still extremely good and I sopped up each and every bit of the delicious soup and broth.

The roast pork sandwich was not the best I have ever had (I think I am ruined forever because no where will ever be as good as DiNic’s) but it was still a pretty good roast pork sandwich. It could have been made better by the addition of long hots or some greens, but the pork itself was quite delicious and the cheese was melted and gooey, the perfect way for it to be.

I am really glad my boss showed me some of these places because they are the type of places that you will just drive on by if you do not know that they are there. I drive around the area that they are in and I would have never known that they were there. Ragazzi would definitely be worthy of my recommendation for all of you readers out there, so get out there, try it, and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Affordable Italian Eats in Marlton

Franco’s
65 East Route 70

Marlton, NJ 08053

Apparently after writing this review, Franco's had a fire and was completely burned down. However, after looking at their facebook page, they have plans in the work to remodel and rebuild, so you will still be able to get great italian food in Marlton. Check out their facebook page for more updates.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Francos-Restaurant-Marlton/172578859466790#!/pages/Francos-Restaurant-Marlton/172578859466790?sk=wall&filter=2 

A few weeks ago I had to go out to a client in Marlton, New Jersey for three days, so naturally we went out to eat for lunch every day. Now I live close to Marlton, but I really do not know too many lunch places to eat at. However my boss on the job lives right there, so he knew exactly where to take us for lunch every day. The first day he decided to take us to Franco’s, a place that I did not even know was there.

The menu at Franco’s was huge! As is the situation in a lot of Italian restaurants, they offer so many kinds of pasta, pizza, and sandwiches, that the menu becomes a bit overwhelming at times. I have been trying to eat as healthy as a I can when I go out to eat lately because I have been doing P90x, so I decided on the chicken sandwich with balsamic vinegar, provolone cheese, and tomatoes.

The sandwich was very well done. The bread was crunchy, and the filling of the sandwich was hot the entire time I ate it. I hate when sandwiches go cold halfway through eating my meal, but I did not have that problem at Franco’s. The chicken was grilled perfectly, the cheese was melted all the way through, and the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar rounded out the flavor perfectly in this sandwich.

Franco’s is definitely worth a visit if you know where it is or are in the mood for good food at a reasonable price. It is easy to access, right of Route 70 in Marlton, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a little variety. As I said before the menu is so big that I am sure that anyone who goes can find something to their liking. Cheers!

Hazards Everywhere...

Medford Village Country Club

1 Golfview Drive

Medford, NJ 08055

www.medfordvillage.com/

It has become a tradition of my family to go to Medford Village Country Club on Mother’s Day for brunch. We usually go with my grandpa, his wife, and my family. Usually they offer a complete brunch buffet, but this year they changed it up a bit by offering an appetizer and dessert buffet, and you had a choice of what you would like your entrée to be. I chose the duck breast served with white beans and escarole salad and sausage, and then I dove into the appetizer and salad buffet.

My girlfriend and I split a cup of chicken pastini, a salad topped with fresh balls of mozzarella, fresh calamari salad, cucumbers, grilled vegetables, and salami, and a wasabi crabcake.

The soup happened to be my favorite item from the start of the meal. It had a fantastic tomato broth, and the chicken and vegetables were extremely tender and delicious. The crabcake was pretty good, but the wasabi sauce that was drizzled on top of it was described as “grainy” by my girlfriend and I would have to agree with her. Had it been smooth and creamy, it would have been a much more successful dish. The salad was very well done as well. All of the separate items were fantastically prepared, and the freshness was certainly noticeable.

My main course was a smorgasbord of items, not all of which seemed to fit together. I really enjoyed my first experience eating duck breast. It was cooked perfectly to medium doneness and the seasoning was on point. However the white bean puree that was supposed to come with my meal was simply cooked white beans, and the sausage mixed in with the escarole was kind of pointless. While the white beans were cooked perfectly and were very tasty, I was disappointed that they were not in puree form. Also, the escarole was very good, but the sausage did not really fit into the rest of the dish. It simply felt like chunks of sausage were cooked and thrown in to the cooked escarole. If the escarole had been cooked in the sausage drippings, or the sausage had been stuffed in the duck breast, the dish would have been much more cohesive and successful.

The dessert was by far the best part of the meal. As you can see below, there was quite a few choices on the dessert table including, key lime shots, peanut butter cup shots, carrot cake, peanut butter rice krispie treats, and much, much more! I love the little dessert shots because they are the perfect size and they allow you to try many different things. My favorites were the key lime and the peanut butter rice krispie treat. Both were perfectly sweet and had different elements of crunch. The crust for the key lime was amazing, and the crispy nature of the rice krispie treat under the chocolate coating was a wonderfully hidden surprise.

I am still a bit weary to suggest Medford Village as a place to try. I am not even sure if you can eat there if you are not a member, but I have had very mixed feelings about it each and every time that I have dined there. Even if you had a choice I would have to stay away from telling you to try it simply because of the lack of consistency in my experiences. Cheers!

High Quality Seafood

McCormick and Schmick’s

941 Haddonfield Road

Cherry Hill, NJ 08034

http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/Locations/new-jersey/cherry-hill-new-jersey/HaddonfieldRd.aspx

For a very long time, and especially since the Cherry Hill location opened up, I have been wanting to go to McCormick and Schmick’s. They have a very good reputation and I love finding places that serve great seafood. I had a gift certificate, so my girlfriend and I decided to make a trip out to Cherry Hill and give it a try.

The ambiance in both the bar and the restaurant was very cool. It had an old time steak-house kind of feel to it. The waiters were dressed like they would be in a steak house and I really find that appealing. Once we got seated I had a tough time as usual choosing my meal. My girlfriend and I have definitely developed similar tastes over the time period that we have been dating, so choosing things to share is not usually a problem. We chose the steamed Manila clams for an appetizer, the arugula salad, I chose the mahi mahi for my main course, she chose the salmon pesto pasta, and we split the cheesecake for dessert.

While we waited for our food, our cocktails came out and they were fantastic. Mine was a gin gimlet with lime juice and fresh cucumber. It was one of the better cocktails that I have had, and I was shocked because it seems so very simple. The delicate flavors of each ingredient all worked together perfectly to make a complex glass of deliciousness.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the clams were incredibly flavorful. A lot of times when I have clams they miss the mark, they really do not soak up too much of the flavor of whatever broth that they are cooked. These particular clams however tasted of rich garlic, white wine, and butter in each and every bite.

The salad was a nice pallet cleanser after the saltiness of the clam broth. The fennel, dried cranberries and basil vinaigrette were fresh and inviting flavors, and they prepared me for the next course in a fantastic way.

When my fish came out, I knew that I had made the right choice. As you can see in the photo, the piece of mahi mahi was gigantic! It was more like a steak than a piece of fish. It was seasoned perfectly, crusted perfectly, and complemented perfectly by the red wine reduction that it was served with. The sauce was incredible! It was like a mixture between a nice pinot noir and a delicious au jus. It enhanced the flavor of the mahi to completely new heights! The pearled couscous with spinach and crab was a bit lacking for me. It did not match up to the rest of the dish because it was a bit bland. It was cooked perfectly, but it lacked flavor and seasoning.

We can never finish off a meal without dessert, so we dove into our cheesecake head on. It had a maple sauce that was 100 times better than pancake syrup, and the graham cracker crust invoked heaven as it almost always does with desserts. The brown sugar around the plate was perfect for adding just a touch more sweetness to each and every bite. It was hard to keep from licking the plate clean once the cheesecake was gone!

I was very impressed with McCormick and Schmick’s and I was pleasantly surprised by how affordable it was. People had led me to believe that it was very expensive, but for my girlfriend and I to go to dinner, split an appetizer, salad, each order an entrée, split a dessert and each have a cocktail for under a $100 is pretty darn good in my mind. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a really delicious meal for an affordable price. Cheers!

Kebabs...on a Sandwich!!!

Hummus

18 Greenfield Avenue

Ardmore, PA 19003

www.hummusrestaurant.com/contact.asp

My obsession with Middle Eastern Cuisine began with my trip to Bahrain in the summer of 2009. So also began my love for lamb because I finally tried it while I was in Bahrain. Naturally when I go to Middle Eastern restaurants, the first thing that I look for is the lamb dishes. The way that lamb is cooked in the Middle East is simply not even comparable to the way that lamb is cooked here in the States.

My girlfriend and my cousin’s wife had been to Hummus twice for lunch and they simply raved about it both times. I had to go to test it out for myself, so a few weeks ago on a Friday night, my girlfriend and I ate there. We split an order of hummus and wheat pita and I ordered the lamb kabob sandwich.

The hummus was really well done. The texture of hummus when it is made the right way is bar none, and this hummus was really fantastic. The whole wheat pita was used to soak up each and every bit of hummus that I could!

The kabob sandwich was amazing! The filling was served inside of a whole wheat pita. It consisted of seasoned lamb pieces, red cabbage, and a green spicy sauce that was incredibly welcome to give each and every bite of the pita an extra kick.

Middle Eastern cuisine is intricate and complex, and it really is something to be appreciated. Those who are afraid to try it, should give it a try because it might change your perspectives. Hummus is definitely a great place to begin that journey because the food is simple yet still completely true to the Middle Easten tradition! Cheers!