Zeppoli
618 Collings Avenue
Collingswood, NJ 08107
I had been longing to get to this
popular little place in Collingswood for quite some time. I had gotten a gift
card a while ago, but had never attempted to make a reservation. I had been
hearing amazing things about it, especially from one of my friends who's
brother is a chef there. That place is Zeppoli. I was so excited to finally
step foot in the place, that I did not even mind that the only time I could get
a reservation was on Friday evening at 9:45. I took my brother and my
girlfriend, and low and behold, who was sitting in the dining room when I
walked in, but my friend, who’s brother is a chef at the restaurant and her
boyfriend. I knew she would be there.
The dining room is very small, and there
is definitely a lack of servers, I think that there was only one or two
actually for the room. It was very noisy, I think because of the way that the
room is decorated and set up, with a lot of wood which does not absorb the
noise very well. That being said, I think the negative things I have to say about
Zeppoli are now over. We started with a bread basket and a bowl of olives
marinated in olive oil. Simplicity was key with both, but they were very
delicious. I don’t really even like olives, but these were very delicious. The
olive oil accented the earthy flavors of the olives, and the lemon slices added
a nice bite of citrus.
We ordered the housemade sausage and
broccoli rabe for our appetizer and we were pretty impressed with it. The
sausage was very rustic in style, not as finely ground as you would find in a
store bought sausage, and I kind of liked that about it. The sliced garlic
cloves dispersed throughout the broccoli rabe were nice little surprises of
punch. As always, the bitterness of the broccoli rabe was wonderful and paired
so well with the delicious sausage.
The three of us were really looking
forward to getting into the pasta course of the meal. We decided to split the
pesto trapanese and the spinach and ricotta gnocchi. The spinach and ricotta
gnocchi were extremely different in both form and taste from any that I had
ever had. Again, the rustic nature of Joey Baldino's food was present with this
dish. The gnocchi were served in small round balls instead of the small pillow
shaped pasta's that they normally were served in. The spinach was very
prominent, and the gnocchi were very cheesy and light, so much so that I had a
hard time preventing myself from pulling the plate in front of me and not sharing with anyone. Not to be
outdone, the pesto trapanese was possibly one of the best pastas I have ever
had. The pasta was little spirals of freshness, doused in a magnificent pesto
sauce that stuck to every noodle like they were one and the same. The pesto
sauce was so rich and creamy. It had immense amounts of flavor. The vibrant
flavors of the basil and olive oil were terrific. I could have eaten more and
more of it, had the portion been a bit bigger.
Next up, our main courses were not quite
as good as the pasta dishes, but they were still excellent. I had heard
marvelous things about the fisherman's stew since Zeppoli had opened a few
months before. We had to order that, and
we also decided on the coniglio pizzaiola, rabbit stewed with tomato, oregano,
and rosemary roasted potatoes. The fisherman's stew was very tasty. The broth
was rich in flavor… there just wasn't enough of it for me. I really enjoyed the
tenderness of the seafood in the broth, and the large pearled couscous was
delicious too. It was the type of dish that I would love to have on a cold
winter night to help warm you up from the inside out. Clams, mussels, shrimp,
calamari, and fresh fish all combined to make for a really standout dish. The
rabbit dish on the other hand was very different. Unfortunately for me the
rabbit was a bit tougher than I would have liked it to be. The tomato sauce was
a nice addition to the dish, and it melded perfectly with the oregano to make a
taste flavor profile that anyone would fall in love with. The potatoes were
honestly the best part of the dish. They were crispy and warm, and they were
seasoned to absolute perfection. I could have eaten platefuls of them, if only
there had been more.
I had wanted to try zeppolis since I
heard of what they were, and since I knew that they would be on the menu at the
restaurant named after them, I was very much looking forward to trying them. We
also ordered the biancomangiare, a white chocolate panna cotta, and we split
both between the three of us. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to taste their
espresso either, because I knew that they must have some delicious Italian
coffee. The zeppolis were accompanied by a Nutella dipping sauce, which always
makes things better. O boy were these
zeppolis to die for. They were light and airy, tossed in a cinnamon sugar
coating, and still piping hot when they arrived to our table. Each bite melted
in my mouth. Even though they were perfect as they were, I of course had to
taste them with the dipping sauce of Nutella… heaven in each and every bite. The
little Italian donuts disappeared faster than I thought possible. The
biancomangiare was equally as delicious as the zeppolis. It had the perfect
texture, some of the best panna cotta I have ever tasted. Silky smooth and
fantastically creamy; each and every bite was scrumptious.
Three and a half pints for Zeppoli. My
rating for was hindered only because of its price point and portion sizes. If
they were a bit more in the realm of where they should be in my opinion, the
rating would have been even higher. 17 dollars for a plate of pasta is fine,
when there is a lot of it, but unfortunately the prices did not correlate with
the portion size. Also, I would have loved to order the swordfish, but for 34
dollars, it was just a little crazy for me. I saw the size of the piece of fish
that you got for that price, and it just wasn’t up to par. That being said,
this was one of the best overall meals I have had in quite some time. It is
worth a splurge once in a while, and the quality is simply on another level.
You have to check it out and let me know what you think because it really is a
spectacular restaurant. Cheers!
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