Gert & Fritz
Friday, February 19th, 2010
Angelo’s Red Table Wine
Sunday, February 14th, 2010
Tonight for Valentine’s Day Gert and I had dinner at Andrea Trattoria Italiana (Andrea’s). We have heard excellent things about this restaurant in Newfield. For Christmas a friend of mine gave me a gift certificate to here. We finally made the reservations.
After dropping the children off with their grandparents, we headed over. The parking was cramped; the snow piles didn’t help. Fortunately, someone pulled out just as we arrived. I decided to back in. That was an excellent choice for afterward, there were two vehicles parked illegally in front of me. I would have never been able to back out without clipping them.
We checked in and had to wait a couple minutes before we were seated. Andrea’s is small. They about 20 tables. We were seated at the smallest deuce in the place. Grrrr . . .
Andrea’s is a BYOB, which is fine by me. I grew up in Cape May, which is riddled with BYOB establishments. I had picked up a Cab, then thought we may not eat beef given it’s an Italian joint, so picked up a Bellview red table wine. Bellview is the closest winery to us. The bottle states:
Light, smooth and easy drinking, this chianti-style table wine is perfect with pizza and pasta. Angelo’s was named after the winemaker’s great-grandfather Angelo Quarella, who founded Bellview Farms in 1914.
It seemed a suitable wine for the occasion.
The nose on the wine is not terribly distinct. It was leathery with a hint of berries at the end. The taste was a heavy cranberry taste. I note that Bellview makes a cranberry wine, but I passed on it. The wine did have that chianti feel to it.
We listened to an extensive list of menu additions. The menu itself has plenty to choose from as it is. We selected a marinated portabello on a bed of spinach and topped with Asiago cheese as an appetizer. It was a fine app, although not a blow one out of his seat dish. The cheese was a wonderful complement to the mushroom. The fungus alone was lacking much flavor. The wine did not seem to go particularly well with the appetizer.
I had the house salad, which was a mix of greens with an Italian dressing. It was most excellent. The dressing was perfectly balanced and highlighted the fresh greens. The wine complemented the salad. Gert opted for the crab-asparagus chowder. It was loaded with crabmeat. The spoonful I had was tasty. Gert raved about it, and polished off the bowl.
Gert selected lobster ravioli for her entree. This was another special and it sounded to me more an appetizer than a main dish. The ravioli, colored black with squid ink, sat of a lemon cream sauce. Gert was not impressed. We swapped plates for a bit. The ravioli were fine; the sauce did not go well at all. It was far too acid for this. Yuck!
I, on the other hand, loved my entree. I opted for the bronzini. I had never heard of this fish before. It was described to me as a Mediterranean white flaky fish. The fish was poached and served whole. Then it was filleted tableside. Nice! Topped with a tomato-caper sauce this was heavenly. It is nice to add a new fish to one’s palate. The wine worked okay with the entree. It did not enhance it, but neither did it take anything from it. I have never seen bronzini on a menu before, but if I do, I will absolutely order it. It was so tender. Yum!
The restaurant was jamming now. Lots of good conversation and familiar faces. folks were definitely enjoying themselves on this happy holiday. I am not a big dessert eater, but I had been hearing about the banana Napoleon all evening, so I ordered it. It was tasty, although a bit more sloppy than it should ahve been. It was drizzled with some liqueur. Tasty, not wow. Gert had her usual tiramisu. She reported it was good, but she was not awed by it. It looked pretty to me.
I enjoyed my dinner and would return (and given I have enough Coke bottle tops to net us a $50 gift certificate to this very restaurant, I suspect we will return) in a heartbeat. Gert is a little more cautious, although she knows it was one dish that just didn’t sit with her. I think she’ll be up for returning.
As for Anfelo’s, it is okay. It is not a top of the line wine. It, however, is fine as a drinking bottle. I think an Italian dinner with red gravy would match well with this wine and would be happy to give that a whirl again.
Date Night
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Gert and I headed out to the Renault Winery last evening for date night. We dine here at least once annually. Autumn is the time we usually visit, but we have dined at other times of the year. Dinner is always good. Tonight was no exception.
The winery serves a six-course dinner. One selects his main course, the restaurant provides everything else. Tonight we began with a savory baklava. It was extremely tasty. Phyllo dough was filled with shitake mushrooms, pistachios, pecans, and walnuts. A balsamic vinaigrette accompanied the baklava. We were both extremely impressed with this appetizer. The wine pairing with this was the Renault’s burgundy. It’s a lighter burgundy, but quite flavorful. It went well with the baklava.
Next up was a harvest chowder. This was flavorful. A base corn chowder with root vegetables added made for a delicious soup. Not a drop was squandered as we enjoyed this course.
The third course was a butternut squash ravioli with a smoked tomato puree. It was topped with chopped bacon and Pecorino Romano. I did not have high hopes for this course, but it was right up there with the baklava. This was very creamy. Two decent size ravioli made a great mop to help clean up the puree. Excellent! The wine paired with this was the Fresello. Despite being described as a semi-dry white, I found it to be sweet. I was not a fan. This was the weak link in the entire meal.
The intermezzo was a wild berry sorbet served in white wine. The sorbet was excellent; the wine could have easily been left out. It added nothing and was consumed after the sorbet.
Next was our main courses. Gert opted for the Australian Rack of Lamb with a shallot glaze. It was served with a chestnut polenta and a marscapone honey. The lamb was excellent! Gert frequently orders lamb here and has never been disappointed. Neither of us were huge fans of the polenta, but it was all right.
I opted for the Grilled Veal Rib Chop. This was served with a roasted pumpkin risotto, Maitake mushroom, and fois gras sabayon. This was the highlight of the evening. The veal melted in my mouth. The mushrooms and the sabayon were excellent. I enjoyed the risotto, as I am a big fan, although the pumpkin could have been a bit more pronounced. There was nothing left on my plate with this course either.
The Renault serves dinner European style, so the salad course was next. Both Gert and I were taken aback by the sparse plate we were presented of romaine hearts. Frankly, it was the correct amount after our meal, but it looked odd. The dressing, which is escaping me right now was very tasty. It was topped with Asiago cheese. One of my grape tomatoes was not up to snuff.
For dessert, Gert and I opted for a slice of turnip and cranberry cake. This was a play off of carrot cake. We devoured it before I realized I had forgotten to take a photograph. Sigh . . . Obviously, we enjoyed it. 
This meal was delicious. The baklava and the ravioli were wonderful. Our entrees topped the starters. Dessert was a pleasant ending. We also picked up a couple bottles of wine to bring home. Gert is a big fan of the blueberry champagne and I have always enjoyed the Royal Rouge. I figure the latter will go well with the Christmas Eve standing rib roast.
This year’s visit to the Renault was as pleasant as ever. I commented on the drive home that I would gladly repeat this meal again tomorrow evening.
Fast Food Restaurant Meme
Saturday, November 8th, 2008I first saw this on Morton Fox’s blog. I thought the number of items looked strange so I hunted for a more complete version. I found this one, but the number of items still seems odd.
This list is certainly not complete. There’s the NE chain of Papa Gino’s that I have intimate knowledge of (unfortunately). What about Texas Roadhouse, Tony Roma’s, Fuddruckers, Five Guys, Arthur Treacher’s, Longhorn, Lone Star, Pizzeria Uno, Houllihan’s, Bennigan’s, Church’s Chicken, Don Pablo’s, Checkers, etc.?
Anyhow, I played along the way it asks. What I am finding is that few of these types of places suit my fancy these days. There seems to be a commonness to all these pseudo places that does not appeal. For others like Wendy’s, I do not have anything against the chain but will not frequent the local store due to a long history of poor service.
Bold the establishments you’ve been to. Underline your favorites. Strike through the ones you don’t like.
1. Applebee’s The running joke in our family is once I can identify from what part of the pig the riblet comes from I’ll dine there again. I’ve never seen anything like it.
2. Arby’s Mom always opted for Arby’s when we were on the road as a change from burgers. But really, what they serve as roast beef is not anything I will purchase.
3. Baskin-Robbins As a boy I remember these. There is a small store in Mays Landing, but I have never been in there.
4. Beefeater: never heard of this joint
5. Benihana: it’s possible I’ve been to one in NYC, but am not certain
6. Black Angus: I like black angus, but have never heard of this chain
7. Buffalo Grill: never heard of
8. Burger King I like onion rings so occasionally we opt for this. The local joint is oddly placed so it makes it difficult to get to.
9. California Pizza Kitchen never heard of
10. Carl’s Jr.
11. Chick-fil-A I lost a pair of shoes because of this place. I bet Gert long ago we could go to Chick-fil-A on a Sunday. Nope, you can’t. Rumor has it that one is coming to Millville. Gert likes it, I do not care one way or the other about this chain.
12. Chili’s Long ago when I lived in Boston, I liked this place. There’s nothing drawing me here anymore. The food is the same as any other place and service sucks.
13. Chipotle
14. Chuck E. Cheese’s We go with our children once or twice a year for school functions. They like it, the fodd is horrible.
15. Cici’s Pizza never heard of
16. Claim Jumper never heard of
17. Cluck-U Chicken never heard of but funny name
18. Cracker Barrel Yes, I like this place, although it is moving in the direction of all these other casual family restaurants. With Gert supplying my meatloaf needs, there is less of a draw, but we stop on occasion coming over the bridge.
19. Dairy Queen/Brazier
20. Del Taco never heard of
21. Denny’s I like the Grand Slam breakfast. Our local place is on the Not On Your Life list, so I haven’t been to one in years. The last time we were at the local place the kitchen was on fire and they told us our wait would be a while as the fire engines came . . .
22. Domino’s It was a college thing and then a bachelor pad thing. I don’t really mind their ‘za, but portions have shrunk from an already small size. The last time we ordered they didn’t know what hot peppers were so I just opted for onions. The small pizza was equivalent to an individual ‘za at some places and there were two slices devoid of onions.
23. Dunkin Donuts
24. El Pollo Loco never heard of
25. Fatburger never heard of
26. Hard Rock Cafe This was the place that first got me thinking that chains were just image and not concentrating on food. I have never cared for these, even when they were hip.
27. Hardee’s I remember these from my youth as we spent tie in Virginia. I have always enjoyed Hardee’s. Southern Delaware has one that I frequent when I am down there and if I ever get to Virginia, I’ll dine there too.
28. Harvey’s never heard of
29. HomeTown Buffet never heard of
30. Hooters They suck. I so looked forward to dining in one in Florida. There was one near my grandmothers. The food sucks and the girls were nothing to look at either. I even went to the original. Blech!
31. IHOP Blueberry syrup is awesome! I haven’t been to one in years, but Gert likes this place and we are on the lookout for one at breakfast time.
32. In-n-Out I’ve heard good things, but alas, there are none around here.
33. Ivar’s
34. Jack in the Box This is another I remember from Viriginia. I haven’t seen one in decades.
35. Johnny Rocket’s My father and mother took me to one in Florida a few years ago. I liked it. I took Fritz this summer. Eh. Not so great.
36. Kelsey’s never heard of
37. KFC Horrible!
38. Krispy Kreme You betcha I’ve been here! I will gladly return too.
39. Krystal never heard of
40. Long John Silver’s I have no desire to ever dine here. I love seafood that is fresh!
41. Marble Slab Creamery Does Cold Stone Creamery count? The first marble slab I recall seeing was in Florida. I liked it. We now have a Cold Stone. I have nothing against the place. It’s occasionally a place to visit.
42. Max & Erma’s never heard of. We used to have a Pat and Ralph’s. 
43. McDonald’s The standard. I have boyotted all but the Delsea & Park locations around here because of service. The older I get, the less the food agrees with me. I do like the fries though.
44. Olive Garden It’s okay. I picked up their Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto from You Tube. Then I ordered it there. No comparison, mine is 100 times better and I learned from them. It’s part of that casual restaurant vibe that sits on all these places.
45. Oporto never heard of
46. Outback Steakhouse Gert likes the Queensland Salad. It’s just another casual place that if you spend enough you can get a decent cut of beef that may be grilled properly.
47. Panda Express never heard of
48. Papa John’s Eh. It’s pizza. I have to go there to get it since the one around here is in a different town. It’s okay.
49. Planet Hollywood I ate at the one in Baltimore b4 it closed. I was not impressed at all. There are only a few left. That seems like a positive to me.
50. Pizza Hut I do not care for their pizza at all. Gert likes it so we go on occasion. It’s become expensive in my book.
51. Popeye’s I am not sure if I have dined at one of these or not. Perhaps.
52. Quizno’s We had one locally and then it went out of business. I preferred Quizno’s to Subway, so I was sorry to see it close. Nothing great, but okay.
53. Rainforest Cafe No real desire to go, but there is one in AC. I imagine I’ll get there some day with the family.
54. Red Lobster Blech! The first one I ate in was in Oklahoma. Grandfather thought he would treat me to seafood since he knew I liked it. At 15 I knew what pre-packaged frozen seafood tasted like. I did not eat in another until a couple years ago. Gert likes it. The last time I went I pulled a very long human hair out of my dish. I have no desire to return.
55. Red Robin
56. Red Rooster never heard of
57. Señor Frog’s never heard of
58. Skyline Chili never heard of
59. Sonic I liked my first visit and was excited for the new one to open near us. I went twice to the new one and have decided their buns are aweful and do not go there any longer.
60. Starbucks I do not like coffee. I do not like paying for expensive coffee for Gert.
61. Subway Eh. Not a big fan, but we hit it once in a while for a quick sandwich.
62. Sweet Tomatoes Mom loves this place. It’s okay. I have always liked cafeterias.
63. T.G.I.Friday’s I used to enjoy the Newbury Street location. Oh, the good times I had in there over the years. Alas, that was from a different era in my life. Friday’s has expanded to the point it is like ever other casual restaurant. Bleh! Now I will say I went to one a couple years ago just for the tomato soup and grilled cheese that won on Top Chef. That was delicious! Service sucked.
64. Taco Bell I never ate in one until I met my wife. I now like the food here. Yes, it is crap. But I like it.
65. Taco Del Mar never heard of
66. Taco Time never heard of
67. TCBY Not since my Boston days have I been to one.
68. The Old Spaghetti Factory
69. Tim Horton’s I want to go as there is a scavenger hunt I can log if I so.
70. Wendy’s The Baconator is good. Unfortunately, the locations around here on our shit list.
71. Whataburger never heard of
72. White Castle Perfection! I would dine at White Castle daily if they were closer than two hours away.
You parked your Vehicle where?
Sunday, August 24th, 2008
38.989896 -74.804798
This hunt was listed as a mistake two and a half years ago. Halffast had listed this and I guess hit the submit button twice. In an effort to clear the database I am logging it. Who cares? Both of these were archived long ago.
Coming off Mariner’s Landing was this fine specimen sitting atop the restaurant. We did not dine there, however.
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