A Very Busy Week of Food

Well, this is a long-awaited post (if not by you, then by me since I've been lacking in consistency). A lot of food has gone under the bridge in the last week or so. I'll go over part of it now.

Interior, take from about where we sat.

On Friday night, I went to dinner to a Jamaican restaurant in Medford. I've never even been to Medford, so the entire thing was something new to me. First of all, I fell in love with Medford. It is all original homes from the 1700s, built by the first settlers to the area. I just love old towns with original architecture.


But, then I enjoyed one of the most fabulous meals I have EVER had the pleasure of eating in my life! We dined at Scotch Bonnets, a new restaurant that opened just this past March, by a woman who immigrated from Jamaica. I had the Country Time Chicken Curry and my dining companion had the Coastal Curry Shrimp. 


As an appetizer, we had Calypso Cod Fish Cakes. Honestly, I didn't think I'd like them. I didn't like the sound of "salted cod" as an ingredient. I had wanted the Plantation Pastry Patties (seasoned ground beef surrounded by flaky puff pastry and baked). But, his wishes prevailed and I was surprised to learn that I liked the cakes. They weren't fishy or even all that salty. And, they were very thin - not thick like crab cakes (which is the image I had in my mind.)

Fried Sweet Plantains

For sides, he chose steamed mixed vegetables and I chose fried plantains. I thought his vegetables were very interesting because they actually shredded them before steaming - almost like they were preparing them for a slaw. I might actually enjoy veggies prepared like that since they would cook more thoroughly for my taste. The plantains were wonderful, as they always are wherever I get them.

Scotch Bonnet's Curry Chicken

But, when our entrees arrived, I was at first hesitant because I know they cook with scotch bonnets, but had been assured that the curry chicken was fairly mild. Plus, the pieces of chicken still had bones and I am not fond of picking bones. But, WOW!! I didn't expect the meal to taste so fabulous that I couldn't stop eating!! There was no heavy curry flavor, the chicken was literally fall off the bone tender (I never had to use my knife) and the potatoes tasted as though they'd been roasted before being added to the broth with the chicken. They were great!


After dinner came dessert. Because we'd purchased a coupon for a discounted pre fixe meal, that meant we had to share dessert like we had the appetizer. They gave us our choices and the two that sounded OK to me were coconut rum cake and coffee rum cake. He agreed to the coffee rum cake. HOLY COW!!! There was no skimping on the alcohol on that cake!!! The menu says it was Jamaican rum and port wine. I don't doubt it in the least. But, you know what? It was really good!! Not a dry crumb in the entire slice.

The only disappointing thing about our visit was that the service really and truly needs to be improved. It's not that they weren't helpful or weren't pleasant. It was more that they just "weren't" - there to wait on us, there to bring us plates so we could eat our appetizer, there to take our orders. The owner was there often making sure our glasses were filled and that we were enjoying our meals, but the server seemed overwhelmed. Fortunately, the food was spectacular enough that I would still go back.

Ordering Out

Ordering out, ordering in or ordering delivery, no matter what you call it, it's a very popular option in our house. We often (too often, probably) don't want to be bothered cooking because we've waited until we're hungry to decide we want something to eat. Because we don't feel like going anywhere either, we start going through our collection of menus to see which delivery place calls out to us the loudest. When my daughter's home, it'll never be Caribbean or Indian (unfortunately).


We live in the shadow of Philadelphia where there are a variety of different food cultures. Some of that overflows to our area and we are fortunate. We have the choice of Italian, Caribbean, Indian or Chinese in our area. Of course, most food delivery isn't up to the same caliber as being seated at a top notch restaurant. The Indian delivery, however, is from an actual full-service restaurant that has won awards, whose chef worked for award winning restaurants before opening one of his own. He believes in giving everyone access to good food, so he also offers the delivery service. Of course, his prices are the same for delivery as they are for the meal in the restaurant, but that was still nice when it was snowing and no one wanted to be on the road (they were brave souls, I  must say).




I haven't yet had delivery from the Caribbean restaurant, but I have eaten there more than once. It is excellent! The menu leans heavily towards the Dominican Republic, but they also have Cuban, Puerto Rican and some Mexican thrown in for a more pan-Hispanic flavor. I do wish, though, that we have a Mexican restaurant that delivered. I'd be one of their regulars!

hoagie

Our Italian places are more accurately called steak and hoagie shops, but don't ever think that's all they have to offer. Some have fried chicken, fried seafood, crab cakes, seafood bisque (granted, some are better than others), hamburgers, pasta platters, traditional pub grub appetizers and, a pleasant surprise for some, hand-dipped ice cream and milk shakes. 

pizza turnover

I personally like pizza turnovers, which are similar to calzones, but not the same thing. Think of having a pizza with sauce and cheese and folding it in half, sealing the edges and either deep-frying them or baking. Although frying them is not the healthiest way to have them, that's my favorite way to have them. 

Cheese steak extra cheese

I also like chicken cheese steaks with fried onions. So so so good!!! And, if I can get it in a wrap, even better. Now, you may have heard of Philly Cheese Steaks, but don't overlook the cheese steak's little cousin. When done right, they're just as flavorful and tender as the original; thinly sliced chicken cooked and seasoned on the flat-top grill with cheese and/or peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc.on rolls only bakeries in the Philly area can supply. Talk about comfort food!

Sicilian Pizza

Pizzas come in all styles (except Chicago), from New York thin crust to Sicilian thick crust. Some have excellent sauces, but questionable cheeses; others hit the mark on both things, but the bread used to make the crust is lacking. Yet, each place has something to offer that the others don't. That's why we keep the menus on hand because we never who we'll be in the mood for. 

General Tso Chicken

The Chinese deliveries are fairly basic and have almost identical menus with different prices. They differ only in the taste of their items. The one I like the best uses garlic more heavily than the rest (which is surprising given my dislike for garlic). They are also the cheapest. There is one that just began delivery service that I haven't tried yet, so the jury is still out on them for me. 


Everyone has to go or take out service (or take away, as it may be called where you are), so if we desire, that is also an option we can take. But, when we're not in the mood to go out, it's not likely we'll be in the mood to pick up. 


And, now a few images from CATURDAY!!

Really, Mom? Another picture?

Fishtail Kitty

Sleepy time baby