Pizzicato in Marlton, NJ

I'll agree the service in Philly has sometimes not been great, but I've never had any complaints about the food. Same goes for my wife. There is an avacado salad she really likes.

melitaman6 in Mid-Atlantic

Pizzicato in Marlton, NJ

We went here because I have liked the food at Pizzicato in Philly. So since we were in South Jersey for a family event we decided eat light and have an early dinner on the drive back home. We arrived at 4:50. The place was nearly empty as you might expect and the hostess, waiter and chef were all sitting together grabbing a bite. We were left standing at the reception desk for so long I was nearly tempted to turn around and walk out, except I recognized the chef. When we were seated and I pointed out to my wife that the chef was Chef Matt from Hell’s Kitchen. Being the chef on duty on Sunday at 5:00 most likely means you are not in charge. That’s probably a good thing for Matt because if he is in fact in charge here he learned nothing from Gordon Ramsey. To start with, my wife’s bread plate was dirty – there was something stuck to it that had not scrubbed off in the dish washer. I can’t think of any excuse for using a dirty plate when setting tables. As this is a BYOB we were given stemware. The stemware was covered in dried water spots. Again, the sort of oversight of detail that Chef Ramsey would never tolerate and no decent restaurant should allow. Use cleaned and dried glasses – not spot covered ones! The food here is not as good as the food in Philly. The citrus dipping sauce for the crab cakes was the same but the crab cakes themselves did not seem as good. My big mistake was ordering the spinach gnocchi. I know that gnocchi tends to be heavy, but my two complaints with it were that it seemed gummy as if under cooked and second, it had every sign of being factory made. Each piece looked as if it had been extruded from a tube and cut by machine because every piece was the same exact size. I expect the gummy quality is because it was pulled from the freezer and thawed some before being boiled and served. Overall a forgettable dining experience. As for Chef Matt, while it would appear he learned nothing from Gordon Ramsey, he is reveling in his “celebrity” status actually being asked for and giving autographs!

melitaman6 in Mid-Atlantic

Sal DeForte's, ex-Chambersburg, now Ewing

I agree - we never go to NH/L on weekends. Being that it is just a short drive we can go any week night we want. And you are right - Lambertville is better than New Hope. For reasonable try Villa Rosa - just down to the next traffic light past Sal D's and turn left. It's at the far end - almost - of the strip mall.

melitaman6 in Mid-Atlantic

Pizzicato in Marlton, NJ

I ate here last Sunday. Before I post my thoughts has anyone else eaten here and have comments.

melitaman6 in Mid-Atlantic

Mid-priced dining options in Berlin?

I am going to Berlin and other spots in the Ost in a few weeks. These posts have been a great help. I wish there was a German board instead of having it thrown into International.

melitaman6 in International

Along the Rhine.

I visited Colmar in '02. The best I can say is they were VERY FRENCH. The first cafe we went to was outdoors. A mild rain shower began and they refused to serve us. The next place we went to my wife ordered a pizza and a soda and I aske for "un vin rouge" OK, I don't have the best French - but I was trying to be nice. They told me they had no red wine. I asked for Heineken. The waitress left and came back to say they had no Heineken. I asked what they did have and picked something the waitress said. She left and came back to say they had no "whatever." Where upon I just got up and left and took the bus back the Breisach. PLUS, the place was dirty. The waitress never even cleaned the table debris from whoever had been there before off our table in all the time we were there.

Go to the Elsasser Hof in Breisach. It's just a small family place off the main town square. Gutgesellentorplatz 6. Simple food of the region. But good. They have photos of the town from 1945 and it is very interesting to see how they have rebuilt after the war.

melitaman6 in International