Let me start by saying I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in the last several days but I was celebrating my anniversary out of the country. But this blog is important to me so I want to take a few moments to say hello and let you know we will be taking my mother out to Pepperoncini in Conshohocken, PA to celebrate Mother’s Day and I will prepare a review and get it posted ASAP!
Quickly though I want to share That The Hubs and I just returned from a beautiful resort in The Bahamas. YES we overindulged on delicious rich foods, including an excess of red meat, strong coffee, a plethora of tropical cocktails, wine, sweets and soooooo much more. Can you say heartburn and indigestion?🥴 Here are a few of the dishes and drinks…
Delicious🤤
Once we returned home we went food shopping and got mostly healthy food to try to make up for the gluttony. We bought chicken breasts, ground chicken, snapper fillets, albacore tuna, carrots, celery, radishes, cucumbers, broccoli whole wheat bread, berries, grapefruit, bananas AND a few more items but mostly all good-for-you food. We needed to food-prep so I prepared some grilled chicken breasts, chicken meatballs, cleaned and cut lots of raw veggies for snacking and for a salad base and some light tuna salad. At least until our next meal out 🤣.
Wish me luck with the dietary “clean-out”. 😂 I’ll be posting my review for Pepperoncini ASAP!
No restaurant review today folks because I ate leftovers yesterday! I don’t usually throw away food unless its spoiled. I love some good leftovers. My next restaurant review will be in a couple of days so I figured I’d try a little something different until then.
I thought of this topic because I just enjoyed a delicious cup of Wawa coffee. Wawa is Philadelphia and surrounding suburb convenient store. I understand its currently making moves to other states so if you see one, pull over and give it a try. Maybe I’ll do an entire review on Wawa someday since they do serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, smoothies, beverages, etc.
Anyway, I just enjoyed my Guatemalan bean coffee, a medium blend with a mix of a little Irish Cream creamer and low fat creamer. Delish.
I am open to trying different blends or preparations so today share with me! How do you enjoy your coffee?
A few ingredients are key with this celebration and they are and good friends, good food and good drinks. Dan and I had dinner with our friends Dana and Ben. Dan and I arrived first. The hostess sat us despite that the rest of our party had not arrived yet and their was a crowd of people waiting for a table. We had a reservation! Score!! Note to yourself, always have a reservation. We were instantly greeted with a special guest DJ. We did expect a bit more traditional music but we were pleasantly pleased with the popular 80’s tune Jesse’s Girl from Rick Springfield as we entered the restaurant. Later in the evening we heard most of the Grease soundtrack and we were entertained by another group who were happily (and loudly) singing along. But we didn’t mind. It was a party after all!!
The menu was a special Cinco de Mayo menu so it basically just cut their regular menu in half. I also believe some of the prices were increased by a buck or two. But it was fine. We were provided entertainment after all.
at $21I ordered chicken enchiladas with spicy green sauce at $21. Can you say YUM? Oh yeah it was so flavorful. The chicken inside was pulled and juicy. The sauce wasn’t overwhelmingly spicy but it was tasty. The refried black beans were no canned refried beans. They were creamy and beany 😂 The rice was lite with a touch of corn and just the perfect accompaniment to this dish. I would order it again.
My chicken enchiladas
Dan ordered chicken with mole sauce. He liked the mole sauce (was a bit sweet to me). However even though it had been doused in mole, he said the chicken breast was a bit dry. Presentation on his dish was also a little lackluster.
Dan’s chicken with mole sauce
I had to take a pic of Dana’s dish for you all because it looked really nice and very unique. The sauce did not look appealing to me. (What does the sauce look like to you??? LOL). Well, despite its appearance, Dana said it was good! (I didn’t tell her what I thought of the sauce while she was eating. That would’ve been plain old rude 😉).
Dana’s dish
The restaurant’s atmosphere was AWESOME! It was very clean and the decor was spot on Mexican themed. It was busy and exciting. It had a happy go lucky feel as patrons danced and swayed to the music, really just having a good time.
No complaints here on the service. Food and drinks came out correct and just perfect. Our server never missed a beat. He was constantly checking on us and making sure we were okay even with their full house.
Oh wowI forgot to mention our apps and drinks! We shared house-made guac, salsa and chips. Chips were thick and crunchy. Guacamole was fresh and chunky. The salsa, however was just chunks of tomato, pepper and onion. It was difficult to get in the chip and really not very flavorful but it was fresh I’ll give ‘em that! I’m also partial to complimentary salsa and chips but here they charge you $5.
One thing special about El Sarape is its huge tequila menu. You have to go check it out if tequila is your thing. You can even order a sampler I believe. We had tradition margaritas that were made with fresh lime juice and other ingredients as opposed to just a mix. Really this is MUCH better. Their margaritas ranged in price from $10.50 to $16 with no pitcher options. Pitchers would be a great offering since their individual drinks are somewhat pricey. They offer a nice variety of different flavored margaritas.
El Sarape is more upscale than your nearest taqueria hence the increased prices. You have to take that into consideration as their environment alone is worth the extra bucks. I would go again if friends wanted to try it out. Now if all you are looking for is delicious, inexpensive Mexican fare, better options are out there and YES I will review them for you in the future!
In closing, I give El Sarape 3 out of 4 forks. Until next time my friends!!
Happy May 5th! On this date, a celebration occurs based on the VICTORY the Mexican Army had over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. And a blah blah blibidy blah! Hey listen, I am not knocking the victory…no way José, but for me (and other foodies I’m sure) Cinco de Mayo means a delicious Mexican FIESTA!!
You’ll soon realize that I appreciate any holiday when we can eat delicious food, especially foods from another culture. So please don’t take offense :o)
With that said, I hope you all decide to do something special for this Mexican celebration. Maybe head out to your nearest taqueria or even simply make some tacos at home with your stored away emergency Ortego taco kit. How about you do a little something extra and make some homemade guacamole or pico de gallo? And don’t forget that margarita! Maybe even a virgin margarita for the kiddos?
Tonight Dan and I are celebrating with friends at El Sarapé in Blue Bell, PA. A review is sure to come!
The Hubs and I went for dinner at Dettera in Ambler, PA yesterday. Ambler is a cute little town with A LOT of awesome restaurants. I can’t wait to review them all for you!
Okay so Dettera…we would go back for sure. There was a good vibe in the bar area with lots of laughter and perfect lighting. Take my advice and make sure you sit on the first floor with the bar. They have tables upstairs but its not nearly as inviting.
As with many of our dinners out, we start with a cocktail. They have a lengthy cocktail and wine list which is sure to please even the pickiest of drinkers. I had my fave, a gin martini with blue cheese olives. It was PERFECT in every way….chilled Hendricks gin, 3 hand-stuffed olives (that weren’t frozen…yes I have been given frozen olives in the past), and a little extra from the jigger to top me off. Dan (the hubs) had a sazarac. He said it was good. I guess it was good as he ordered a second!
The bread offering: I was impressed that the server asked if we would partake in this course as quite often bread is given and not eaten and just tossed in the trash. Well of course we were having bread! We were brought two slices of traditional Italian bread with a delicious firm crust and a soft middle. Also served were two pieces of what I presume is their signature “bread”. It looked like corn bread but it tasted like cheese bread, perhaps their take on a traditional Brazilian cheese roll. Lastly was a small portion of olive oil for the dippin.
The menu is limited but in this case it was a good thing as the chef clearly prepared everything with care. Dan and I are big fans of octopus so we usually order it if its offered. In this case we ordered the octopus appetizer to share. Grilled Baby Spanish Octopus with Artichoke Hearts, Garlic Confit, Pickled Shallots, and Charred Lettuce Sauce for $15. CHARRED LETTUCE SAUCE?! “What the heck is that?” I thought. Well let me tell you, it was awesome. As with most restaurants, the octopus portion was extremely small, however the octopus was cooked to perfection and it wasn’t drowned out with too many spices. Delicious but I wasn’t satisfied as I wanted more octopus. Its surely is not the appetizer for sharing.
I ordered the only chicken dish on the menu for my entree. Roasted All Natural Chicken with Grilled Romaine, Hedgehog Mushrooms, Bloody Butcher Grits, Shishito Peppers, and Smoked Chicken Jus for $27. Again I had a “what the heck is that moment” with the bloody butcher grits. Despite the gross sounding name, it was an absolutely delicious plate. Everything on this plate was fantastic and it was a perfect portion. I was even able to restrain myself and took a little bit of the meal home.
My chicken dish
Dan enjoyed the dish which was recommended by our very knowledgeable server. Atlantic Cod Smoked with Fingerling Potatoes, Charred Leeks, Cockles, and Sauce Vin Blanc also for $27. I only tasted the cod and it was cooked perfect. He seemed very pleased with his meal as he cleaned his plate. Again the portion was simply perfect for him.
Dan’s cod dish
The only thing that I wasn’t super pleased with was our dessert. We ordered the “butter cake”. Their version of Warm Butter Cake, per the menu, is Poached Bosc Pear, Pomegranate, Creme Anglaise, with Toaste Oat Tuile. Note that I put quotation marks on the butter cake because this was no butter cake, at least that which I am used to being born and raised in Philly. Philly’s butter cake is oooey and gooey. This was not. Also, I don’t remember having any pear or pomegranate on top! Ours had blueberries. Now I don’t recall exactly what the printed menu stated at the restaurant (remember I had a straight-up gin martini lol), but I suppose it could have indicated blueberries. I got this description from their online menu. Not to say it didn’t taste delicious because it did…but it was no traditional butter cake.
Overall I give Dettera 3.25 forks out of 4. Good food with delightful presentations, romantic and trendy atmosphere, knowledgeable and attentive staff, a bit pricey on the appetizer (for what we got) and drinks (any cocktail over $11-$12 is too high in my book). I would recommend this place for a romantic evening with that special someone. A special occasion perhaps?
iloveeatingout.blog 