Black Lab Bistro: Table on the Road-er- Outside Please!

After Buddy picked me up from the train last Friday, we headed down to our parents neighborhood to grab some food in Phoenixville. It was already 9:30pm and I had not eaten since 11am. I. Was. Starving.

When we got there, it was still pretty poppin! Since it was such a nice night, we wanted to sit outside.  This is the table they gave us. Practically on the road. Well I do love the smell of exhaust when I try to eat. Fantastic. Buddy looks like he is passing gas, or smelling it. Either way, gas was involved somehow.

Complimentary Bread

Yum, my favorite buttery rosemary herb spread. The bread is forgettable, but the butter is very tasty, especially for how hungry we both were!

Price: Free

Lobster Mac and Cheese

I normally dont order appetizers, but I felt like I had been on a fast for the past week so I picked the most luxorious sounding thing on the appetizer menu. This was in a small tart dish and disappeared as quickly as it arrived. The menu says there is truffle oil in here. but I didn't really taste any. But who really gives a shit about truffles anyway? They are overrated.

Anyway, the mac and cheese was super duper, uber velvety to little chunks of loster meal hidden in every nook and cranny. The pasta was cooked a little over al dente, but thats okay, it just added more to the creaminess. The generous topping of panko crumbs was nice, but ended up being a bit soggy.

Price: $12.00

Colossal Lump Crab Cakes

Buddy ordered this dish. These are the best crabcakes. EVER. No seriously, they are fucking amazing. Chunks of crab, not that mushy pulverized crap. With the nice sear of the pan  to add crunch and the tangy, tart tartar sauce, this is a solid meal. And look, it even looks like a face, how cute!

Price: $26.00

Pan Seared Red Snapper

This was on their specials menu for the night. It was topped with lobster chili sauce and came with coconut rice and edamame. Super creamy sweet rice paired with buttery fish. An interesting combination in my mouth. Maybe not the most successful thing they had ever put out but satisfying none the less.

Price $26.00

Black Lab Bistro

248 Bridge Street

 Phoenixville, PA‎ 19460

www.blacklabbistro.net

Lunch: $2.25 for a Tiny Macaron?! It Better Give Me an Orgasm!

I had always passed this place while walking to Penn Station to catch a train. Finally I made it my priority to check this place out on my lunch break since it looked so gosh darn cute. I have had 1 or 2 macarons in my life time, but was never a huge fan. Maybe this trip will change my mind?

Even a little line for lunch makes me nervous...I don't like waiting more than 5 minutes for food during lunch. I feel like I'm wasting precious "me" time!

I want their uniforms as a costume. They are freakin adorable! Oh, and the space was small, crowded and cramped. Not for the claustrophobics out there.

With is display, how can you not get a macaron? The colors are hypnotizing!

Mango and Lemon Macaron

They had samples of the macarons on the counter for people to nibble at while waiting to get  food. Naturally I had to try some!

Mango: This was the orange one. No mango taste whatsoever. Pure (overly) salty whipped butter. I wouldn't recommend getting this flavor.

Lemon: Tart,  subtle hint of lemon. Lemons a pretty boring flavor in general, so I'm glad I at least tried it since I wouldn't have purchased this any other time.

The Norvegian

This was made with filone bread, smoked salmon, capers, cream cheese mixed with dill and scallions. Tiny ass sandwich. The whole thing was about the size of half a normal sandwich you would get at a deli. However, they make it up by the nice hefty portion of salmon. I loved the bread, airy light and fluffy like a cloud. All the flavors blended together nicely except for the capers. They were vinegary and overpowered the rest of the subtle flavors of the sandwich. Even hours later I could still taste the capers in my mouth. Blegh.

Price: $7.75

Honey Lavender

Of course I couldn't leave the cafe without trying a macaron of my choice....but hmm, 2.25 for a itty bitty little macaron?? When I can get a gigantic cookie for half that price? It better be worth it!  I took a bite... thin crispy shell, airy chewy center. I was really enjoying the texture. Alas, it should have been named ginger honey instead. All I tasted was ginger. The lavender part must have been referring solely on the color.

Price: $2.25

Verdict: This place is a little gem in the mass industrious jungle of midtown. A little Parisian escape that I would gladly visit again. Everyday they have a different featured sandwich of the day. Wednesdays is fresh crab! I will be checking that out for sure. Oh... and am I a fan of macarons yet?.... Maybe much less of a fan then the cupcake or Neapolitan pizza fad, but if there is an interesting  sounding flavor, I just might get one.

Macaron Cafe

485 7th Avenue

New York, NY 10018

www.macaroncafe.com

Lunch: Who Cares about the Mini Paninis, Give Me Chocolate Martinis!

 My boss Ana, had a birthday recently over the weekend, and since our team couldn't celebrate then, we decided what better way of celebrating then to go to a wine and chocolate bar during lunch! We picked Ayza, located in Murray Hill

They had large umbrella's in the outdoor seating area, so whether be rain or shine; people could still choose to sit outside.

We opted for the indoor seating since it was so humid out. Though I don't know how much it helped since they kept the doors open. The occasional fly came over to say hello at times.

Once seated, we each recived complimentary shots of their red sangria. It was fantastic, instead of the fruits being infused with alcohol (which is what usually happens); the alcohol soaked up all the flavor of the fruits. It was a thicker sangria, but the best I have tasted yet..... though after the shot, I felt very tipsy. A little sangria can really mess you up for the rest of the day!

Complimentary Bread Basket

The dip was olive tapanade accompanied with pumpernickel bread and baguette slices. The tapanede was tart and made my mouth pucker. 

Price: Free

Hummus and Smoked Chicken Panini

We all got the lunch special which gave you a choice of soup or dip, panini or  tartine. It also comes with a small mesculn salad. Donna ordered the "roasted marinated smoked chicken breast" it came with "irish" cheddar, cranberry mayo and dijon mustard.... all I have to say is WOW, that is a lot of ways to cook one piece of chicken. She got the side of hummus which was blended with parsley, black olives and olive oil.

Price: Lunch pri-frix $9.95

Hummus and Tomato Coulis Toast

Carly also got the hummus, but opted for the tartine. The "tomato coulis toast" was basically a pizza... they really like to create lavish names for their food! Mozzeralla cheese, basil, crushed pepper, sundried tomatoes and garlic. I tried her hummus, very creamy, you could taste every ingredient.

Price: Lunch pri-frix $9.95+ 1.00 (for all tartines)

Chilled Gazpacho and Smoked Salmon Tartine

I opted for soup, since it was so hot out. I have always had green gazpacho, so it was interesting to try the tomato based one. Acidic, tart  and with a hint of  dill and cucumber. They blended it so that you could still get some small chunks of tomato. The smoked salmon tartine was made with cream cheese, chives, red cabbage olives, shallot and tarragon. The cream cheese tasted very sweet; like marzipan. It complimented the salmon very nicely and I loved the touch of lemon zest on top.  Recommended for those of you who love salmon.

Price: Lunch pri-frix $9.95+ 1.00 (for all tartines)

Hummus and Artichoke Tartine

Ana ordered this. The tartine was made with bresaola, diced tomatoes, caper mayonnaise, cucumber and chopped dill.

Price: Lunch pri-frix $9.95+ 1.00 (for all tartines)

Hot Artichoke Hearts and Portabella Panini

Kristina got this one. The artichoke hearts were served hot and mixed with cheddar. The panini was made with roasted peppers and mozzarella cheese. It looked so yummy for the tummy.

Price: Lunch pri-frix $9.95

Twenty-Layer Crêpes Cake Brûlée

We finally move on to my favorite part of every meal (seriously; even breakfast needs a designated dessert slot!).....The sweets!

Holy moley, way better then a cannoli! This was ridiculously light and airy with a hard "brulee" top shell. It came with a raspberry sauce which I found completely unnecessary, and over powered the delicate texture of the cake slice. Worth more then the price of lunch? You betcha!

Price: $11.00

Italian Bomba Tartufo

Essentially a large Neapolitan ice cream scoop, dipped into a layer of dark chocolate. Standard ice cream, I disliked how the chocolate shell was so thick.

Price: $7.00

Belgium Chocolate Covered Strawberries

2 Massive strawberries with a chocolate hide thicker then elephant skin. It took 3 of us to pierce through the shell with a knife. I was actually very disappointed to discover the strawberries had been frozen, so when I took a bite, it was this mushy, soggy mess. Not the strong sassy texture a strawberry should be.

Price: $8.00

(From left) Donna, Ana, Carly, Kristina, Me, and Cherry

Verdict:  If you are going here to expect a large meal for lunch... then you better order double. But for those of you who want to keep "portion" control in mind( what the hell is that??!),this is the place to go. More of a romantic spot than anything else. Oh, and I almost forgot... they infuse the water with cucumbers! For some reason, that really made my day.... anyway, bottom line; fun, petite, high quality food.

*F.Y.I: I really wanted to try their chocolate martini's, but they were 15 to 17 dollars! I don't care if they were mixed with puppy and kitten tears, that price is outrageous!

Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar

11 W 31st St

New York, NY 10001

www.ayzanyc.com

Dinner: Like Stepping Into a Julie and Julia Scene

Thanks to yet another awesome restaurant.com coupon, I found this little gem called Spring Mill Cafe, in the middle of nowhere Conshohoken PA. I have heard nothing but great things about this place and was very excited to see what all the fuss was all about.

Buddy and I pulled up to this... in fact we drove right past it the first time and we had to turn around to search for the place. The resturant was composed of 2 areas, the main dining was in the actual house while the alternative dining was in the barn.... note to all those girls who want to looks sexy for your date, heels + gravel= walking like you are in Michael Jackson's Thriller video

Walking in was like stepping into a French country side home, with knick knacks, old cook books and pictures decorating this vintage house.

Get news... this place was BYOB! Buddy grabbed a bottle of Toasted Head Cabernet Sauvingnon before we left. I adore red wine, I'm not a wine expert but my favorite type of red are Cabernet and Pinot Noir. 

Complimentary Bread Basket

Buddy and I were STARVING and as soon as this hit the table we both reached in eagerly only to be scolded by the piping hot rolls. Not the most impressive bread basket out there, but it certainly fended off hunger with a healthy slather of butter. The standard dinner roll.

Price: Free

Escargots de Bourgogn

These were snails served on top of a broiche with garlic pesto butter. Petite, a perfect sized appetizer for 2. There were 7 snails and so far the best I have had yet. They were plump, tender, and perfectly cooked. Oh and the garlic pesto butter.... it took all my might not to lick the plate clean. This butter was not for garlic lovers, but garlic obsessed freaks ( like me). The broiche was forgettable, almost a giant slale crouton, or better yet, a platform for the snails to show off on.

Price: $12.00

We were seated next to this...

Buddy and I played around with it for a bit while we waited for out food. I first thought it was a lasagna or some other sort of pasta crimper. We decided to ask the waiter and he informed us that it was a vintage kerosene oil pump and has been in that exact spot since 1910! The house served as a general store back in the day and this is where people used to get oil to fuel their lanterns etc. Learn something new everyday!

Lapin à la Moutarde

Buddy ordered this, it was braised rabbit legs in a mustard cream with leeks, onions, potatoes and egg noodles. My general rule of thumb is that I don't eat any animal what is "cute". So therefore I have never had rabbit. Well I guess it was time to break that rule since it did look quite appetizing.  I took a bite...

" Your just ate a little bunny!!" Buddy taunted at me.  What an asshole. Images of little bunnies hopping around, their cute little nose sniffing at stuff instantly flashed in my mind. I swallowed. Well... I know this sounds clique, but it did taste like chicken. It had stringier meat fibers, a more sour flavor (possibly from the mustard seeds) but overall like chicken. It was moist, and the mustard cream went beautifully with it.

Price: $28.00

La Bouillabaisse de Marseille

I ordered this one. It was with mussels, clams, sea scallops, and monkfish in a tomato saffron broth. This was a pretty big disappointment. The broth was very watered down, and none of the flavors seemed to penetrate any of the seafood. I had to actually use (gasp!) salt. The mussels and clams were also very small, the fish and scallops, overly cooked and almost rubbery. Worth the price? No.

Price: $31.00

Verdict: The charm of this place is its driving force. Insanely romantic, you will be pooping out rose petals later in the night. Though my entrée was a disappointing, the appetizer and rabbit dish were fantastic, filling and made with care.  If you live in PA, it is worth the trip to take a break from all those strip malls and chain restaurants . Having a meal here is like taking a trip to the French countryside. Be forewarned that there is limited seating (40 people max) so it is best to make a reservation.

Spring Mill Cafe

180 Barren Hill Road, 
Conshohocken, PA 19428

www.springmill.com