Can you eat?

Do you love a cheese steak?

Can you prove it?

Eat the BEST cheese steak the Philadelphia burbs has to offer at PUDGE’S BlUE BELL and take the Cheese steak Challenge!!

 It’s not about the prize, it’s about the PRIDE!

Wild Game Dinner w/ Beer Pairings

Thursday, March 1st

On Thursday, March 1st, Vince Totaro of Trattoria Totaro is offering one of his famous Wild Game Dinners.  The event is $55.00 per person with open seating and each course is paired with craft beers.

First Course

Antelope lentil stewoup (soup so thick you’ll think it’s stew)

Second Course

Radicchio and arugula, toasted pine nuts, purple onion, sliced grape tomatoes and gorgonzola cheese tossed in fig vinaigrette, topped with grilled frogs legs

Pasta Course

Buffalo Bolognese

Ground buffalo sautéed with mushrooms in a classic blush sauce, tossed with fresh cut fettuccine and topped with grated romano cheese

Main Course A sampling of each:

Wild River Steelhead

Served over saffron basmati rice

Roasted Rabbit

Served over a mix of green olives, golden raisins, capers and pine nuts with a foie gras sauterne drizzle

Roasted Boned Duck

With Pomegranate Koresh (scallion, garlic, orange zest, onion, walnuts, cinnamon, saffron and pomegranate)

Buffalo Bracciola

Caramelized onions, fontina cheese, fire roasted poblano peppers, spinach and egg, wrapped with flank steak brushed with olive oil, garlic and herbs. From the Double J Ranch, the buffalo is grass fed only, then fed corn the last two weeks.

Grilled wild boar tenderloin in a prune and cherry red wine sauce

Dessert

Family Style Dessert Sampler

$55 per person

Trattoria Totaro

639 Spring Mill Avenue

Conshohocken, PA 19428

610-828-7050

Share:

Trattoria Totaro presents:

CHRISTMAS EVE FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES

Take out menu

Pick Up December 23,24^th, 2011

GARLIC SHRIMP COCKTAIL

Jumbo shrimp sautéed in olive oil, garlic, butter and basil, served chilled

$8.45 ½ dozen

SCALLOPS WRAPPED WITH BACON

$6.95 ½ dozen

CLAMS CASINO

Stuffed littlenecks topped with bacon…$8.95 ½ dozen

FRIED SMELTS

A tradition! …$9.95 ½ pound

BACALA (CODFISH SALAD)

Finely diced celery, onions and carrots tossed with flaked codfish in olive oil and garlic vinaigrette…$9.95 per pound

STUFFED SHRIMP

Jumbo shrimp stuffed with crab imperial, breaded and fried

$5.95 each

STUFFED CALAMARI YOLANDA

Vince’s mothers recipe – calamari tubes stuffed with sauté of vegetables, bread crumbs, herbs, pistachio nuts and raisins in marinara sauce or aiola sauce

$8.95 ½ pound

FLOUNDER PORTO

Flounder stuffed with lump crabmeat and spinach in a port wine cream sauce

$10.95 each

FRUTA DI MAR

Shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and calamari tossed with celery and onion with a garlic, olive oil, vinegar and herb dressing

$10.95 pound

PESCATORE

Sauteed shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and calamari in marinara sauce over pasta. Also available in garlic, olive oil, white wine sauce…$12.95 pound

Dine In Menu

CHRISTMAS EVE FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES

Friday December 23 and Saturday December 24, 2011

First Course

Seafood Sampler – A sampling of fried smelts, clams casino, garlic shrimp cocktail and bacala (codfish salad)

Second Course

Fruta di Mar (Cold Seafood Salad)

Shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and calamari tossed with celery and onion with a garlic, olive oil, vinegar and herb dressing, served over greens

OR

Crab and Seafood Bisque

Third Course

Pescatore – Sauteed shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and calamari in marinara sauce over home made pasta.

Also available in aiola sauce (garlic, olive oil, white wine sauce)

Flounder Porto – Flounder stuffed with lump crabmeat and spinach in a port wine cream sauce, then baked.

Calalmari Yolanda – Vince’s mothers traditional recipe: calamari tubes stuffed with sauté of vegetables, bread crumbs, herbs, pistachio nuts and raisins in marinara sauce or garlic, olive oil and white wine sauce

Dessert Sampler

Cannolies, Biscotti, Pizzelles and Cookies

$50.00 per person

Trattoria Totaro

639 Spring Mill Avenue

Conshohocken, PA 19428

610-828-7050

Trattoria Totaro

Hosts a December

Wild Game Dinner

Thursday December 15th

Five courses of exotic wild game such as quail, kangaroo,

wild boar, elk and duck

Each course paired with micro brewed beers

$55.00 per person

Open seating, but seating is limited!

For reservations call: 610-828-7050

Trattoria Totaro

639 Spring Mill Avenue

Conshohocken, PA 19428

The 2nd Annual Conshohocken Restaurant Week will be held from June 13-19, 2011!  Each participating restaurant will feature a $20.00 and/or $35.00 fixed price menu. This is a great opportunity to sample foods at the Conshohocken restaurants you’ve been dying to try.

HIGHLIGHTS

Eggplant Rollatini From Trattoria Totaro

For Trattoria Totaro, this is a fabulous opportunity to differentiate themselves from Totaro’s on Hector Street. The popular BYO offers an amazing 3 course menu for $35.

Sushi rolls at Spamps

Haven’t tried the sushi at Spamps yet? On their 3 course $35 menu you can have sushi, an appetizer and dessert! Not in the mood for sushi, try their rib-eye instead.

Chicken Parm from Spampinato’s

Spamps sister restaurant, Spampinato’s is authentic Italian cuisine prepared by owner Mike Spampinato. This is still a hidden gem in Conshohocken, often overlooked for the larger Spamps. You MUST try the braciole! It is terrific. Their menu is a bargain at 3 courses for $20!

Sesame crusted yellow fin tuna from Stonerose

I am still amazed at how many people have not tried Stonerose yet! While their most popular dish still remains the shortrib over mac and cheese, do not overlook that fabulous burger! Their new spring menu entree, the wild boar chops are included on the $35, 3 course menu and this is the perfect time to try!

Salad from blackfish

Winner of this year’s Philly Mag Best of Philly honors, Blackfish will offer a 2 course $35 menu. I highly recommend the skate. Don’t forget that they are BYO!

There are other great restaurants participating in restaurant week as well. The complete list:

Blackfish

8 East

Fayette Grill

Boathouse

Great American Pub

Guppy’s

The Gypsy Saloon

isabella

Pepperoncini

Piatto Grill

Shula’s

Spamps

Spampinato’s

Stella Blu

Stonerose

Totaro’s

Trattoria Totaro

For Menus for all of the participating restaurants, please visit

More Than The Curve

Veal Vivian

Everybody has a fabulous Valentine’s Day menu this year, but Vince Totaro, owner of Trattoria Totaro in Conshohocken has created a terrific dinner for you married folks with children to enjoy at home, on a Monday night. His motto:

“Grab a bottle of wine, put the kids to bed and enjoy a delicious 5 course meal”

♥Trattoria Totaro Valentines Day 2011  Take Out Menu♥

5 Course Dinner for Two – $75.00 Per Couple

First Course – Soup: Choose one to share:

Seafood Bisque – Italian Escarole – Minestrone

Second Course – Salad: Choose one to share:

Nuts and Berry Salad

Spring Mix, Maytag Blue Cheese, Dried Berries, Walnuts, Red Onion and Tomatoes tossed in a Berry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Caesar Salad

Crisp Romaine Lettuce, Fresh Ground Black Pepper and House Made Croutons tossed in our Cheesy Caesar Dressing

Third Course – Pasta Sampler – A sampling of three pastas to share:

Ravioli Victoria, Cavitelli Desperada and Fettuccine Canadese

Fourth Course – Entree: Choose two:

Rack of Lamb

Grilled to order with Greek yogurt and cherry honey compote.

Served with a side of French green beans and sweet potato risotto

Pescatore

Clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp and jumbo lump crab meat in a spicy marinara sauce or

garlic butter and white wine sauce, served over home made pasta

Veal or Chicken Val d’Asta

Sautéed veal tender topped with sautéed baby spinach, prosciutto di Parma and mozzarella cheese, finished with wild mushroom marsala sauce. Served with a side of wild rice and grilled asparagus.

Petite Filet and Shrimp and Scallop Scampi

Filet mignon topped with gorgonzola butter and caramelized onions,

with crispy pancetta and fontina cheese stuffed baked potato and grilled asparagus

Veal or Chicken Vivian

Sauteed veal tender topped with lump crab, baby spinach and mozzarella cheese in a white wine cream sauce served over home made pasta and topped with grilled asparagus.

Dessert Sampler:

Assorted Italian dessert tray

Orders must be in by Feb.13^th, Pick up by 6:00pm, Delivery may be available

610-828-7050

Trattoria Totaro

639 Spring Mill Avenue

Conshohocken, PA 19428

Want to go out instead? They have a few menu with a few late tables available MENU

The Winning Meatball!

As you may recall, we blogged about Meatball Wars last month. Eight restaurants competed in order to raise money for the charity 100 for 100 kids. The winner took home the title of BEST MEATBALL. I didn’t really have any expectation of who would ultimately prevail, but as a judge of the event, I know everything was fair, and that, in fact, Pasta Via‘s meatball was the best meatball that day!

Mary Schaffer of The Outbound Station, Betty Stanley, owner of Pasta via, Betty’s mother and Mary’s daughter at Meatball Wars ~ picture from More Than The Curve

I grew up in Conshohocken, as I have mentioned, like 1 million times, and therefore it is very near and near to my heart. We used to order delivery from Pasta Via when my husband and I had our 1st home there. We always loved their food. I have been to family events where their food was served and I always enjoyed it, but I am not sure why they don’t immediately come to mind when I think of restaurants in Conshohocken.

After their victory, I just had to go back again. When I walked inside, I remembered immediately why I don’t think of them. It is very small inside with only 3 or 4 tables. We are a family of 5, so our group noise alone would shut the place down! For me, that makes Pasta Via take-out or catering as my two viable options. Because I don’t live in Conshohocken any longer, I don’t really take-out from restaurants there very often, unless I am in town already, but catering is a wonderful option for one of the children’s next birthdays!

If I did still live in Conshohocken, I would be a regular again. Owner Betty Stanley has been serving her family’s Italian specialties for more than 17 years. The pastas are delicious and the portions are generous. All of their food, from sandwiches to salads are substantial in portion size and priced well.

Mushroom and Pepperoni Pizza from Pasta Via

The one thing I never realized was that they also have pizza. It never occurred to me! If you read my blog on pizza, you would know that I have become disillusioned with my childhood favorite, although it is still good, my tastes have changed and with 3 growing children, so has my budget! On Friday nights, Pasta Via offers a pizza special: Buy 1 large, 16 inch pie, get the 2nd at 1/2 off, which is $16.45 for 2 large pizzas….hmmmm, I guess to be fair I should add them to my pizza blog!

If you live or work in the Conshohocken area, and haven’t been to Pasta Via, they are definitely worth checking out. In the summer they have outdoor dining and you can BYO. There is seating inside and the “people watching” is definitely entertaining. They also do catering through the entire Philadelphia area, as well as, deliver lunch and dinner to area residents and businesses.

Pasta Via

824 Fayette Street

Conshohocken, PA 19428

610-940-0722

Former Grocery Store Area Turned Dining Room

Just 6 weeks after opening in Conshohocken, El Limon eliminates its grocery store and replaces the shelves with additional seating. The small taqueria opened in October with half of the space used for seating for approximately 25 on one side and as a grocery store on the other side.

They have also added 2 flat screen TVs.

Business has been hopping since their opening, so owners decided to remove the grocery store and replace it with an additional 10 seats. With the state of the economy, a taqueria serving delicious Mexican food, at affordable prices with FREE margaritas has been an overnight hit in this location. If you recall from our last post, El limon  also has late night hours Friday and Saturday nights, staying open until 3AM to capture the bar crowds.

The owners are hoping the additional seating will reduce dining room wait times during peak hours. If you haven’t been yet, I highly recommend the burritos and wonderful margaritas!

Burrito plus Margarita = $7.95 ~ Beat that!

El Limon

103 Fayette Street

Conshohocken

610-567-0120

Smoked Fish Platter

Wayne Tea Room turns British Gastropub (BYO) after dark!

A Taste of Britain in Wayne has opened 3 nights a week for dinner! The British tea house now hopes to attract all age groups, men and woman and families for dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. They have designed a traditional British menu and their BYO policy allows you to bring your favorite ales, stouts or wine to compliment your meal.

I recently went to try out some of the dishes. As I reported in an earlier post, their focus is on utilizing local purveyors. Sugartown Smoke House provides the fish for the Smoked Fish Platter above. All of the dishes we sampled were very good, but the biggest surprise of the evening for me were the minty peas that were served with the Sheppard’s Pie. They are visually not that appealing, and I tried them because I felt the need to, more than I wanted to try them. I could not stop eating them. They were bizarrely addicting! The other major note is the homemade gingerbread with home made lemon curd. Oh. My. God. ( I hear Usher in my head!)

Here is the full Menu:

Delicious Cheddar Cheese Scones start the meal

Starters

Soup of the Day

Carrot Ginger Soup

English Stilton, Apple and Candied Walnut Salad Tossed with Balsamic
Vinaigrette

Roasted Beet and Warm Goat Cheese Salad, Tossed with a Champagne
Vinaigrette

Chef’s Selection of Flatbread

Smoked Fish Platter
Sugartown Smoked Salmon and Smoked Trout- Prepared on Pumpernickel and
Potato Rosti, Served with Traditional Accompaniments

Entrees

Shepherd’s Pie
Made with Ground Lamb, Chopped Carrots and Onions, Topped with Creamy
Mashed Potatoes. Served with Smashed Minty Peas

Chicken Curry
Served over Basmati Rice and Paired with a Crisp Apple Salad

Salmon En Croute
Atlantic Salmon Nestled in Homemade Pastry with a Spinach Mascarpone Dill
Sauce

Bangers and Mash
Traditional English Sausage, Served with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Union Jack

Their Version of the Croque-Madame.

Prepared with Toasted English Crumpets,
Tavern Ham, Gruyere Cheese and Topped with a Fried Egg. Served with a Side
of Heinz Baked Beans

Dessert

English Sticky Toffee Pudding with Whipped Cream

Chocolate Truffle Torte

Warmed Gingerbread with Lemon Curd

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Irish Cream Sauce

Warmed Baked Cookies with Milk

Comfort food is served in a comforting setting. Add your own libations, and you’ll have a perfect evening on The Mainline!

For reservations: 610-971-0390