PJ's & Coffee

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

Oyster House Philadephia

Today marks the one year anniversary of the re-opening of

Oyster House

To celebrate the event they will be offering $1 oysters all day from 11:30AM to 11:00PM and will tap a firkin of Stoudts Double IPA at 4PM in honor of Philly Beer Week.

Tuesday, November 3rd at Blackfish

A Tasting of King Crab

King Crab Salad, grapefruit pudding, watercress, brown butter crumbs

Barley and King Crab Risotto, garam masala

King Crab Tail Gratin, wasabi condiment

Mango Curd, caramelized brioche

$45 per person

Bring your own wine or beer

Reserve your table now!

What is more beautiful, as summer to comes to a close, than a nice bushel of crabs!

The biggest problem we face is that we live in Philadelphia, not Baltimore and if you have tried your hand at crabbing at the Jersey Shore lately, you know, it ain’t easy! So, where to go for crabs in our great city?

Please don’t say, ” Duh, Chickie’s and Pete’s.” Don’t get me wrong, I love the crab fries as much as the next guy. Trust me, I can no longer count the number of Flyers games that were spent plotting the perfect time to make the mad dash from our seats to get our fries when the line would be minimal so we would get back to our seats without missing much of the game. I also enjoy the sports bar atmosphere and the entertainment it provides our children as they run to wash their hands at the communal sinks every 10 minutes. However, I am not speaking of crab legs here, I speak of the blue crab.

While there are a few over-rated spots in town and at the jersey shore or as Craig LaBan points out, there are plenty of Maryland hot spots, we do have decent options here at home. The first is to have a crab feast at home. Believe it or not, it is pretty simple to cook crabs at home, as long as, you have a really big pot and some tongs. Crabs can be cooked in a pot of boiling water, beer and Old Bay Seasoning for 10 -12 minutes. Just make sure they are still alive. Crabs that are dead before they are cooked should be thrown away.

The other option, although incredibly popular and always crowded, never seems to get much attention, recognition or mention anywhere in the “foodie” world. The place I am referring to is Byrne’s Tavern in Port Richmond. This family owned and operated tavern just off the Allegheny exit of I95 serves crabs most of the year. (It is always a good idea to call first off-season.) What sets Frank Byrne’s crabs apart from all others is that he cleans them prior to cooking them. That’s right, when your crabs arrive at your table the guts are gone, leaving just the edible meat behind to be picked from the Old Bay coated shells.

To accompany your crabs, Byrne’s Tavern has some of the city’s best wings. Also popular are the well seasoned, zesty potato logs that are served with sour cream and cheese whiz on the side which make a great side dish.

If you go, try to get there early to get a table, as seating is tight and waits can be long on weekends.