The Pop Shop, Collingswood

Is there anything more comforting and smile inducing than a grilled cheese sandwich? I submit that there is not. Which is why when I first heard about The Pop Shop (which SPECIALIZES IN GRILLED CHEEEEEEESE!) from my friend SB, and THEN heard about it on tv a week later(Bobby Flay threw down with them on cheesey, bready goodness) and then heard about it from J and M shortly after THAT I knew I had to get there.... sooner rather than later! The place is pretty cute, done up 50's diner style. The best part of The Pop Shop, though (Besides the menu of course) is the location. Collingswood is adorable... a fantastic down town area with restaurants and shops and little boutiques... SO adorable. Now that I have seen the area I have vowed to go back and eat at every cute little place we saw. But I digress...

Matt and I met J and M for a delightful dinner grilled sammiches, fries, and shakes. The Pop Shop has over 20 different kinds of grilled cheeses... all with different bread, cheese, protein, and veggie combos. I opted for the Linden, which is described as chopped Angus beef, caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and American cheese on a Philadelphia style pretzel. It was basically a cheesteak, on a soft twisty doughy salted pretzel, and it was amazing. Oh, the other awesome thing about this place? They have a whole menu of different kinds of fries! I KNOW. What CAN'T this place do? I went with classic fries, but only because it was my first time there. Next visit, all bets are off. I topped the whole thing off with a black and white milkshake (so thick, so creamy, perfect amount of sweetness to battle my salty dinner). How they didn't have to roll me out of the place is beyond me.

Matt ordered the Stokes, which is basically known as 'A Happy Waitress' anywhere else (aka bacon, tomato, and cheese). Served on perfectly golden, crunchy, thick country bread this was the perfect, classic sandwich. Yum. He ordered his with a side of the Louisiana fries, which are basically the regular ones just coated in a spicy cajun seasoning. Not too strong on the spices, but still gave 'em a nice kick. He also ordered a tomato soup for us to share. SO adorable, its served with goldfish crackers. The soup itself was amazing... thick and creamy, smooth and tomato-y and perfect for (you guessed it) sandwich dunking.

J and M had been there before (luckies) and knew almost immediately what they wanted. It seems that J always goes for the grilled cheese called East Zane. It's creamy, delicious melty brie cheese topped with perfectly grilled asparagus and pesto on a fresh baguette. Can you blame her for always getting it? HELLO it sounds delicious. M was torn between his love of grilled cheese and the desire to try something new and different.... new and different won out. He went with the Cuban, a sandwich homage to the mixes served in Cuba and Florida. Piled high with roast pork, ham, swiss cheese and pickles, this was really good. Nice and salty, a smidge smokey, a nice mustardy bite, all good. M also introduced us to the most intruiging dish of the whole evening.... the spicy french fries. Holy cow. Perfectly crispy fries tossed along with deep fried, super thin slices of jalapeno and onion. AMAZING. Paired with cold zesty ketchup? Forget it. Flavor explosion. I think back on these fries fondly.... and with my chin covered in drool.

Seriously, there is nothing else for me to tell you except GO THERE. Hell, Food Network gave it props as being the best grilled cheese and pitted the Super-Ginger himself against their team of sandwich making experts. Get there. Stroll around the adorable downtown area afterwards to burn off the billion calories you just ingested, then go back for a shake. I'm not joking. Go.... now. I'll wait here for you to report back.

The Pop Shop

http://www.thepopshopusa.com/

729 Haddon Ave

Collingswood- 08108

La Cipollina, Freehold

Well, it was bound to happen.... the combining of families. Matt and I met up with my folks and his parents for dinner in downtown Freehold (which is pretty central for all of us). It's so flippin cute in that area... so many adorable restaurants and stores and just a nice, small town, down home feeling. We chose La Cipollina because A) it's been around forever, and B) they seemed to have a menu where we knew everyone would like something. Weird fact about La Cipollina... while you can order a la carte their menu is set up to only really offer a prixe fix option... you can do 3 courses for $35, 4 courses for $45, all the way up to 7 courses. (BTW for the prices of the prixe fix it's almost silly to order a la carte.... so none of us did)

La Cipollina seems strangely formal when you walk in... the staff wear tuxedos (so odd), and the lighting is dim, but it really isn't a fancy shmancy place (for example the table next to us? Both sweatshirts and an infant were present, so how formal could it be?) Anyway, all six of us opted for the 3 course choice, and while you are free to choose any combo of starter, salad, entree, and dessert we all decided to do starter, salad, entree. I'll relay the memorable things here for you.

For my starter I went with the smoked salmon with wasabi and creme fraiche. While I was expecting a slice or two of fish what came out was way different. It was a smoked salmon SALAD (probably should have been noted on the menu, but whatevs) held together with creme fraiche in lieu of mayo. It was delicious, and I was glad to have it, but still, quite the surprise. I enjoyed this both on it's own and schmeared on the crusty table bread.

Matt started with the gnocchi in parmesan, sage and brown butter. I thought this was fantastic... nutty, toasty, and warm it was the perfect food for a chilly night. He thought it was a bit bland, but I disagree. I found the gnocchi perfectly cooked, soft and not at all gummy, and I found the downright earthiness of the ingredients to be perfectly balanced.

Matt's dad and my mom ordered the mozzarella, prosciutto, red pepper and mushroom combo, served on grilled Italian bread and drizzled with organic honey. Almost everything on the plate was delicious, but the homemade mozzarella was SO salty... it took over the whole dish. I love a good home made cheese, and while the texture was perfectly creamy and the color was a gorgeous glistening white, the salt was just too much. The prosciutto added enough to the dish and the cheese was just overkill. Sad... it would have been the perfect combo of fresh, sweet, bitter and salt if it was just cut back a smidge.

The salads were ok. Nothing special. The caeser was caesery, the beet and goat cheese one that I had could have used a lot more beet and a lot more goat cheese. Not notable.

For dinner Matt had the chicken in a basil white wine sauce. It was topped with roasted red peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, and sun dried tomatoes. Matt says it was good and while I remember enjoying the bite I had to be honest it's a little forgettable to me. I can't really recall now what I thought of it. Oh well.

Dad had possibly the best dish that came out, the pork braciole over polenta. First things first, I LOVE polenta. I fell in love with it in Italy and ever since I have been completely enamored with everything about it... the texture and consistancy, its chameleon like nature of absorbing any flaor, it's feel and color... all of it. This was no exception, the polenta was a pleasure. The pork was tender and soft and stuffed with spicy sausage, onion and eggplant, all smothered in an almost sweet tomato sauce. It was a real treat. Perfectly cooked, intricate but not pretentious, and just really good.

I ordered the veal with artichokes, mushrooms, and pine nuts in a white wine sauce. I liked my dish a lot. Don't let the picture fool you... the sauce was not at all as thick and gloppy as it looks (although why it photographed that way is beyond me). It was pretty light and certainly tasty, with an almost citrusy hint of flavor. The pine nuts added some great crunch, the mushrooms and veal were earthy and warm and the artichokes were bright and delicious. It was a really good meal!

All in all La Cipollina has it's quirks, but was a really good time. It's byob (which I love, of course) has a pretty extensive menu, and offers a lot of food for a reasonable price... 3 courses for $35 bucks is ok by me, any time. The neighborhood is so much fun too.. in the Summer keep an eye out for live music and block parties. Give it a try, I think you'll find the value really impressive and the food a pleasure.

La Cipollina

http://www.lacipollina.com/

16 A West Main St

Freehold- 07728

732 308- 3830