For most people, food is a hallmark of any holiday. The act of gathering together around the table to share a meal makes special occasions all the more festive. In my family, we celebrate Easter with ham and babka. Christmas dinner always kicks off with our Italian escarole soup and ends with Pop-pop’s homemade apple pie. For my birthday, my mother makes my favorite simple comfort food: chicken cutlet with mashed potatoes and sweet corn. These little traditions provide a sense of ceremony and celebration in the most delicious way. As a new mom, I’m looking forward to starting a new tradition …

While waiting for our food during our most recent visit to West Side Gravy, we took a look at the restaurant’s rating on various opinion sites. Our predecessor has already addressed the merit of review sites, so we won’t reignite that debate. Instead, let’s focus on how opinions vary about West Side Gravy and how they match up with ours. Yelp users give West Side Gravy 3 stars out of 5, and Trip Advisor rates them 3.5. The general consensus on Yelp and Trip Advisor is that West Side Gravy is “just okay.” As fans of the restaurant, we want explore this briefly. We think its identity might be …

In our last article, we gave you the scoop on the various local restaurants participating in Collingswood Restaurant Week. We struggled to choose just one, but ultimately picked El Sitio. El Sitio is a restaurant we save for special occasions. It offers a fine-dining feel at a mid-range price and with lots of romantic ambiance. Restaurant Week was a great opportunity for us to enjoy a full, three-course meal. El Sitio is probably not the restaurant to choose if you’re in a hurry. The dishes are prepared fresh and to-order (we assume), and it can take some time for the first course to hit your…

Collingswood Restaurant Week starts Sunday, and what a great week for “foodaholics” like us. Not only are we fans of the food itself, but also the creativity and culture it brings to town.  For the unfamiliar, Collingswood Restaurant Week models itself after Philadelphia’s Center City version, where participating fooderies create multi-course, prix fixe menus ranging from $25-35 per person. Restaurant week is a celebration of food: an opportunity for chefs to flaunt their culinary creativity, and diners to experience something special. Although food options may sometimes include items from a …

Once considered exotic and maybe even unusual, Indian food is well on its way to becoming as commonplace as Chinese or sushi. With the addition of Clay Oven Palace, Collingswood now boasts three Indian restaurants, each with their own flavors and ambiance. Some have questioned whether the town needs another Indian spot. Our answer: absolutely! Let us tell you why. We Collingswood Foodies love Indian food. When we moved to Collingswood from Philadelphia, we were distressed to leave behind our favorite restaurant Ekta, and our other normal curry spots. Friends told us about Collingswood’s …

We had a few members of the family out sick this week and thus were unable to really get out. Did this stop the family from enjoying what Collingswood does best? In the absence of being able to sit down for a restaurant meal, we opted for takeout—and that's precisely why we're writing this story. Quite a few of our town's premier dining establishments offer takeout options; some may even surprise you!So let's set the scene: It's a weeknight, you've stayed a little late at work and come home too exhausted to cook. It's too cold and late to pack up the family to go out, and anyway, you'd rather…

What could be better than getting up early on a Sunday morning and treating yourself to a hot breakfast at a local restaurant? That’s easy: sleeping in and treating yourself to a delicious brunch at a local restaurant! Although we’re new parents and haven’t “slept in” for three months, we fondly remember when such lazy days were possible. In the spirit of reminiscence, we recently decided to bring the baby to brunch at local favorite, The Tortilla Press. On the whole, Collingswood doesn’t have as many morning-meal options as we would like. There is, of course, the perennial powerhouse of The …

Editor's note: The esteemed David Valiante, our long-time food columnist, is on a leave of absence from his writing here at Patch to follow some other pursuits. We wish him the best and thank him for his fine work—but somebody's got to keep eating around here. Join us in welcoming husband-and-wife dining team, Jamie and Jessica Blanchard, who will be continuing the work begun by David and taking it in their own direction. We present: The Collingswood Foodies. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * When it comes down to it, we simply love to eat. We are constantly on the…