Crescent Moon Cafe (mullica hill, nj)

Crescent Moon Cafe
Mullica Hill Location
141 Bridgeton Pike (Rte. 77S)
Mullica Hill, NJ  08062 
Phone: 856-223-1237  

I have been meaning to write about this place for quite some time now.  I went to the Crescent Moon Cafe for the first time about a year and a half ago, and only went twice, not that it wasn’t good enough to go back to, but because it’s in Mullica Hill, which really isn’t all that close to my house, so I rarely go to that area. 

I started hanging out with an old high school friend, I don’t really know how long ago, maybe 10 months now or so…give or take a few weeks.  We actually started chatting because I mistakenly sent this person an instant message meaning to send it to my other friend.  A simple mistake since their names both start with the same letter.  So me and my old-new friend (I don’t even know if that’s an actual work, I’m pretty sure it’s not so if I’m right and it’s not, I’ll take the credit for creating a new word) started hanging out and they live in the Mullica Hill area and since I broke my foot my Ortho Dr. is also in the Mullica Hill area in the plaza right next to the Crescent Moon, so I have frequented it quite a bit lately.

Everytime I’ve been there up until a few weeks ago, I just got hot chocolate (which is amazingly good), or one of their many flavored cappuccinos (my favorite as of yet is the Milkyway…yes it tastes just how it sounds, like the candy bar).  My friend usually gets the Peppermint Pattie (which is a mint flavored drink if the name doesn’t give it away).  I have never had it but since my friend orders it every time we go I’m pretty sure it’s delicious. 

Along with their flavored coffees, cappuccinos, lattes, the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had (this side of the Ben Franklin), many flavors of tea, and than they have soda and water and stuff in case you are not in the mood for any of the above.  They also have smoothies, various different types of fruit with either a yogurt/skim milk base or an apple juice base.  I had a peach, blueberry strawberry smoothie, with the yogurt/skim milk base.  Best smoothie I have ever had, not in the area..but EVER!!!! They also have products to buy such as mugs, carafes, coffee presses, etc.  They also have loose tea, which is better priced then other stores such as Teavana.  Every so often I get in a tea sort of mood, which hasn’t hit until this morning when I really wanted peppermint tea, which is funny in a way because I’m not much of a mint person. 

Crescent Moon also offers various baked goods, displayed in their bakery case, located near the register/front counter.  I’ve had their muffins, which were very good.   I plan on trying some of their other bakery items but for some reason when I go there and actually eat something, I find myself ordering (this leads us to the next paragraph)…<oooh the suspense>

A few weeks ago I tried one of their breakfast sandwiches…nothing out of the ordinary, just an egg and cheese on a croissant.  It was very good.  The croissant tasted freshly baked and the egg was cooked very well, unlike some of the places you go to where the ends are kind of hard, which is gross.  A few days later, I went there and decided out of the blue to get a Roasted Turkey Panini.  It’s turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mustard-seed mayo, on a panini.  It was one of the most delicious sandwiches I have ever had…which is why like 2 days later I went back for another one.  I would like to try their other sandwiches because I’m sure they are all good but I can’t seem to not order the Roasted Turkey…because it’s just that good.  They also offer soups, chicken pot pie (homemade), mac and cheese (homemade) and they have daily specials.

If you are in the Mullica Hill area or just driving by, make sure you stop at the Crescent Moon Cafe…You will def love it…and…You just might find yourself going out of your way to drive through Mullica Hill, just to visit the place for a coffee, smoothie, tea, sandwich, baked good, etc.  I think I am going to go there for lunch today because writing this blog made me hungry…mmmm Roasted Turkey.

PEACE

 

DECAF COFFEE YOU ARE A FRAUD

Decaf coffee is like non-alcoholic beer.  I can pretty much just keep that first sentence and that really says it all but what fun is that?? 

I guess I can see in a way why people would drink decaf coffee…but not really.  If you’re not getting anything out of it, in this case caffeine then what’s the point of drinking it?  Are you that addicted to the taste of coffee that you really feel the need to drink decaf?  Or even better yet you get these people that mix half regular and half decaf.  What’s up with that?  It’s like they’re not sure if they want regular or decaf…this leads me to the conclusion that they have a lot of problems with life in general when it comes to making decisions.  You can’t make a decision about coffee how the hell are you ever going to be able to decide the more important things in life…the answer, simply put is you’re not.  If you are going to order a decaf coffee, take a good look in the mirror and decide wtf you are thinking.  You might as well order a hot water with a lemon wedge.

Now let me get to an even bigger topic of conversation:  NON-ALCOHOLIC BEER (and wine if you’re into that sort of thing).

Non-Alcoholic Beer is like a sexless relationship.  What’s the benefit?  Unless you are a priest or a nun and are into relationships where sex is never involved…well I’m pretty sure this isn’t true as I wrote the sentence.  Priests have little boys, nuns have sex toy parties and bang me I’m Jesus holiday festivities, I think it’s like a book of the month club but instead of reading the perform, sometimes getting paid, it’s like a whore house dressed in only white and black, and if you wish to roleplay they’ll make penguin noises and dance around like that fucking Elijah Woods in Happy Feet.  I’m not the extensive bar patron but I’ve been to bars before and everytime someone orders an O’douls, an awkwardness takes over the bar, a chatter-filled silence takes over the bar and you know everyone notices.  What makes you order a non-alcoholic beer at a bar?  Designated Driver…if so order a water, a juice, a soda, an iced tea, a coffee (not decaf).  Recovering Alcoholic…um maybe you shouldn’t be at a bar and if you are that fucked up where you need to order a non-alcoholic beer flavored drink you should probably be in some sort of inpatient rehab and never touch anything that tastes like any sort of alcohol again.  

Please refrain from ordering Decaf and non-alcoholic drinks…either drink the real thing or order something else. 

PEACE

 

My Thoughts on Brunch

It’s breakfast, It’s lunch, it’s delicious.  Yet for some reason when I think of the word brunch I feel snobby.  Brunch and snobby seem to go together (fill in your favorite cliche). 

The other day I went to WEST SIDE GRAVY in Collingswood, NJ.  It was pretty good, way cheaper than I thought it was going to be.  They had a brunch menu.  I had the french toast, it came with syrup and blueberries.  It was great.   With that said brunch still seemed snobby.

Anyone have any comments/suggestions on why the word BRUNCH seems so snobby?

My Little Kupkake-Collingswood, NJ

My Little Kupkake
685 Haddon Avenue
Collingswood, NJ 08108

http://www.mylittlekupkake.com/

It’s been awhile since I wrote on here…I’ve been to a bunch of places since my last post but nothing really stood out. I was going to write about a few places and say something like “yeah, they’re ok…” or something along those lines, but who really wants to read something about a place that was ok. NOT ME…that’s for sure. So I have been inspired to post about a place I told a few friends about. I have been there twice in about a week so I’ll start off by saying “YES, IT’S GOOD!”

I met my friend for lunch at the Tortilla Press, also in Collingswood, as I’ve wrote about that place before I don’t feel the need to go into detail. Normally when I go to Collingswood I go at night and park in the bank parking lot right behind the library and walk to whereever I’m going. But this day as I mentioned was earlier in the day for lunch. I parked on the street after driving around for a few minutes in an attempt to find a spot…it was pretty crowded. I parked about a block away from the Tortilla Press, which kind of sucked because it was super hot and I really didn’t feel like crutching my way a block (in case you didn’t know I have a broken foot). But I did and on my way I saw the cutest little store in between two other stores called MY LITTLE KUPKAKE. Now for those of you who know me or read any of my other stuff, you should know that one of my favorite things EVER are cupcakes. Oh man do I love cupcakes…

So after leaving the Tortilla Press I went into the cupcake shop and when you walk in you are greeted by the friendly workers. They have their cupcakes out on display. The first time I went I got mini cupcakes. 12 for $12. Pretty reasonable if you ask me. I got the maple, smores, and red velvet. I love maple…well let’s face it, there’s pretty much no cupcake I don’t like but the maple really stood out. The next time I went I got more maple (soooo good), banana, and coconut. Every flavor I’ve had there are pretty amazing.

Since I moved to Southern NJ, I really haven’t found a great bakery that has stood out. There are some ok bakeries here but nothing that really makes me want to go back again and again. Atleast now I have a place where I can go, whenever I’m in the mood for a cupcake, which is pretty much all the time!

Check out their website, place some orders or just go in and pick up some stuff…you def won’t be disappointed, unless you are ridiculous and just like to complain!

PEACE

Tomorrow Starts My Diet

So tomorrow, which is Monday May 9th I am going on a diet again.  I went on one like 5 months ago and lost 30lbs with ease.  Then I gained like 20lbs back because, well I really don’t know why I just stopped caring about it and going back to my old ways of eating junk and drinking sugar-based drinks.  I feel the first 3-5 days or maybe the first week will be rough since I’m not used to eating healthy anymore but I’m sure I’ll be fine after the first few days. 

That’s all, just wanted to post that…updates on my successes and failures to follow.

The Only Time I Thought Pizza Hut Was Good…a tale of lost love and it’s afterthoughts

I sometimes think about Chocolat and the night I saw it and with who I saw it with.  It was many years ago, April of 2000, wow 11 years ago, I honestly didn’t think it was that long ago until I just looked up what year Chocolat came out.  Why am I writing about something that happened 11 years ago you may ask…well if you read you will find out or you can just not read it and watch tv and wonder your whole life, I wonder what that dude said about Chocolat and Pizza Hut.  That’s what I thought…

The reason I am writing about this or why I am thinking about it, is because I (as I went through some old writings of mine) came upon an old poem I had written for someone.  It’s very rare that I actually write a poem for someone so when I come across them I reflect a bit and then like to write about it…call me crazy but that’s my thing.

I talked to a girl that lived in North Jersey on the internet (before they had facebook and myspace and twitter and all of that) it was just AIM and a friend finder for like about 2 years.  We talked off and on, sometimes the conversations were quite short but sometimes we would talk on the phone for hours and hours.  We would pretty much talk about everything.  She was minoring in poetry so we had a lot in common as I was quite into writing at the time (in particular poetry).  Talking to someone (even if it’s off an on) for 2 years you really get to know them and the day I actually was going to meet her, all the way to Scranton, PA, before The Office was on tv which would have made Scranton a more exciting place, I was pretty excited.  It took like 3 hours to get there and I didn’t have a cell phone or GPS like I do now so I had to follow directions I wrote down on a piece of paper.  For those who don’t know me, all I can say is GPS is an amazing tool to people like me who don’t pay attention enough to follow directions on their own.  Going there I didn’t get lose, coming home I got lost in Scranton for like 40 minutes before I found the highway…go figure!

I got there, picked her up, and went to Pizza Hut.  This was before I had a taste for good food, a job where I made more than like 6 bucks an hour, and the commercial I saw with the breadstick crust intrigued me.  I have to say, from what I remember it wasn’t too bad.  I really won’t go into a big restaurant review of Pizza Hut, it’s chain pizza so you have to take it for what it is…the type of pizza that if you are home or near a real pizza place you wouldn’t go to (unless you have kids…for some reason they love Pizza Hut) or if you are on vacation and there are no good pizza joints around so you settle for Pizza Hut because you have a craving for pizza.

After the dinner of the fanciest pizza Scranton had to offer, we saw the movie Chocolat.  I was indifferent about seeing it, at the time I hadn’t heard anything about it, and there really wasn’t much of interest so we saw that.  I have to say I found it to be an amazing movie.  We were the only people in the theater which was kind of cool.  I’ve never been to a movie where there wasn’t at least 1 other person there.  But that movie there was none.  It made it easier to talk since you didn’t have anyone yelling at you to “BE QUITE” or “SHUT UP” or “SHUT THE F UP.”  It was a very pleasant experience to see a movie at the theater, with the atmosphere that you were alone in your home just hanging out.  Side note:  I haven’t seen Chocolat since then and I think maybe I’d like to watch it again.  It came up on my netflix as a movie I would be interested in.  Perhaps that’s part of why I am writing this.  Also, I would like something chocolate flavored now…maybe iced hot chocolate.  I keep seeing this damn Rita’s commercial so now I want a chocolate banana misto shake or gelati. 

Chocolat was the best experience I’ve ever had at an actual movie theater.  After the movie and all that came with it (use your imagination) we went to Walmart and then I brought her back to her dorm and drove home.  That was the first and last time I ever saw her.  Not because we didn’t like each other or anything like that but because I was faced with a choice and for those of you who actually know the real me (very few of you) with the exception of one thing I made the wrong decision.  We talked off and on for awhile and then lost touch and then maybe 3 or 4 years later found each other via email, talked for a few months and that was that.  For those hopeless romantics out there who believe in destiny and all that, she is married and I haven’t spoken to her in years but it just goes to show you when you have choices to make, choose carefully and for a really stupid reason such as distance (which may be the dumbest f’ing reason ever…speaking from experience).  Life is so short and there are so many regrets and things you wish you could do over…but most of the time you can’t, you just have to move on, live life, and make memories to reflect on…because that’s all life really is, a collection of memories, some good, some bad, but no matter what they are yours and no one can ever take that away from you.  This is one of my memories, one that I will always remember as a good time, a regret, a lost love, but also a life lesson…which I have many of.

PEACE

Taste of South Philly (food benefit/festival)..

On Monday night (May 2, 2011) I worked a food show/benefit which was for some school in South Philly (Neumann-Goretti).  It was fun because I really didn’t do much work, I got in for free (the tickets were $40 a piece), and I spent most of the night walking around, trying food from the numerous places, and talking with everyone. 

Each company had their own space to set up whatever it was they were presenting to everyone.  I’m not even sure how many places were there but I would say it was somewhere between 60-100.  Each place had a few things for everyone to try.  Pat’s steaks was there and gave out 1/2 cheesesteaks to everyone, my company gave out sausage sandwiches to everyone (we served chicken buffalo and blue cheese, chicken broccoli rabe, pork garlic&wine, and pork provolone&parsley), a place called Galdo’s catering served a few types of pastas…I think you get the idea.  On a side note:  Rita’s Water Ice was there which was good because after a while it was super hot in there…I had the butterscotch krimpet…I love butterscotch..I love krimpets..what a combo.

I walked around and tried something from just about every place there, some really good, some average, I can honestly say none of the places was terrible, which was a good thing.  There were a few places that stood out which I figured I would chat a little about.

First is a company called Dad’s Stuffings.  They are located somewhere in south philly and I am not sure if you can eat there or it’s take out so you’ll have to google it.  They made chicken meatloaf with roasted red peppers in it.  I was a little taken back at first because I have never even heard of chicken meatloaf but I’m adventurous, so I tried it.  It was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.  I was told by someone I work with they also make chicken meatballs which are really good, along with various other things.  I met the original owner and his son that took over.  They were really nice people (gave me a band-aid when I cut my finger) and it seemed like a good company. 

Next is a place called Paradiso (restaurant & wine bar).  They presented a dish which had beef with polenta.  It was amazing.  I took a menu from them (since they were one of the few places that had menu’s to give out…you’d think more people would have them) and I am def going there very soon.  Before looking at the menu I thought it was going to be a super expensive place but as I read it, it didn’t seem that expensive.  The most expensive thing on the menu is $28.00 which is Dry aged New York Strip Steak, Fennel Gratinata, and wild mushrooms.  They also have dishes that include duck, home-made pasta, lamb, duck, and seafood.

Then there was a place right next to Paradiso called Izuml (1601 East Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa 19148) (215-271-1222) (www.izumiphilly.com).  This is a japanese place with all of your many japanese favorites.  Their sample dish was spicy pork over rice with tofu.  It sounds not that great but it actually was really good.  I will also be trying this place very soon.  It’s reasonably priced, not any more expensive than your usual sushi/japanese restaurant.

Anthony’s Italian Coffee House (903 S. 9th Street, Philadelphia, Pa 19147).  The Gelato at this place they had for everyone to sample was delicious…and the picture on their brochure of the entrance to the place looks really nice with an outside patio.  I think I’ll go there one night or something for some Gelato…if you are in south philly and just want some coffee and gelato you should def check it out.

Finally…Cacia’s Bakery.  I can say I have no idea what they actually bake there in regards to pastries and cakes and stuff like that.  They brought home-made pizzas.  They were really good.  The one that stood out had tomato, prosciutto, and hot peppers on it.  It was the best pizza I have ever had. 

That’s really it…there were a lot of different places there and a lot of them were really good but to be honest I can’t remember all the names…there were just too many lol.

PEACE