Borough Buzzing About Taste of Collingswood Restaurant Week

What’s the latest buzz in Collingswood? The borough's Taste of Collingswood Restaurant Week has everyone’s mouths watering. From March 20 to March 25, participating restaurants will feature three- to four-course meals ranging from $25 to $35. Participating restaurants include Café Antonio, El Sitio, Tortilla Press, Sapori, Inde Blue, Nunzio's Ristorante Rustico, Kitchen Consigliere, Bistro di Marino, Joe Pesce, Prime 505 Steak & Chop House, West Side Gravy, Blackbird, The Pop Shop, Villa Barone, Woksabi, Casona, That's Amore and LoBianco New American Cuisine. Locals discuss what they’re most looking forward to during the enticing event.

Residents are eager to enjoy the many international cuisines Collingswood has to offer during restaurant week. From Asian to Latin fares, the borough has something for every appetite.

Chad Renshaw, 34, says he chose to move to Collingswood last August because of its wide array of authentic restaurants. 

“My wife and I moved here from L.A.," said Renshaw. "We wanted a city-feel without the crime."

Renshaw’s favorite restaurant in town is Sapori, but he also frequents Inde Blue and El Sitio. 

“I’ll definitely want to try (Sapori’s) gemelli pasta,” he said of Sapori's Restaurant Week menu, in which they'll feature a Gemelli al Ragu di Vitello as an entrée, drizzled in a veal ragu sauce.

But Renshaw doesn’t intend to stop at Sapori's menu. 

“We’ll probably be checking out several restaurants during the week,” he said. 

Renshaw also wants to taste Inde Blue's restaurant week options with his wife. He cited their Chicken Chettinad, which is simmered in coconut, poppy seed, curry leaf, and fennel seed served with saffron basmati rice. And Renshaw's fairly certain of his wife's order—the Lobster Korma, cooked in rich gravy with cashews and raisins served over saffron basmati rice.

Collingswood is also known for its many authentic Italian restaurants, and Rachel Messina, 25, can certainly appreciate the cuisine. Messina's hoping she can clear her schedule and spend an evening at Haddon Avenue's Bistro di Marino. 

“I think I’d like (to try) the homemade Bistro Gnocchi,” said Messina of the bistro's restaurant week menu options.

Bistro di Marino will be featuring the main entrée in a gorgonzola cream sauce, with toasted pine nuts and Pecorino Romano cheese.

And restaurants like Tortilla Press and El Sitio, who boast authentic Latin fare, are making 32-year-old Joelle Sweigert's mouth water. 

Sweigert has lived in town for five years, and loves the borough's cultural variety. 

“I really like international cuisine—anything from Indian to Mexican,” she said.  “I think I’ll be trying El Stitio’s flat iron steak (during Restaurant Week).”

The El Sitio entree, a flat-iron steak topped with Argentinean chimichurri butter and basil, is served with a spring mix. And Sweigert’s hoping to book a babysitter so she can enjoy a night out with her husband.

Couple Lindsay Abbot and Lon Hopkins, who have been living in Collingswood for nine months, are looking forward to dining at one of their favorite Asian restaurants—Woksabi.

“Asian is my favorite kind of food,” said Hopkins, citing Woksabi’s steak and scallops entrée as a restaurant week option.

And Abbot plans to order Woksabi's Crunchy Tuna Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, and the new Philly Roll Entrée.

Clearly, A Taste of Collingswood Restaurant Week will have something delightful for every appetite. And who would know better than Collingswood Mayor James Maley?  

"Our restaurants offer such a broad range of cuisine," said Maley. "This is a great opportunity to shake off winter and visit town, do some shopping and have a great time."