It’s almost Halloween, so you know what’s on everybody’s mind: Christmas and holiday shopping! Time to start planning when, where and how we will trample our fellow human beings to greedily horde and grab at the shiny retail carrots the stores dangle in front of us.
Why are we bringing this up in the food- review section? Thanks for asking.
We stumbled upon an exceptional Italian restaurant nestled in the suburban retail eye of the upcoming holiday-shopping hurricane in the Voorhees Town Center in New Jersey. And since we know that a brisk day of amassing a trunk-load of holiday gifts can make one more than a bit peckish, we though we’d turn you on to a nice place to recharge and cool your heels instead of the food court.
Catelli Duo has the classy upscale look and feel that pretty much guarantees the place is going to be packed most evenings with happy-hour suits and affluent couples looking for fine dining. And the menu more than lives up to that image.
The crispy wrapped mozzarella ($6 for an “uno” portion or $12 for a “duo” portion) was bright and savory with prosciutto engulfing the cheese on a bed of chickpeas and fresh arugula. The lobster bisque ($9) was bold and complex, but pleasantly without the heavy creaminess that bisques usually have.
If you happen to stop there for lunch, the menu features a daily frittata ($12), which on the day we visited was hearty and satisfying, loaded with crabmeat, spinach and mushrooms. The accompanying salad and fresh fruit were delightful as well.
On the entrée side of the dinner menu, the seafood ravioli ($11 uno, $22 duo) has some sexy textures in the sauce and in the fillings of the gigantic specimens of stuffed pasta. Also, the restaurant isn’t shy about spicing the dish to suit your tastes.
We cannot stress enough how you have to save room for dessert. There are a lot of great things on Catelli Duo’s dessert menu, but none will knock your socks off harder than the Krispy Kreme bread pudding ($8). Trust us when we say it is 10 times better than it sounds. Greater than the sum of its parts, the decadently fluffy and intoxicating bread pudding is drizzled in custard and bourbon crème anglaise and served up with an exceptional vanilla gelato.
Whether it’s for shopping, cheaper gas or to visit friends, make up whatever excuse you need to leave the city and visit Catelli Duo.