My Best Birthday Dinner Ever — Tortilla Press, Collingswood, NJ
Hey! Good evening kids. I had the most amazing dinner tonight. It’s my 38th birthday and the hubs took me to Tortilla Press in Collingswood for dinner tonight. I’ve been dying to try this restaurant for so long and my meal was more than I expected. I was so excited to finally go and I was worried that it would not live up to my expectations. As it turns out there was no need to worry. Everything we ate tonight was fresh, tasty and savory.
I’m not a restaurant critic or even an experienced foodie but I know good food when taste it and this was good food. My father has often said, “You don’t mind spending money when it’s good food.” Well kids I’d have paid twice what we paid and still raved about the experience.
We started off with Tortilla Soup. When it first came to the table I was worried I wouldn’t like it because the broth was red as opposed to brown. A few spoonfuls in I was wishing I’d asked for a bowl of soup. The broth was smooth and tasty and flavorful without being too salty or spicy.
For diner I chose the chicken fajitas (oh yeah I’m predictable) and the hubs chose Ancho Chile Crusted Tuna Pineapple. We both enjoyed our food immensely. Mine came with shredded cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, peppers, onions and rice. There wasn’t one thing on my plate that was not delicious. The chicken was tender and cooked in this yummy Mexican barbecue sauce, the peppers, tomatoes and onions were cooked just enough to be tender but not too much to be mushy and the rice was cooked just right; soft, fluffy, tasty.
Oh my gosh! I can’t believe I almost forgot to tell you about the black bean dip and fresh guacamole. The bean dip was so good we asked for more and brought what we didn’t finish home with us. I’d never had guacamole before tonight because it never looked appealing on my plate. Tonight’s guacamole was made fresh and was the most beautiful color of green I’ve ever seen. I truly wish I’d have thought to take pictures of our dinners. Both were as beautiful to look at, as they were tasty to eat.
The hubs’ tuna looked beautiful. It was seared and served rare so there was no way I was going to eat it. I did however taste his chipotle mashed potatoes, which were to die for. You know the ones I’m talking about. The good ones. The creamy ones. The made just right ones. The ones that you could sit and eat a whole bowl of by yourself. Oh yeah. These were it, soft, creamy, flavorful. Mmmmmmmmm …. Wonder if they’d sell me a bowl of mashed potatoes? *laughs* And imagine I only had 2 forkfuls. Imagine the rave review they’d have gotten if they were part of my meal.
Both of our desserts were to die for. I ordered the Coconut Flan and the hubs had the Cheesecake Chiminchanga. The flan was light, tasty, flavored with just enough coconut where you got the coconut taste without out being overly sweet. The real winner of the evening was the Cheesecake Chimichanga in all its warm, soft, comforting glory. What a way to end dinner. When the hubs cut into the yummy, light, sweet chimichanga outside to free the warm, tasty, oh so smooth cheesecake inside it was like eating tomato soup on a cold rainy day; warm, comforting, soothing. Yum. What a way to end a meal. *sigh* Next time we go I’m gonna eat mashed potatoes and cheesecake. Think they’ll mind? *laughs*
All mashed potato and cheesecake ravings aside, both of our dinners were amazing and I have to say, reasonably priced. Two cups of soup, Chicken Fajitas, Ancho Chile Crusted Tuna Pineapple, Coconut Flan, a Cheesecake Chimichanga and a cup of coffee for less than $65. For the quality of the food and the friendly and helpful service I expected dinner to be close to $100. I was pleasantly surprised when our waiter CJ brought us our check and it was nowhere near that.
I can’t wait to go back. The hubs really pulled off an amazing birthday dinner this year.
