Blackbird Dining Establishment
619 Collings Avenue
Collingswood, NJ 08107
(856)-854-3444
Saturday night, Christina and I went out to dinner with our friend Katie who we have known since Elementary School. We had not seen her in quite a bit of time so it was great to be with her again and catch each other up on each of our lives. We originally planned to go out to eat with two other of our great friends, Jill & Danielle, but they could not make it since we were hit with a snow storm. Of course we decided to brave the storm to have dinner at Blackbird in Collingswood, NJ.
The Owner and Head Chef of Blackbird is Alex Capasso. Blackbird is a BYOB, so bring that wine!
When we arrived at the restaurant, we were immediately welcomed by an employee who opened the door for us. We checked our jackets and were promptly seated. Shortly after ordering, we were brought over a nice sized slice of delicious bread with olive oil that was poured by the server onto our bread plates. I love restaurants that bring you the bread a slice at a time as opposed to placing a basket of bread on the table.
All three of us actually ordered the same salads and entrees. To start, we each ordered the Baby Spinach Salad which consisted mostly of baby spinach and halved grape tomatoes and lightly topped with gorgonzola cheese, pine nuts, shallots and dressed in a dark balsamic dressing. I really found the dark balsamic dressing to be very good.
For our entrees, we each ordered the homemade in house linguine served with wild mushrooms, porcini sauce, and finished with truffle oil which was lightly sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese. As you may know, I have a love for pasta dishes with mushrooms…especially when wild mushrooms and fresh pasta are involved. We really liked how we had the option to order any of the pasta dishes in appetizer portions or entree portions. It reminded me of dining in Marc Vetri’s restaurants where you have the option to order any of his pasta dishes in half or full portions. Christina and I chose to order the entree portion while Katie opted for the appetizer portion since she was not too hungry. The portions were perfect and each of us finished our plates feeling completely satisfied. I’ve had my fair share of Mushroom and Pasta dishes and I will say that this dish definitely ranked in the top 3. Coincidently, the best mushroom and pasta dish I have ever had was from a restaurant called Blackfish in Truro, Cape Cod.
Blackfish's Wild Mushroom Pasta (Cape Cod)
Another amazing pasta and mushroom dish that I have had comes from Mercato in Philadelphia, PA. But Blackbird’s House made Linguine with Wild Mushrooms and Porcini Sauce definitely now holds a spot as one of my favorites. Not quite as delicious as Blackfish’s in Cape Cod, but delicious none-the-less. Oh yeah, house made pasta is a must. If I could change one thing about this dish, I would add more wild mushrooms. We had the option of ordering shaved Black Truffles onto this dish, which would have added an awesome touch but unfortunately black truffles are pretty pricey and not within my budget.
Blackbird's Wild Mushroom Linguine in Porcini Sauce
Since we all ordered the same salads and entrees, we decided to branch out a little and we each ordered different desserts. Katie ordered the Chocolate Walnut Tart with an orange caramel sauce.
Christina ordered the Hazelnut Chocolate Torte.
I decided on the Chocolate 3-Ways: White Chocolate Mousse, Milk Chocolate Pot de Creme, & Warm Chocolate Cake.
My favorite part of this dessert was definitely the Milk Chocolate Pot de Creme (which is in the center).
Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner at Blackbird. We think that this is definitely one of the best restaurants to go to in South Jersey. The service was exceptional and the food was delicious. We look forward to returning to try other thing on the menu.
Also we read on their website that at the end of January, Blackbird will be relocating minutes down the road to 714 Haddon Avenue next to Alex Capasso’s other restaurant, West Side Gravy. We will have to visit again to check out the new location.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Mary,
My husband Bill and our good friend Sal Coppola (owner of Coppola’s Restaurant) went to Blackbird for dinner last February – They absolutely loved it. Sal of course had Bill try a few different dishes – for example, Sweet Breads & Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Foie Gras. They also thought their waiter was very knowledgeable & friendly. Have you tried Woksabi on Haddon Ave? Excellent & very fresh Sushi! Matt & I love it.
That dessert looks so yummy