Food & Drink in Collingswood

Voted the Best Coffee Shop by Philadelphia Magazine, The Treehouse Coffee Shop has grown a loyal following with its comfy atmosphere and exquisite coffee made with beans purportedly grown on the roof. Caffeine cravers can choose from the shop's eclectic selection of java, including the dark Indonesian-grown Sumatra blend, roasted by the regional Crescent Moon Coffee Company. Aside from a potent cup of coffee ($1.45–$2.25), the rest of the menu features stress-quelling teas ($1.30–$1.60), frozen mochas ($4.05–$4.55) from the espresso bar, and scrumptious sandwiches such as the focaccia-bread chicken panini ($7). The Treehouse Coffee Shop completes its community-friendly image with open mic nights on Wednesday and traditional Irish music on Thursdays—a pleasant departure from typical coffee house entertainment such as yelling men and magazines without pictures.

El Sitio's chefs parade a vibrant menu of dishes from Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina across visiting palates. The lomo manchego, a grass-fed sirloin medallion stuffed and drizzled with manchego cheese ($26), is served on a stone plate designed to maintain warmth long enough for forks to tap out blissful sonnets in Morse code. Patrons can lick their plates clean after romping through staple dishes such as the sliced octopus covered in black-olive sauce ($9.25) or a sampler of empanadas, tequeños, and calamari ($11.50). Dine indoors beneath lime-green and marigold walls bathed in varietal lighting, or let the wind blow through your eyelashes while noshing on shrimp in an ivory mantle of coconut sauce ($17) on the patio. El Sitio's BYOB policy allows diners to bring along a bottle of wine, six-pack of beer, or bedazzled personal juicer.

In 1937, something hot, delicious, and glazed rolled through the sleepy town of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Seventy-seven years later, Vernon Rudolph's secret doughnut recipe lives on within the hundreds of Krispy Kreme locations scattered across the globe as well as within the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History, where Krispy Kreme is heralded as a 20th-century American icon.

The entire doughnut-making process, which customers can view up close and personal at many of Krispy Kreme?s outposts, begins with fresh ingredients and ends with the click of a fluorescent sign bearing the words, "Hot Doughnuts Now." From the original, mold-breaking glazed doughnut to newer doughnut varieties, such as chocolate ice Kreme, glazed raspberry, and glazed chocolate cake, each round dainty pairs with piping-hot coffee for a compact snack easily tucked into a pocket or clown shoe.

For more than 35 years, Sea-Lect Seafood has curated an ample selection of fresh wild Alaskan salmon, sushi-grade tuna, wild-caught shrimp, and other sea-caught treasures. Each day, the staff crowds a case with crab cakes and prepares other foods—homemade soups and creamy chowders—to be savored at home. At the Maple Shade location, chefs craft hot dishes for diners who devour steaming meals in the cozy dining space rather than at home to avoid offending the family goldfish. Owner George Gladden first started working at Sea-Lect Seafood at the age of 15 as a dishwasher, then climbed his way to the top through his love of cooking fresh seafood, desire to please customers, and ability to speak lobster.

The menu at Knight's Bistro is decidedly unselfish—its large plates of Italian food encourage the sharing of covetous bites. Diners break off pieces from large specialty pizzas decorated in eggplant cutlets or pass the bruschetta and one of four stuffed shells brimming with ricotta cheese to their neighbor. Plates overflow with pastas dressed in one of eight sauces sopped up by housemade rolls.

Families pass these bites back and forth beneath golden cone-shaped lamps that hang above the restaurant's diner-style booths. The staff permits diners to bring their own libations from home, an easier way to facilitate social dining than forcing people to drink from an eight-pronged crazy straw. Weekly dinner specials also play into the convivial theme: Tuesday nights feature classic clambakes with crab legs, lobster claws, and other seafood, whereas Mondays consolidate a large pizza and four soft drinks under a single price.

Tall stalks of bamboo flank Woksabi’s front doors, welcoming patrons into a modern space with exposed brick, dark wood, and accent lights that radiate hues of marigold and cobalt blue. Sleek tables support sizzling parades of lobster, filet mignon, shrimp, salmon, and veggies, kissed by the flames of a hibachi grill or drizzled in teriyaki sauce. In addition to searing hibachi dinners and piling plates with noodle favorites such as spicy pad thai, chefs impress diners seated at the sushi bar by slicing and wrapping fresh ingredients into rolls that range from the common california roll to the Perfect Match, a sweet and salty creation named in reference to Captain and Tennille.