Beulah's Profile
A Week in Parks
We'll be spending a week in Paris at the end of May and have the following reservations:
5/23 La Table du Lancaster
5/24 Le Pergolese (friends of Charlotte and Pierre Calmels of Bibou BYOB Philadelphia)
5/25 Itineraries
5/29 Guy Savoy -- snagged the 110 euro lunch from the web site thanks to post I saw on CH!
I'm leaving 5/26-5/28 free for serendipitous last-minute choices and 5/30 is the day we're leaving so will probably try to have lunch near our hotel in Arrondissement 9 -- suggestions, please?
Upcoming Paris trip: need some input on this planned itinerary
Google translates all the French web sites into English for me!
Blackfish Tuesdays, and a BYO question in general.
I can't tell you about Blackfish but I routinely bring a bottle of wine to a restaurant, drink half and bring the rest back home. My husband doesn't drink. The only time I had a problem was when I bought a bottle at a restaurant and they wouldn't let me take the rest home. So my husband broke his self-imposed rules and helped me finish it! But I've never had a problem at a BYOB. Just be sure to ask them to give you the cork!
Please critique my itinerary
Fuji is far and away the best Japanese restaurant in the Delaware valley. We only go to Amis when we can eat outside because it's so loud! We like Dim Sum Garden -- Han Dynasty is too spicy for our elderly digestive systems. Bibou, Vetri and Osteria are our faves -- we concentrate on pizza, appetizers and pasta at Osteria -- forget the entrees and desserts!
Zahav This Week
We had dinner last night at Le Castagne -- they had 3 choices for each course. For apps they offered a spring chicken broth with mini matzoh balls,frizee & arugala salad with roasted mushrooms and smoked trout. Wee had the soup (husband) and salad (me) -- soup was good with pieces of chicken and garden veg in it (including some fresh peas); salad was delicious. He had salmon cake with asparagus for main, I had roast chicken with portobello/matzoh stuffing plus roasted (fingerling) potatoes. Other choice was Kobe beef brisket but we were brisketed out. Salmon cake was bland; chicken was good but undistinguished; roasted potatoes were excellent. Dessert was a choice of Chocolate flourless cake, fresh fruit plate and pineapple cobbler. We both had the pineapple cobbler. It had chunks of fresh pineapple, lots of juice and a meringue-like topping with coconut -- might have been a light sponge cake mixture with coconut.
The manage told us they've had Passover dinner all week for several years and expect to continue it every year. We enjoyed it and it was completely different from Zahav.
Zahav This Week
We had the Passover dinner at Zahav last night and enjoyed it very much -- but remember, Barryg, that the hummus is OK for Sephardic but NOT for Ashkenazi Jews. My husband has loosened up the last couple of years and will eat it at Zahav but not at home! I agree that the coconut flan was fabulous and I love their Matzoh. Le Castagne is offering a Passover dinner this year and we're going to try it Wednesday night -- will report back.
Excellent restaurant in Doylestown?
Thanks to all. We used to enjoy Slate Bleu when we lived in Huntingdon Valley (6+ years ago) but I couldn't remember the name. Will look up Honey and Villa Barolo to see their menus before we decide. We look for low salt and (hopefully) low fat so Maxwell's doesn't seem right for us
Excellent restaurant in Doylestown?
Hoping for a hound to recommend someplace very good in Doylestown for dinner after a visit to the Michener Museum -- haven't been in that area since we moved from the burbs to Center City 6 years ago. Thanks in advance for all recommendations.
Why Bibou doesn't deserve Four Bells...
We've been eating at Bibou about once a month since they opened. While it is not a luxurious, quiet restaurant a la Le Bec Fin, we were rooting for their 4th bell. Under the current standards, which are NOT the standards of 10 years ago, the 4th bell is well deserved for the excellent food, very good service, and the warmth and professionalism provided by Charlotte Calmels as well as Pierre's superlative food. Certainly we consider their 4th bell less controversial than that awarded to Zahav.
The Commissary. . .
The Frog came first, then Commissary. And I have the cookbook and carrot cake recipe too. Poses had another branch of the Commissary at International House at U of P and then he moved the Frog to fancier digs on Locust Street (from 16th st where Warsaw cafe recently closed. It was like a very high class cafeteria (with wine!).
Palm Springs and vicinity suggestions
We're heading for Palm Springs Tuesday for our 7th annual visit. We think Johannes is just about the best restaurant in the area For breakfast, Norma's at the Parker Hotel can't be beat. Always interested to hear about new places.
Excellent Dinner at Vedge
Yes, we were to Vedge a couple of weeks ago and we liked it very much. Wanted to take our visiting children and grandchildren there this week (one's a vegetarian) but they were all booked! We thought it was really excellent.
Kosher Pullets
Second Shoprite on the Boulevard about 1/4 to 1/2 mile below Woodhaven. Huge Kosher selection and great for Passover.
Off The Beaten Path In Palm Springs
We've been going to Palm Springs (from Philadelphia) for the Film Festival for the past 7 years. We love Norma's at the Parker for breakfast -- expensive but worth it! The best regular restaurant in PS, in our opinion, is Johannes -- it's not BBQ or ethnic or inexpensive but it's really good food.
Bibou
WE try to eat at Bibou once a month. We've had and loved the foie gras in different guises but we try to avoid it since we don't feel it's healthy. We had the pigs foot only once and it was delicious but way too much for either of us (we're getting old!). We ate there the other night and had the gravlax (husband) and the mushroom fricasee which I adore (me). He had fish and I had the breast of guinea hen -- excellent. Desserts were floating island for both -- also delicious.
Vetri Tomorrow... any suggestions
We ate there last night. We had the spinach gnocchi, almond tortellini and onion crepe -- all longtime favorites. We also very much enjoyed a pasta new to us, carmella with butternut squash -- which was right up there with the spinach gnocchi and almond tortellini. For the meat course we had Texas antelope with wine sauce (either barolo or amorone, I don't remember which), which was absolutely fabulous. These were the highlights of the meal.
Va Hound looking for fine dinning recs near 237 Broad (not sure what N-hood) but Downtown
Estia would be almost right across the street from the Doubletree (Broad and Locust) and is an excellent seafood restaurant -- Greek but specializes in fish.
Does a good kosher bakery exist anywhere in the Del Val?
I agree about the fish. Beef tenderloin is definitely not kosher!
Differences between Osteria, Vetri & Amis?
We get more than 4 dishes when we eat at Vetri. But for his purposes, I'd recommend Osteria -- order a pizza, one or 2 apps, and 2 pastas (pastas are divine) -- and you'll get out for his budget and have a great meal! Amis is way too noisy -- we only eat there when we can eat outside. We love Vetri but at $135 it's over his budget.
Ela
We ate there the other night and liked it very much. We ate in the back room ( at our request) where it was away from the bar crowd. My husband had the gnocchi, which he liked a lot, and I had the sweet potato soup with coffee carmel -- very good. I had the scallop dish and he had fish. We shared the pumpkin "pie", which was excellent. I had a classic gin martini, which was good and strong. We hope it makes it because we live in the neighborhood and like places within walking distances to succeed if they're good.
Restaurant for Thanksgiving
Can anyone recommend a restaurant that will be open for Thanksgiving and that can accommodate a group of approximately 10? Not as pricey as the Ritz or the Fountain. Help, please.
ISO The Best Croissants in the Philadelphia Area
We once got great croissants at the market/food court in the Comcast Center -- I think they were made by Le Bec Fin!
need recommendation near Walnut Street Theatre
How about Caribou Cafe, just a block or so away at Walnut &11th St?
Dinner between Philadelphia and Stockton/Lambertville (NJ)
I would also recommend Rte 232, 2nd street Pike, rather than 611. You pick it up just on the east side of New Hope and it goes straight down, just about, to Fox Chase. I lived in Huntingdon Valley for years and always went via 2nd Street Pike (Huntingdon Pike) rather than 611 because that takes you too far west. This route also opens you up to places in Newtown and Southampton -- Blue Sage, the vegetarian place.
Dining near Thruway between NJ and Albany/Schenectady/Troy
We will be traveling from Philly to Lake George next Sunday and returning the following week. Need a good restaurant for a very nice Sunday lunch -- not burgers or hot dogs. Thanks in advance.
Restaurants in Alsace and Lorraine
We will be spending a week in Alsace (mostly) and Lorraine in early September. We have a reservation at Au Crocodile but that's it so far. We will have a car and will be driving the wine route and then perhaps to Nancy and maybe Metz. All suggestions are welcome, especially for Monday nights.
Thanks in advance.
Providence- Please help me decide
We just came back from Providence (we're visiting grandparents) -- ate at Al Forno and also Baccaro's (chef used to work at Al Forno) and we enjoyed both. This time we may have liked Baccaro's a little more. Had dinner at Julian's for the first time -- we've eaten both breakfast and lunch there and enjoyed them -- but we didn't care for the dinner. AGree with recommendations for Grace's, Local 121, and above all, superb pastry at Pastiche!
-----
Local 121
121 Washington St, Providence, RI 02903
