We're visiting from Boston with old friends who live in Long Beach. They tell us that although they have lived in Long Beach for many years, they have yet to find a truly first-rate place that makes pizza in a high- temperature wood or coal fired oven, as in Naples (Italy, not California). Any Hounds out there have some suggestions?

In a couple of weeks, I'll be driving solo from Boston to Chicago, in a two-seat convertible, taking non-interstate roads as much as possible.

Growing up up in Chicago many years ago, fresh lake perch, sautéed or deep fried, was among my favorite foods. (Any body remember Phil Smidts, in Hammond?)

Since it's impossible to find fresh lake perch in Boston, I'll appreciate getting some recs from Hounds about places in northern Ohio and Indiana where I can over indulge my self.

Many thanks.

Boston hound and wife are looking for a good Sunday brunch/lunch spot that can also serve up a good side of zydeco.

Do yourself a favor and don't order oysters at Tadich unless you're so blitzed on martinis that you have lost your sense of taste. Over the years, I have had fabulous oysters on both coasts but without a doubt, the oysters we were served at Tadich last week were the worst I've ever had. After I told the waiter that they were absolutely tasteless, he confided to me that they wash their oysters in tap water before serving them, and that might affect their taste. Might indeed.

Tadich does terrific petrale sole, sand dabs and seafood salad, For great oysters in San Francisco, we head to Swans.

Just returned home to Boston after a great week in your wonderful city. Had fabulous food at Chez Panisse and Yank Sing, both as good as ever. Also enjoyed having breakfast again at Sears and dinner at Greens.

Had a weird experience at Tadich Grill. After a not unexpected long wait for a table, we took seats at the counter and gave our order to the waiter who, in classic Tadich style, acted as if being waited on by him was a great honor. Our food though -- petrale sole and a seafood salad -- was quite good, and the back and forth banter with our rather tedious waiter was actually fun. It was easy to throw him off his surly pose since he was clearly a verbal bully who could dish it out but not take it.

Being an oyster lover, I asked him to bring us a half dozen. I couldn't believe how bad they were, bland with no taste of the sea whatsoever. After telling the waiter that they were the worst oysters I had ever had, he said that I must be from the east coast (true). I asked him what that had to do with anything and told him I'd had great oysters on the west coast many times over the years. After much pedantic babble on his part, the waiter told me that Tadich washes their oysters in tap water before serving them (!!!) and that might affect their taste. No might about it I said. Told him the practice was insane and suggested that Tadich could save some money by simply running the oysters through their dishwasher before serving them.

The next day, at Swans, I had a large order of absolutely fabulous shrimp Louie. Told Eric, the great counter man at Swans, what had happened the night before at Tadich. He was appalled and after a couple of minutes he gave us a plate of absolutely wonderful oysters (at no charge), saying that he didn't want us to go away thinking that real San Fanciscans didn't know how oysters should be handled.

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Tadich Grill
240 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

Chez Panisse
1517 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709

Yank Sing
49 Stevenson St Ste Stlv, San Francisco, CA 94105

My wife and I will be arriving in Milwaukee on Saturday and leaving Tuesday. Unfortunately, we'll just miss the trditional Friday night fish fry. Do any perch-loving hounds know of a good place in the Milwaukee/Kenosha area where one can get their fill of pan-fried, fresh perch on Sunday or Monday evening?

Many thanks.

I grew up on the South Side during the Fifties but have lived in Boston since 1962. When I was a kid, for special family events, we went to Phil Smidt's, in Whiting. Loved eating there. My late father knew the Smidt family going back to the earliest days of the restaurant and I recall fondly our family going through platter after platter of fabulous sauteed perch in those all-you-could-eat days. Those were very happy times.

Sad that Smidts is no more. Fortunately, in 1998, I was to take my then ninety-year old mother to Smidt's one last time shortly before she died.

My wife and I are going to be in Chicago and southern Wisconsin (Milwaukee and Kenosha) for a few days in March and I hope that Chicago Hounds can suggest a place or two (in either location) that comes close to what Smidt's used to be. Got out to Teibel's a couple of years ago but we won't be that far south this time, and in my opinion, Teibel's, although good, was never the equivalent of Smidt's.

Thanks for your thoughts.

In a couple of months, my wife and I and will be flying from Boston to Milwaukee to attend a family event in Kenosha. Although I've lived in Boston for many years, I grew up in Chicago, and I still remember many a family drive to Milwaukee to feast on great German food. Additionally, I'd like to find the best place between Milwaukee and Kenosha to gorge myself on some of that fabulous lake perch we used to get when I was a kid.

Getting some thoughts from local Hounds regarding their favorites will be greatly appreciated.

Business in London will give me a short two-day stay Sunday and Monday. I'm looking for a moderately priced restaurant that serves excellent Dover Sole. I've been to Wilton's and think that it is an extraordinary restaurant but on this trip, I'd like to spend a touch less.

This summer, my wife and I will be in French Polynesia (specifically, Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora) to view the solar eclipse that takes place on July 11th. I have the impression that getting good food at reasonable prices in French Polynesia is asking for the impossible but I am still hopeful that some 'hounds will have suggestions about places we should give a try.

This summer, my wife and I will be in French Polynesia (specifically, Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora) to view the solar eclipse that takes place on July 11th. I have the impression that getting good food at reasonable prices in French Polynesia is asking for the impossible but I am still hopeful that some 'hounds will have suggestions about places we should give a try.

Locke-Ober had it on their menu when we were there about a year ago,

My wife and I will be spending four days in Geneva and Annecy beginning this Friday.

Searching numerous sources, including Chowhound, and eGullet among others, I've come up with the following:

In Geneva:
Chez Jacky for lunch and Les Cepages and Brasserie de l'Hotel de Ville for dinner.

In Annecy:
La Ciboulette and Auberge de Savoie for dinner.

Anybody out there who can compare our two Annecy choices with Brasserie Saint Maurice or L'Atelier Gourmand? Anybody out there that can improve upon our choices without sending us to two star plus places?

Many thanks.

Looking for a 'hound-worthy rec for breakfast in Murrell's Inlet. Great homemade biscuits would be a big plus.

Also, is there a better spot for a good seafood/fish dinner than Lee's?

Many thanks.

Our two-week blue highways only road trip to Savannah begins with a Friday evening sprint to Great Barrington, where we'll spend the night. Anyone have 'hound-worthy dinner and/or breakfast suggestions for Great Barrington? Many thanks.

On our drive back to New England from Savannah, we're thinking of trying Aqua in Beaufort, NC and the Fish House in Buxton on the outer banks for dinner. We can use some help in finding a good breakfast place in Buxton and a dinner spot in or near Nags Head. Any 'hounds have thoughts about Lone Cedar Cafe for dinner and for the next morning, the Manteo Grill for breakfast? Many thanks.

I knew that this was a long shot but I thought I'd try anyway.

We were driving through Asheville on our way from Boston to Atlanta for my brother-in-law's wedding during the summer of '72. While at a stop light, I asked a cop directing traffic where we could get a really good breakfast. He pointed to a place I had just driven past and said, "Over there, pal. The Grand Central." I then asked him if they had good biscuits and he said in a way I'll always remember, "They got 'em. They got 'em". And they did. Pretty sure the place was downtown but in my dotage, I'm not sure.

Thanks to all for trying, though.

We've been going to Mrs. Wilkes since the mid-sixties as a dear old friend has lived in Savannah his whole life. We love the place and it's one of our all-time favorites - anywhere. Some years back, I decided to focus my attention exclusively on what I like best at Wilkes and ended up consuming eight pieces of fried chicken and six biscuits. A truly memorable lunch.

Years ago, we had a fabulous down-home breakfast in a place that if memory serves me (something which is less true with every passing day), was named the Grand Central Cafe. Wonder if anyone recalls such a place. Best biscuits this Bostonian ever had.

Red Rocker seems to be just the kind of place we're looking for. Menu looks great. Trout for dinner. Southern biscuits for breakfast. Can't wait. Thanks for the tip.

Yes, we understand that we'll be getting off the Parkway to find the kind of good regional cooking (and sights) we're in search of. But that's what we're looking forward to. The point of our trip is to try to discover some parts of the southeast that have escaped the ruin that the homogenization of America has produced.

Sorry to report that the Glendale Springs Inn has shut down. We'll definitely head into Blowing Rock anyway.

My wife and I are planning a slow, meandering, two-lane roads-only trip from New England to Savannah. beginning the end of April.

We plan to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway just south of Harper's Ferry and take it all the way to Asheville before heading southeast to Savannah.

We'll appreciate suggestions that will get us to authentic places that serve up good regional cooking.

Many thanks.

We just returned from China where we experienced a great solar eclipse. The extraordinary food we ate on the trip was a wonderful bonus. One of our most memorable meals was in Xi'an where we sampled some twenty different dumplings (each fantastic) at De Fe Chang Dumpling Restaurant. In Hong Kong, at Yung Kee, the goose was so good I almost ordered another serving for desert.

Any hope of finding dumplings or goose anywhere near as good in Boston (or New York)?

Setting aside the lobster vs. Dungeness crab debate, this Bostonian suggests you consider trying The Cape Sea Grille, in Harwich Port and not all that far from Falmouth. The worst thing about the place is the "e" on the end of "Grille'. Another thought, if you have time to drive to the outer Cape (a more scenic and less honky-tonk area than the upper Cape), I'd recommend our favorite place in Wellfleet: Mac's Seafood, on the Wellfleet pier, where you eat top notch seafood seated outside at picnic tables. It's a BYOB place with great lobster, steamers, and Wellfleet oysters. In addition, nice sunsets are included at no extra charge.

GY --
Since I have been lucky enough to have had truly great Dungeness crab many times both in San Francisco and in Seattle, I don't see the point of comparing Dungeness crab to East coast lobster. Both can be terrific but fundamentally they're different. For me, the exercise of comparing the two is as pointless as comparing Dungeness crab to stone crab. Different beasts, different tastes and I love them both. Since they're each wonderful in their own way, why bother forcing a comparison when you can enjoy each for what it uniquely is?

Trust that we agree on hoping that Seattle beats the hated Yankees for a play-off spot.

We are two Bostonians who plan to take our Seattle hosts, two dear old friends, out for a not overly fancy dinner on Labor Day. We like seafood but the endless debate on the Seattle board regarding where to get somewhat reasonably priced yet good seafood has each of us confused to the point where we're ready to scrap the seafood idea entirely (We get lots of seafood in Boston and just got back from Cape Cod where we consumed vast quantities of very good seafood) and instead head to Cafe Campagne for some French bistro food.
Lastly, if we do return to the seafood idea, is Ray's Cafe (recommended by a Seattle Hound we ran into on the Cape) a bad idea?

Two Bostonians want to treat their hosts, dear old friends, to a dinner of either seafood/fish or bistro fare in Seattle.
We're looking for a combination of very good food and a pleasant, casual atmosphere.

We're planning to take old friends who are our hosts out to dinner one night in Kelowna and are looking for good recommendations. Ideally, although not critical, we'd find a restaurant that serves good fresh water fish, e.g., perch, bass, trout, etc., in addition to the more common ofeerings.

Many thanks.

We'll be in town for a wedding at the end of the month and are staying at a hotel in the inner harbor.

Suggestions for a good breakfast place on Sunday, a place with authentic character, a place that might have home-made hash, biscuits or the like, will be much appreciated.

Also, at the risk of being boring beyond belief, is having crabs at Obrycki's a mistake. Is Mama's or another place significantly better and worth the cab trek?

We're headed your way from Boston for a wedding at the end of June and will greatly appreciate hound thoughts on best places for crab and/or seafood. (We'll be staying at the Inner Harbor.)