I'm not sure whether this topic is appropriate to Chowhound, I've just learned that I will be having Thanksgiving dinner at my home this year and was wondering about having the meal catered. Has anyone used AJ's markets for this purpose and whether or not their food is any good. There advertising material makes everything look very appealing. Does this represent truth or wishful thinking?

We're meting friends for lunch next week who are coming to Woods Hole by ferry from Martha's Vineyard. Can anyone give me restaurant recommendations in the area? The only limitation is that the noise level is comfortable.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a really nice but quiet place for lunch in metro Phoenix area where we won't be rushed out? Something on the order of The Sanctuary? Would you recommend a hotel or regular restaurant? Ethnic food is fine as well.

I enjoy Thai food but my husband worries about food that is highly seasoned. Can you elaborate a bit on the Thai restaurants you mentioned?

Maybe it's an age thing, but I have this silly notion that you should be able to carry on a conversation with the people you're dining with. That being said, Parc Central is an auditory monstrosity. If you don't want to spend your time screaming to make yourself heard, then don't go there. Ditto, Brio on weekends. And the food is no great shakes either. I cannot think of meal at one of these corporate feeding troughs that provides anything better than a college dining hall experience.

We have season tickets to the Phoenix Theatre at the Phoenix Art Museum. The show begins at 7:30. Does anyone have suggestions for dinner nearby other than Durants? For convenience, we prefer to stay north of the I-10 and we come in from Scottsdale, so restaurants along the way would be OK.

I know this is late in coming, but ask people for recommendations around Sturbridge. it's 45 minutes from Newton and about 30 minutes from Hartford

Fosters, L'orcio and Ibiza all look great. I'm going to follow up on these. Thanks.

we're meeting on a Wednesday. The problem I have with Hartford is that it's only an hour and 15 minutes for us and for our friends it's well over 3 hours and I'm trying to keep this crazy stunt somewhat equitable..

Driving from Boston, we are meeting friends who are coming from Long Island for lunch. The New Haven area seemed to be about mid-way between our homes. I have looked over the Chowhound New England board but would like your thoughts on where we can enjoy a leisurely lunch worth driving more than 2 hours for.

thanks for your suggestions.

I have just spent quite a while trying to identify restaurants in Boston that have an actual waterview. Many restaurants bill themselves as "waterfront" and I suppose that this is sort of accurate. However, on closer inspection one finds that they are NOT located overlooking the harbor but away from the harbor but along the streets running by the harbor.

I have identified Anthony's Pier 4 but we ate there a few weeks ago and while the view was superb, the rest of the experience was dreadful. Food sent back, small portions, strange preparations, etc. I have also identified Rowe's Wharf Sea Grille and Meritage, both located in the Boston Harbor Hotel. The Intercontinental claims that Miel overlooks the harbor, but my recollection from a year ago is that this statement is a stretch.

I know that the Daily Catch is on a pier in the harbor and that the No Name is also on a pier. However, I am trying to bring along guests for a really nice dinner and these places are much too casual for the occasion.

So can my co-chowhounders give me the names of any places I may have overlooked?

Thanks.

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Meritage Restaurant
70 Rowes Wharf, Boston, MA 02110

No Name Restaurant
151-2 Fish Pier, Boston, MA 02210

Daily Catch
2 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210

Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant
140 Northern Ave, Boston, MA 02210

We're going to attend our first Spoleto Festival from June 5 through June 8 in Charleston and I have a few questions. Many people have recommended SNOB, McCradys, Figs, etc. Are any of these places open at lunch? Are reservations a necessity either for lunch or dinner? Are they located in the downtown area close to the Festival performance venues? Because we are new, I have probably scheduled us too tightly so are there a few suggestions for informal, but good places in the Festival area where you can just grab a bite without making a production out of eating?

I really enjoy reading Chowhound and await your ideas.

Not particularly helpful reply. An informal review of recent postings found references to Modern Steak, In-N-Out, White Chocolate Grille, Flemings, and Claim Jumper; I'd have to guess that every so often, Chowhounders blemish their foodie standards with forays into the big chains as well.

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Modern Steak
7014 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

We went to Amarone a few weeks ago. Although we were quite pleased when we ate there last year, we were terribly disappointed this time. The noise was painful, the food less than so-so. If you're interested in good Italian food, there's a neighborhood restaurant called Nick's at 100th and Frank Lloyd Wright where the food is really good.

I am always on the lookout for small, or smaller, restaurants that are NOT part of a chain (I call the chains "corporate feeding troughs".) in the Scottsdale or Phoenix area.

Storefront restaurants that are independently, and usually chef-owned, are more elusive, and therefore harder to tease out since it's the big ones that create the biggest publicity noise and are therefore on everyone's list. For example, Razz's, Havana Cafe, Wally's, Un Bacio, Amarone, come to mind

Can anyone add to my list?

Yummye

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Un Bacio's
7704 E. Doubletree Ranch Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85258

How disappointed we were when we ate at Eddie's House a few weeks ago. Eddie Matney, the owner, ran a great restaurant formerly located at 24th & Camelback, so it was with great anticipation that we reserved at his new place.

Without going into too much detail, let me say that my companion and I sent our dinners back. We ordered what was supposed to be fresh halibut. Anyone who knows this fish, will know in an instant what is fresh and what isn't. The fish, two three-ounce portions, was tough as leather - obviously it was NOT fresh. The side vegetables, bok choy and bell peppers, were so salty, that it hurt. Way too much soy sauce.

The restaurant allows a patron to order half or full portions, so when another person in the party ordered the full-portion garden salad, we anticipated a decent size. When it arrived, it was not very generous, but the waitress was assured us that it was the full portion.

Service was what I can only characterize as rough; water glasses remained unfilled, our waitress disappeared mid-meal and Mr. Matney conveniently "left a few minutes ago" when we asked to see him.

In conclusion, there are much better places to eat in Scottsdale. Eat at one of them.

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Eddie's House
7042 E Indian School Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

I remember an Italian restaurant called "Carriba" or "Corrimba" or something like that. It was located near Frank Lloyd Wright and Scottsdale Road intersection.

Does anyone know the name, phone number and whether it still is in business?

Last spring someone wrote to this board asking about personal chefs. I'd like to reopen the subject. I will be in Scottsdale this winter having medical treatments that are going to be fairly debilitating. Therefore I am looking for a personal chef who will bring in several months of meals, either cooking in my kitchen or bringing the meals packed for a freezer.

Has anyone had experience with a personal chef?
Can one ask to sample their cooking before committing?
Do either the Scottsdale Culinary Institute or the Scottsdale community College culinary program have students who do this sort of work?
Does anyone have any idea of what a fair price is for this service?

I really need some help here and hope that my fellow chowhounders will come through.

Yummye

Driving to Cooperstown from the Boston area this weekend. Does anyone have suggestions about a place to stop for lunch that's not too far off the interstate?

Thanks for your help.

I agree that the food at Wally's is quite good, especially a lunch consisting of the Chop Salad, and that the ambiance is quite pleasant as well since both the Scottsdale as well as the Phoenix locations have outdoor patios. The prices are fair as well.

Considering that Wally's timing for expansion was dicey at best in the economic tsunami we call Phoenix, I was apprehensive about their success. Not to worry on that score. Build a better mousetrap. . . etc.

But the service at the Scottsdale location leaves a great deal to be desired. On two occasions, at 5 PM on a Friday, which is well ahead of the dinner rush, it took 45 minutes to get our meal. The first time, we ordered appetizers, no excuse there. The second time the waitress admitted that she forgot to put in the order! Like she didn't notice we were sitting there without food?

Which leads me to my curmudgeonly policy: The 30-Minute Rule. This states that if some portion of the meal has not arrived in 30 minutes, we leave.

To zombiekitten: How far is Luling from Austin?

To amykragen: how far is Llano from Austin?

To all you who wrote back, thanks. I thought that Chowhound notified us when we received posts but I guess that didn't happen.

BTW, Spouse remembered that newspaper clippings, etc., boasted about the fact that LBJ would eat there.

More on Spouse's memories of "the best damned BBQ he ever tasted: Went to a BBQ place outside of Austin on a main highway, which had trestle tables outside. They cooked in 2 halves of 55-gallon drums. Each morning, they brought their food in and when it was sold, they closed for the rest of the day. It was one of LBJ's favorite places.

Every winter, four of us visit one or two Presidential Libraries and this year we are going to Austin next week to visit the LBJ and Bush 1 libraries. We will be there for about 5 days. I've been checking the Board but am a bit confused. Can anyone help me sort out some of these by suggesting some good restaurants that are either in the city or outside but within a reasonable drive? None of us are fans of Mexican food, and coming from AZ we have more than our share of pizzas, Chinese, etc., so I guess that leaves us with good ol' American cooking. Breakfasts are pretyy much taken care of since the hotel where we're staying offers a continental breakfast (Ugh!).

My husband went to a BBQ place years ago that he remembers as being outside Austin but he doesn't remember the name, so a recommendation for good BBQ would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Good for you, Seth! Voltaire's is both understated and underrated. It's one of the few places I can think of where it's quiet enough to hear your table companions. And better still, the tables are spaced far enough apart so that you don't have to listen to other people's chatter. The wait staff are unfailingly polite and helpful. And the food - well, it's uniformly excellent, the portions generous.

I do take exception to characterizing the building as "non-descript". Although a stand-alone building for a restaurant usually signals "corporate feeding trough", this building is not new (a veritable no-no in the valley) but to those of us who have migrated here from older areas in the US, it's comfortably aged. Perhaps a pre-WWII bungalow?

If architecture counts, what do you think of the Coronado Cafe in Phoenix?

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll swing by and check it out. Who knows. . .

Welcome to Arizona! I too lived in Philly (West Philly, to be exact) while we were at Penn. Now we're here and missing Center City. But to answer your question, consider Canton Dragon at 10190 N. 90th Sreet, just off the 101, and Shanghai Club in the Pima Crossing shopping center at 8752 E. Shea Blvd., again off the 101. Both places have really good food albeit they're somewht far for takeout. There are also quite few Chinese restaurants going south on Scottsdale Road but I could not vouch for any of them. Maybe other chowhounders can contribute.

Does anyone know of a decent neighborhood restaurant in this area for lunch? It doesn't have to be gourmet or upscale, just something that isn't a Quizno's, Subway, MacDonalds, etc. I don't mind driving a few miles to get there.

If it weren't so ridiculous, I would be annoyed. . . Saturday night, my husband and I found ourselves in Benson, AZ, population 4300 or so, out of which I'm sure a goodly number are kids. In any event, at 5:05 we presented ourselves at this restaurant which, from the outside, looked like a semi-condemned building surrounded by beat-up pickup trucks. Upon entering, we asked to be seated and were informed that we had to have a reservation! In Benson, population 4300? At 5:15? Nonetheless the hostess, who must have taken graduate-level courses in surly, grudgingly led us into the bar where the ambient temperature was, generously, 55 degrees and seated us in a booth that rocked, literally. The bench I was seated on rocked; the table rocked; sometimes they both rocked simultaneously.

The service was exactly what I thought we would get. We waited 15 minutes for one of the servers to saunter by and ask if anyone else had waited upon us. When we answered in the negative, she allowed as that that was too bad and sauntered off again. Another server finally arrived, took our drink order and our dinner (from a limited menu) order - we didn't dare let her get away from us.

When dinner finally arrived, my steak was tough and my husband's pork chop was tougher. We struggled with them and finally quit. We then had to find someone - anyone - who would give us a check which we paid and then ran for the door. Except that we had to plough through cowboys, cowhands (their dates/wives/whatever) who were lined up waiting to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Word of warning: stick with the Denny's in town. At least the food is edible and the restaurant has central heat.