rocknroll52's Profile
Restaurant Week - Which Italian Should I Choose?
Of the Italian restaurants on the RW list, I would recommend Positano Coast.
Lunch Near 18th/19th and JFK
Dandelion is a good choice. If he is a foodie, how about a.kitchen. I'd also consider Devon Seafood Grille.
Seafood or Cuban Near Westin Diplomat in Hollywood
Thanks Pilches. May I add we are not looking for anything too formal/fancy (Timo's pics on their website showed a somewhat formal dining room with white tablecloths...not really the vibe I'm looking for).. The Sugar Reef looks like a possible with nice setting on the beach. How does it compare to Billy's Stone Crab?
El Padrino came up in a yelp search for Cuban food and it is rated 4/5 stars. Have you eaten there and what is your opinion? They seem to have many good reviews in print as well. http://www.padrinos.com/inthenews.htm
Seafood or Cuban Near Westin Diplomat in Hollywood
Thank you Luv...but are these your recommendations? It seems like you just cut and pasted from the info posted by Chowfather back in 2008? Are these recommendations still current? It's 2012 now...
Seafood or Cuban Near Westin Diplomat in Hollywood
Hello. again,...just checking back to see if anyone can provide advice. Is my question too narrow? If there are no seafood/cuban recs to give in this area, please feel free to recommend any other worthwhile restaurants that would be drivable from the Diplomat.
Le Castagne
jesrseybill - my one an only experience with Le Castagne was a disappointing one as well. With so many good restaurants to try in Philadelphia, no point in giving it another chance, IMO. I also thought it was overpriced, and the level of service did not match the prices.
Seafood or Cuban Near Westin Diplomat in Hollywood
Two adults from Philly staying at the Diplomat for 3 nights in March- will have rental car.
Looking for restaurant rec's for seafood and cuban (or anything else typically South Florida).
Thanks for any recommendations you can provide!
hollywood
Hello! I will be staying at the Diplomat this spring and wondered if these recs are still good- or are there others to consider?
We will be two adults from the Philly area- since its florida I guess we'd love seafood, but are open to any ideas!
Daytona Beach Rec's, PLEASE?
I have been to Daytona numerous times over the years. Last time (June 2011) I found a restaurant that was very good- the Cellar- I hope it is still in business- so I'm reposting the ttext of the review I wrote about it for Yelp:
The Cellar is by far the nicest restaurant I have been to in Daytona. As a visitor from the Philadelphia area, over the years I thought I had tried all the decent restaurants around- in the Daytona area there is no shortage of casual seafood places, cheap italian pizza/pasta joints and chain restaurants...but very little in the way of fine dining. I was so happy to discover the Cellar!
The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated with white tablecloths, stained glass windows, and artfully displayed wine bottles. The service was extremely professional, but also friendly- the owner came over to our table to chat with us and find out how we heard about the restaurant. (I found it here on yelp!)
My husband and I enjoyed an appetizer plate of delicious italian meats, cheeses and marinated vegetables. For entrees, we tried some of the house made pastas- seafood ravioli and the fettucini with rabbit ragu. Both were delicious! We finished our meal by sharing a yummy apple strudel with ice cream.
I highly recommend the Cellar if you are in the Daytona area on vacation and looking for an upscale dinner with excellent food and service! I only wish I had known about this restaurant sooner!
Persian food
i don't know about persian groceries but I just discovered a restaurant with persian food...Mediterranean Grill in Bryn Mawr.
Need a "Plan B" for Chestnut Hill area
thanks that's good to know. Mt Airy is actually on the way home for us from Chestnut Hill (we live lower merion twp) so it wasn't out of the way. I really appreciate all the advice as we haven't ventured across the river that much for dining.
Opa, Greek for ?
We've been to Opa twice now and its a good pretheater spot. We always order wine or beer so the portion issue on mixed drinks has not come up for us.
The atmosphere of the place is really cool but one problem I noticed is that if you sit facing the street you are constantly blinded by headlights of cars exiting the parking garage. It would be better to sit at one of the side facing tables way in the back. interestingly when we last were there, we arrived for an early dinner in a nearly empty restaurant on a cold day the waitress offered to seat us right next to the window she didn't seem to get that the window in the front of the restaurant would be a cold drafty place.
Like you, we really liked the food and it is reasonably priced. The burger filled with feta is exceptional. On a previous visit had the lamb special which was excellent. Some of the apps are good liked the hummus; the calamari was amazing on first visit but on second visit seemed to lack the salty spicy flavor I had enjoyed previously. The lamb sliders were ok but somewhat bland also lacking salt.
Need a "Plan B" for Chestnut Hill area
also...passed by a large an busy diner in Mt Airy on Germantown looked very popular ... is this a place worth going to?
Need a "Plan B" for Chestnut Hill area
thanks to both. we went to Iron Hill first, and it was packed...headed back to Earth and were able to get a table immediately. I guess all the beer drinkers were up at Iron Hill testing it out. will have to plan better next time and get a reservation for Iron Hill.
but, we had a very enjoyable meal at Earth, starting with a shared spinach salad with bacon ( a special), 2 smalll flatbread pizzas (I had the sausage/mushroom and my husband had the buffalo chicken), and finished off with a bread pudding. The buffalo chicken flatbread was way too spicy for my taste but my husband was ok with it. I loved the mushroom flatbread pizza- great flavors in the sausage, and the flatbread was nicely crisped and slightly charred.
Beers we enjoyed were the house Zythos, PBC Pennsylvania Pale Ale, and Laguintas Heffeweizen.
The tab was very reasonable at $50 for two,. My only complaint was the beach boys music that was playing in the background all night....
I wish this place were closer to us, I would come more often!
Need a "Plan B" for Chestnut Hill area
Heading over to the new Iron Hill brewpub in Chestnut Hill tonite but was unable to get a reservation. In case the bar area is packed, looking for a "plan b" in the general vicinity. any suggestions?
Bluefin in Plymouth Meeting- What's good on the menu?
I'm heading to Bluefin for the first time this weekend wondered if there are any special items on the menu I should order. On yelp, I read about the tuna sundae, and definitely plan on trying it. Any other interesting items I should sample?
Thanks!
PGH Restaurant -Parents Weekend
We decided on Montery Bay Fish Grotto and it turned out to be a great choice! I think my daughter felt very pampered by the elegant atmosphere and the fabulous view, The food was impressive- we especially enjoyed the appetizers- the ahi tempura and the crabcakes were both standouts. The fresh fish choices were a bit overwhelming- too many choices! The salmon strawbery style came recommended by our server and was very good for an unexpected combination. We also tried the orange basil halibut which was very tasty (though my husband swore the fish was cod); the swordfish oscar was amazing; and the grouper monterey style with black olives and artichokes pleased my husband very much. Also enjoyed a side of lobster mac n cheese. We don't usually get desserts but they were all so tempting and made for a sweet conclusion to the meal. The service was attentive and overall it was a memorable if somewhat overindulgent dining experience!
PGH Restaurant -Parents Weekend
Thanks for all the great advice! You guys are great!
PGH Restaurant -Parents Weekend
Hello Pittsburgh Chowhounds!
We will be heading to Pitt for family weekend and want to treat our freshman daughter to a nice dinner out. Looking for a restaurant that has good seafood on the menu but other than that we are open to any cuisine. A quick look on opentable's best of list led me to Monterey Bay Fish Grotto and SOBA Lounge which both get high ratings for food and ambiance. What are you opinions of these restaurants? Are there other ones I should consider?
Thanks for any recommendations you can give!
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SOBA Lounge
5847 Elllsworth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Monterey Bay Fish Grotto
145 Mall Circle Dr, Monroeville, PA 15146
a.kitchen is a.mazing!
Craig Laban just raved about a.kitchen in a 3-bell review. Just reading it made me hungry! http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/craig_laban/20111009_a_kitchen.html
Fun, decently priced restaurant for a Monday night
This interactive BYOB map is great because it shows you the location of state liquor stores (where you have to buy your wine). http://archive.visitphilly.com/byobmap/
Pescatore Bala Cynwyd
First time at Pesacatore- the place was packed and super noisy. They really packed the table into this small space and there is nothing on the walls or floor to buffer the sound.
On the plus side, the food was good to very good,with the clear standout being the eggplant rollatini appetizer which was absolutely delicious! I can also recommend the mussels appetizer, and the homemade gnocchhi which were very light in texture, and served that night in a slightly spicy tomato sauce.
Loved the pesto and shaved asiago cheese which was served alongside the bread basket.
The portions are generous, making this restaurant a good value for price. We had the "restaurant week" menu which was being offered for $30 (appetizer, entree and dessert) which seemed like a real bargain especially considering this is a BYOB.
Service at Pescatore was friendly though not particularly attentive. We did have to ask for utensils for the dessert, which arrived delayed after we had finished our coffee.
I would return to Pescatore to try some more of the menu. We didn't choose a fish entree (despite the name of this restaurant, most of the menu is actually not seafood). The fresh fish of the day were salmon and tilapia, neither of which sounded too appealing, and I can buy both in the grocery store.
Overall, we were satisfied with the meal and would recommend
Georges Perrier's blogger troubles
I noticed that my post about Georges Perrier's blogger troubles was moved to the food news section of Chowhound resulting in the fact that no one can post to it here and it will simply fall to the bottom of the list and never get discussed... not sure why Chowhound Team took the step of moving this post - I hope they are not trying to bury this topic. What's up Chowhound Team? Isn't this story something we're allowed to discuss on the Philly Board? Its all over the front page of the Metro today. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/809707
Georges Perrier Sues Blogger
tilemaker, actually the news is reporting that Georges actually has filed a lawsuit. My point is that in doing so, he will be merely adding more publicity to the allegations that have been made against him. See this link http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/dan_gross/20110927_Dan_Gross__Perrier_out_to_skewer_blogger.html
With all the problems Georges Perrier has had in the PR department, the decision to sue seems illadvised.
Googling Georges Perrier, the top 4 news search results now report on this story.
The blogger has a giant picture on the front page of today's Metro. http://www.metro.us/philadelphia/local/article/982830--staph-meal-spilling-gossip-from-the-kitchen
Restaurant Week - what was your experience
um...think you meant Porcini...my dinner at Zinc did not make me want to come back.
Restaurant Week - what was your experience
We went to Zinc for RW and although it was "ok" it wasn't great. The servings were very small. I enjoyed my braised lamb shank, but my husband wasn't that thrilled with the seafood selection, it was a tiny portion, and turned out to be not a great choice to follow the appetizer of octopus, which also was small. Fortunately for the dessert - he didn't go away hungry. We were underwhelmed with the food quality. Service, however, was prompt. We had an early dinner and were in and out in an hour!
Georges Perrier Sues Blogger
Story here http://articles.philly.com/2011-09-27/news/30208761_1_blogger-twitter-posts
the offending blog is here http://staphmeal.com/
I think Georges made a bad move here by suing the blogger- it will only serve to publicize the offending blog
something interesting in this blog that I did not know- apparently restauranteurs like Stephen Starr and Jose Garces take a percentage of their waitstaff's tips to pay credit card fees!
Nice Dinner Before the Electric Factory?
I'm not familiar with the places you mention in NYC. Since you are new to the Philly dining scene, you might really be limiting yourself by asking for places similar to what you know. Are you willing to experience something different? You might want to checkout some of the recent threads on this board, such as these
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/807588
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/804857
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/802481
Business Dinner
Yes I have. I thought it was outstanding. The atmosphere is 1940's. If your group likes steak, it would be a winner,
Other places I'd recommend for a busines dinner would be : Fountain at the Four Seasons and Davios (Italian/Steak). Both have excellent food, service and ambiance for a busines dinner.
Buffalo wings worth consuming??
Try the wings at the Pub at Penn Valley. They have 3 different styles. I think they are good though they may not be the best in the world plus they are within your requirement for 10 minute drive.
