Can anyone recommend some great new places in lower Bucks or Lambertville area. Been eating at all the places in Newtown, Richboro and Yardley. Would love a great Jumbo lump Crabcake.
Any places on the level of Blue Bottle cafe?

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I truly appreciate the feedback.

Kids are treating me to 60th birthday at downtown Ritz. Going to Keens for dinner. Any recommendations for a lunch somewhere nearby. Also willing to cab it anywhere you guys recommend. Enjoy almost any kind of cuisine. Preferably unusual stuff we don't find in Philly burbs (Bucks County). Any ideas?

All recommendations welcomed from simple dining with children, take out, and finer adult dining. Byob's appreciated.

Got a very nice tout from a shop lady in Naples for dinner last night: I'm surprised it hasn't been posted by chowhounds.
Island Cafe in Marco island: Had a great prix fixe for $36 last night which changes weekly. Wife ordered ala carte Lobster Cake ($10) which was very good. Her entree included a nice house salad. Her Grouper Island style was topped with blue crab and lemon caper butter sauce, very fresh and really nicely prepared. My price fix was 4 courses: Seared Sea scallops , spinach salad, Rack of Veal and Flourless chocolate torte. Every dish was delicious. A bottle of Fess Parker pinot noir was $49. A glass of Cab was very generous. The chef was a charming German gentleman who loves working with the local seafood.

Returned for a quick lunch today to Inca's Kitchen. Again it was exceptional. Tried a chicken soup with ground chorizo which was wonderful and ceviche kicked butt again. Wine list leaves much to be desired.

Inca's Kitchen- great food, very pleasant and informative servers, strip center, but niceambiance. Not fond of Peruvian wines. Our waiter should have told us we ordered too much food and steered us to ordering excessively. Everything we had was amazingly delicious and the portions were very large. (I am no lightweight, and still had to take home food.) The ceviche was one of the best I've ever had. The 1/2 chicken a la brasa was juicy and delicious. The scallops with melted cheese were great. The Inca Wari fish was somehow delicately prepared and juicy with a little crispiness at the edges. The dessert of fried donuts and Incan fruit ice cream kicked butt.

Bleu Province - Superb food and ambiance. Casual and unintimidating French food at reasonable prices. Our waiter directed us to great choices: Tuna tartar and Chicken Tagine (special) for my wife and Tomato Salad and Loup de Mer for me. Cheese plate dessert was well chosen and accompaniments were perfect matches. Most impressive was that the owner acts as sommelier. When I told him I'd like a bottle of wine under $40, he chose a Languedoc white for $32 which perfectly complemented our meals. He prided himself on having plenty of wines in all price ranges and being able to make good wine choices for all of his clientelle.

Crazy Flamingo in Marco Island - looks like a dump. We had dinner there the first night, just as we did 2 years ago. A chowhound recommendation. The oysters are really fresh and shucked to order by the "bartender" (wine and beer only). Served cold and no "questionable" oysters. Mussels in red were very good. The grouper was just okay. Caesar salad was very good. Sushi chef was great last visit, didn't order any this time around. We will be returning for sushi and oysters.

Little Bar in Goodland - very pleasant servers. The Stone Crabs, which we went for, were a bit small (about 6 or 7 to the lb), truly super conch chowder, frogs legs were pan fried with way too much garlic, steamed veggies were way overcooked. Wines by the glass were fair: good jug wines.

Bha Bha in north Naples: strip center location. Recommended by our waiter in Bleu Province. We both had the $12.50 luch special: thick Persian peasant soup and duo of small Persian salads, Lamb stew with excellent eggplant and portobello open faced pita sandwich for my veggie-deprived wife. A very decent place that I'd recommend for a simple lunch on a shopping day.

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Crazy Flamingo
1035 N Collier Blvd Ste 313, Marco Island, FL 34145

Bha!
847 Vanderbilt Beach Rd, Naples, FL 34108

Is IM Tapas still open and would you recommend it?

Thank you guys for your responses. Definitely going to Inca Kitchen.. Loved Krazy kitchen and Little Bar and will return. Any other suggestions greatly appreciated.

I have just recently found an inexpensive knife sharpener at a local Ace hardware store. Don't remember the name on the package, but it appears to be something hunters use while lurking in the bushes, waiting to pounce upon some prey. I've always had them sharpened professionally, but am thrilled with the results and simplicity of doing them at home. Still using my steel between sharpenings because I don't want to wear down the blades, which appears to be a temptation.

Philly hound needs help: Surprised that there are so few current posts for Naples and Marco Island. Can't find the tapas place we ate at in Naples a year or 2 ago. Other than the Ritz tapas place, anything new?
Also seeking raw oysters (can we eat them?) and Stone Crab places. Enjoy down and dirty as well as New American.
Any advise truly appreciated.

Looking for places where I can get outstanding Mac and Cheese in lower to Middle Bucks County.
Mainly looking for a take out place, but also interested in restaurants that make it really well.

New BYOB. New American. Chef/partner has worked at Blue Bottle Inn in Hopewell, NJ and Ryland Inn. Had a wonderful meal after they were open just one week. Lovely Fois Gras app for me, nice salads and apps for everyone else. Salmon entree was excellent. Pork duet included tenderloin and belly (which, somehow, was not rediculously fatty) and scallops, which were also excellent. Cheese plate was relatively simple, but very nice. Prices were all very reasonable and service was attentive, pleasant, and knowledgable. Desserts were also really good. I'm highly recommending this place to chowhounds, but don't tell
TOO many people, because soon you won't be able to get a reservation.
Josh

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Blue Bottle Cafe
101 E Broad St, Hopewell, NJ 08525

Stopping for 1 night at Farminton Inn on our way home from Maine to Bucks County, PA. Need some recommendations for fine dining. We've spent the last week with 2 three year olds and have eaten many lobsters. Time for something nice with a bar and decently priced wine list.
We eat everything.

Had one afternoon in Portland and expected to return to Jay's Oyster house (after 10 years).
Day was too hot, granddaughters too restless and bar too crowded to relive a past experience. So we wondered around and found Street and Co on a backstreet nearby.
They couldn't have been more accomodaating: seated us outside just as a nice breeze cooled the area down (what, they didn't order that?)
Server was really nice and seemed to read our mind in terms of accomocdating the granddaughters. Pasta in butter and pasta in red. 3 vaarieties of very nice Maine oysters.
Whole fish (black sea bass) done to perfection with a side of spicy sausage and kale.
2 ordered of halibut done nicely and superb local scallops. Wine list was very reasonably priced with a nice selection. Drinks were well made and generous.
Timing and quality were everything that night and made our day.

Would love to know how your week went and where you ended up eating. We're going on July 17. Did you see any razor clams? (I'm sort of fixed on them recently) Did you get any fried belly clams that were great? Did you get tothe Dolphin? Any unlisted finds?

Can anyone please tell me the recipe for the habanero sauce at Pompano and Maya?

Anyone know where I can eat some razor clams in Manhatten?

Going to Harpswell, ME for a week mid-July. Haven't been to Maine in 15 years. Looking for 1 very fine dining experience, lobster-pounds (do they still exist), clams, oysters, down-and dirty, sit by a dock and chill and other places. Taking 2 small children most nights, doing one or 2 nights with babysitters, Also should go to Portland one night without kids and one day with kids. Do razor clams grow up there? If so, where do we go for them?
Please, help us.

We are wondering if we should drive to Boston and stay two nights. We have gone many times to the Berkshires. The food has been great, but we're looking for something new. Sounds like Arrows is a place we'll go to while in Maine.
What we're really looking for is an experience like discovering Southern Brittany, but here in New England. If you've seen "No reservations', we want to find a place like Chez Jacky...this may just be am American fantasy, but it never hurts to ask the people who know good food. Especially love Razor Clams which I almost never see.

Celebrated our 27th anniversary last night. Looked for something new and special around Bucks County, usually quite a challenge.
Found postings on elements in Princeton and it seemed to fit our needs for 4 people.
Started with drinks at the 4 seat bar. Creative and truly knowledgable bartender who shared lots of knowledge on spirits and made some really nice drinks.
Seating in dining room is comfortable and tables are nicely set without being overdone. When you go to the bathroom they refold your napkins. Glassware is very nice. We brought our own wine and paid a $40 corkage for 2 bottles. The sommelier let us open a third bottle without an additional charge. Despite pouring our own wine, the wine service was great with separate, appropriate glasses for each bottle.
Amusee Bouche was a shot glass of a creeamed soup. We all licked out our glasses. (Very classy)
Apps were Fois Gras Torchons, a small salad, shrimp and calamari, spaghetti carbonara, and a single portion of their Charcuterie plate. All were awesome. Shared our apps and ordered a small glass of Montbazzilac to accompany the fois gras. Carbonara looked small, but was rich and ended up to be plenty for us all to taste. All the portions were ample, not enormous. Fois gras was quite generous.
Entrees were short ribs, lamb chops, bronzino and fluke. All had nice accompaniments and tasted delicious. Portions were just right (4 nice chops, 6 nice pieces of sous vide short ribs, medium filets of fish).
Desserts were special. I enjoyed the Kit Kat best. Cheese selection was nice, mostly local artisonal. Finished with petit fours.
The service was very attentive without being overbearing. The waiter was very informative and the timing was perfectly even. Every dish was explained as it was served.
We walked out well-fed (and I am no lightweight, believe me). We feel this restaurant fills a much-needed void that existed in the area. Not cheap ($225/couple included everything including tax and about 22% tip, since we brought our own wine and had it served nicely).
Bartender wrote some notes for me about whiskies I had inquired about
All in all, this will be our "go-to" special occasion restaurant. Only wish it was closer to our home in Bucks County. Still, well worth the "shlepp". I'd give it 2 Michelin stars or 5 AAA diamonds if I were a critic.

Driving to Maine coast north of Portland. Need suggestions for places to stay and eat that are worth the stops. Can stay 1 or 2 night each way. Think Michelin 2 stars with rooms.
Leaving mid-July from Bucks county (outside Philly). Can go any route in each direction.
Need houndish suggestions, please.

Just read that Katy Sparks was at Bussaco in Brooklyn, but left. Still a big fan of Quilty's and would love to find where she's working now. Anyone know?

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Bussaco
833 Union St, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Wife refuses a party, or even a large dinner. Looking for someplace that will have great "new" food that she wouldn't cook at home (she's a gourmet cook).
Not big on fancy French, Enjoys Ouest, Gotham (but not the pricey wine list), Pampano, but been t all of them recently. Also, we like restaurants that have corkage fees for our own wine. She also loves fish and seafood, but didn't freak on Le Bernardin.
Any suggestions?

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Le Bernardin
155 W. 51st St., New York, NY 10019

Ouest
2315 Broadway, New York, NY 10024

Pampano
209 E 49th St, New York, NY 10017

We're always looking for new restaurants in Bucks County area. Prefer BYOB.
Love anything innovative, different, fun. Also looking in adjacent NJ. Help please.

Anybody been here lately? Any comments, notes or recommendations?

Need good places for a week. BYO preferable, but not necessary.
What's new and what's worth returning to.
Loved Sage, Chef Vola, Dune, and LoBianco in past years.
Whaddayathink?

Thanks for all of your reports that permitted us this great trip.
Went south on 81 through Maryland, WV, Virginia and 25 minutes in Tennessee, returning by the same route.
Most nights we had a cocktail and wines by the glass.

Staunton, VA for2 nights. Staunton Grocery set the bar for our trip. Open kitchen. Well-informed staff. New American and very big on the farm to table thing. Didn't note what we had, but everything was awesome.
Zynandoa - ate early due to Shakespeare tix. Wife loved trout with peppers. I overdid it with chicken with grits in cheese sauce and mac and cheese side whichwere all great, but obscenely rich. Excellent service and nice drinks.

Asheville, NC:
Stayed at the new Royal Bohemian Hotel in the Biltmore area. Great rooms, good location for tourists, not in Asheville center, but close. Don 't recommend staying in Biltmore estate due to welrd traffic pattern.

Corner Kitchen: nice drinks, smoked trout and salmon app, good trout entree. Pleasant service. I wouldn't return.
Cuchina 24 (in Asheville). We never eat Italian on vacation because it's so good around Philly, but we wanted artisonal pizza one night and were shocked by how good this place was. Stated with a cichetti of Fava bean puree with mint, roasted garlic and honey...awesome. We also freaked out on the goat cheese panna cotta. The pizzas were excellent...wood oven baked, very thin.
Rezaz/Enoteca-Mediterranean, superb food, great service. Best paella I ever had anywhere, even Spain, Portugal, and Newark, NJ. Thinks were layered so each item was perfectly cooked and he used Arborio rice. Pomegranite/nut dip in Enoteca bar was also excellent.
Fig- was suspicious and unsure because some posts were questionable. Drinks were good. Wines by glass were well-chosen. Both entrees, chicken and trout, were beautiflly prepared and presented. Spoke with waitress about there Mac and Cheese (my greatest weakness) and she ordered my a side (mac, cheese, opplewood smoked bacon..insanely good).

Lexington, VA - coming home stopped for two nights at House Mountain Inn outside Lexington. Beautiful place, big gorgeous, rooms. Really nice breakfast. Don't recommend staying for dinners. Food is better in town, though owners are gracious and serve nice wine and cheese at 4 PM.
Red Hen - small place, open kitchen. Charming waitress. Easy to dialogue with chef and assistant chef, both very creative. Everything is sourced locally from farms and bought that day. Sausages are handmade by them and awesome. Most cutting-edge, innovative cuisine of trip. They ha a killer Pinot Noir bottle not on their list which was perfect with our meal.

Driving from Philly to Asheville, NC. Figure we'll stop in Lexington or Staunton VA.
Need chowhound quality places to eat in those towns and en route. Love all kinds of food, especially what's in season. Any recommendations for places to stop on the way?
While in Asheville looking to eat well for 4 nights.

Looking for place in Manhatten for dinner Saturday night. Would like BYOB and not too expensive. We're treating. UES to start, will go anywhere.

Taking 35 year old kids out to dinner in UES or midtown East this weekend. xCan even go crosstown. Need to find recession-time pricing for dinner for 5. Prefer to BYOB or pay corkage of $15 or less. Kids usually find places in NY Mag. Looking to find something more reasonable. You guys always come up with great places like Cipolla Rosa (been there 3 times). Anything else equally good?