Tag Archives: dining

Aztlan Mexican Grill – Outstanding Mexican with a Twist

10 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by in dinner, Ethnic, food, Hidden gem, restaurants, review, Uncategorized

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I love good Mexican food.  It’s something of a guilty pleasure – fried chips, cheese, mounds of meat, spicy sauces. Though after taking Mexican cooking classes with Shelley Wiseman at The Farm Cooking School, I’ve become very hard to please!

Aztlan raises the bar, serving up a huge variety of Mexican and Tex-mex dishes, both familiar and new. Chef/owner Edgar Castro, who was the chef at the popular Tortugas before buying the restaurant, has crafted a new menu. The dishes, heavily influenced by his youth in Mexico City, artfully melds dishes and flavors from all over Mexico as well as retaining many of the familiar Ameri-Mex that we’ve all come to know.

In fact, Aztlan has done something so special that they received a “very good” from the New York Times food reviewer. The Times is known for their tough reviews, so this is high praise! Based on our dining experiences at Aztlan, they’ve earned their accolades.

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Brian’s Reinvented

08 Sunday May 2016

Posted by in BYOB, dinner, fine dining, Poorly Kept Secret, restaurants, review

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It’s not often that a restaurateur chooses to reinvent an already successful restaurant. But that’s exactly what Brian Held, chef-owner of Brian’s in Lambertville and NoLa in Stockton has done. The new (May 2016) Brian’s has melded the best of both restaurants into his eponymous restaurant in Lambertville creating a wonderful new and unique fine dining experience.

We applaud Brian’s thoughtful evolution. While Stockton is a charming town for NoLa, we feel like Lambertville is the right location for his flagship offering. With convenient parking and its central location, Brian’s is an easy destination for more diners. I know we’ll be coming more often!

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Zoubi – An Unexpected Gem in the heart of New Hope

10 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by in dinner, Hidden gem, lunch, restaurants, review

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Starting the meal with the cheese board

Starting the meal with the cheese board

How we ended up at Zoubi

After a day traveling around the area, admiring the spectacular gardens of the yearly Historical Society garden tour, I was not expecting to be treated to a great dinner at a restaurant that I had written off years ago. However, I was very pleasantly surprised when our perfect day was capped off by rediscovering the beautiful patio at Zoubi, a restaurant that once again deserves our patronage.

It’s been many years since I’ve dined at Zoubi because, frankly, it used to be overpriced and inconsistent. If you browse the review sites, you will find them littered with negative reviews. But that is all behind them now and Zoubi appears destined for a rapid ascent through the culinary ranks of the finest restaurants along the Delaware.

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Teaberry’s Supper Club

02 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by in dinner, Hidden gem, restaurants, review, specials

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Once in a great while, I encounter a “new” restaurant that is so special, that I become somewhat obsessed with it. Teaberry’s is *that* place for me now.

I’ve already written about Teaberry’s once in my Hidden Gems feature, but after dining there for the Thursday Night Supper Club, I knew I had to rush home and write another post.

If you read my first post, then you’re already familiar with how impressed Evy and I are with Teaberry’s food, so we were looking for an excuse to try the Thursday Supper Club. Fortunately, our dear friend Boyd recently celebrated his birthday, so we had a perfect excuse to return to Teaberry’s. Thank you Boyd!

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What’s Happening Memorial Day Week

26 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by in dinner, Foodie resources, lists, restaurants

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By now, you’ve probably had your share of dogs, burgers and potato salad and you’re wondering what to do the rest of the week.

There’s a great trend in dining that’s showing up everywhere this year – Farm to Table. While many trends are just for show, this is one that foodies can really get behind because it’s resulting in delicious dishes, with ingredients sourced from local farms. It’s like taking a step back in time before factory farming and the homogeneous mediocrity it produces.

Many restaurants along the Delaware, especially those in the New Hope and Lambertville areas, regularly source as much local produce as possible during the growing season. Some even get meats locally. Griggstown chickens are popular on many menus.

The following is the “short list” of restaurants that tout their local fare where you can eat this week. Click the links to learn more:

John and Peter’s – Hidden Gems of New Hope

06 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by in dinner, Hidden gem, Poorly Kept Secret, restaurants, review, specials, wednesday

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John And Peters InvitationalJohn and Peters is a great local place to launch the Hidden Gems series. If you’re a local, you know all about J&P’s – located in the heart of New Hope’s Main Street, it’s the place to go if you want to hear amazing bands at “The Invitational” on Wednesday night and eat surprisingly good food during their 1/2 price Wednesday night special (6-9pm).

If you’re visiting the area, you might walk right by, because it looks like a “dive bar.” Tattooed men and women come and go from the small entrance and “boisterous” folks drink and eat burgers on the patio. It just shouts “this is a locals place, go away!” But looks can be deceiving, and when you stop and scratch below the surface, you’ll find a remarkable establishment with a storied history that embodies the essence of New Hope better than any other place around.

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The Master Document and a list of local bars

29 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by in food, lists, restaurants

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Sushi Dinner

It’s going to take a while to get the site fleshed out, but the master spreadsheet is largely complete. Rather than wait, here’s a link so you can get an idea of what’s available in the area.

To simplify working with the spreadsheet, I’ve set up some specialized “filter views” – these provide simplified views of the data that answer common questions, like “what restaurants have bars” or “what places are open on Mondays.”

To use the filter views, just click on the down-arrow to the right of the funnel icon at the top right of the sheet. That will show you your options. Then select the option you want.

Here’s the spreadsheet

Now that Spring weather has hit, here’s a direct link to show just the places with patios 🙂

And here’s a screen-grab showing places with bars, because some nights, we could all use a drink:

Screen capture from spreadsheet showing local places with bars

Screen capture from spreadsheet showing local places with bars

Why Dining Along the Delaware?

29 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by in food

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If you’re lucky enough to live in the area around New Hope, PA or Lambertville, NJ, you know that the area is filled with amazing restaurants. So many in fact that deciding where to eat next can be a daunting task. Oh the problems we have!

I started Dining Along the Delaware to help friends, neighbors and visitors navigate their way through the culinary world along the Delaware River, focused primarily on restaurants near the Delaware River from Yardley, PA up to Milford, NJ.

To start, we’ll be keeping track of the local specials – those bargain, 3-course, prix fixe gems that many of the finest restaurants along the river offer. You can come Dining Along the Delaware to get inspired: whether you’re looking for that next great meal or just feeling a bit peckish, we’ll help you figure out where to eat.

But I need your help to keep Dining accurate and up-to-date. Leave your comments as you discover new places you’d like to share or when you discover an amazing new dish. Together, we’ll all be enjoying Dining Along the Delaware even more.