Tag Archives: dinner

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:

Duck Soup Cafe – Hidden Gems of New Hope

14 Thursday May 2015

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

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Carla and Jamie Fuentes

Carla and Jamie enjoying some time off at FACT Bingo

Duck Soup Café epitomizes “hidden gem” – it’s hidden between a row of nondescript professional spaces in Logan Square (Giant shopping center), and it’s a real gem – frequented by other restaurateurs and local celebs. In fact, I almost hesitate to bring attention to Duck Soup out of a fear that popularity could ruin the nature of the place, filling it with outsiders 🙂

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Mother’s Day – Last Minute Dining Ideas

09 Saturday May 2015

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If you haven’t made Mother’s Day plans yet, you may be scrambling, trying to find a decent place to go that has last minute reservations available. Here’s some possible places to try.

Siam Cuisine – Buckingham, 215-794-7209

Why you want to go:

Siam Cuisine is a quiet Thai restaurant located in the little shopping strip in Buckingham, right on Rt. 202. There’s plenty of parking and it’s easy to get to. Ethnic restaurants, in general, are less likely to be fully booked on holidays, so there’s a good chance that you can still get a table.

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Friday again!

08 Friday May 2015

Posted by in Friday, Happy hour, lists, restaurants, specials

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Photo credit: Kevin York Photography

Photo credit: Kevin York Photography

Wow, another Friday snuck up on me. I must be getting old because last Friday feels like only a couple days ago. Where’d the week go?

If you’re wondering what to do tonight, here’s a list of some of the places in the area that serve alcohol and those that have happy hour or Friday night specials:

Bell’s Tavern – Everybody know about Bell’s. Bar. TV’s. Food.
Buttonwood Grill 4-6pm Happy hour drink specials
Carversville Inn Prime rib $26.50
Continental Tavern Mon – half-price burgers, Happy hour app and drink specials
Deanna’s – Happy hour 4:30-6:30 raw bar. $1 clams, oysters, shrimp
Erini in Titusville – I hear rumors that their tiki-bar is now open!
Fran’s Pub – come hang out with the Harley-riding crowd
Giusseppe’s – something a bit more laid back. Grab a pizza or past and a pitcher
Inn of the Hawke – South end of Lambertville. Burgers and Brews on the patio.
John & Peter’s – check out the Hidden Gem post on the blog
Karla’s – Come for one of Ricki’s killer martini’s
Lambertville Station – If you like overpriced food and service with an attitude
Landing – The most beautiful setting for a bar in the area
Mojito Cuba Caribe M-F 5-7 Happy hour
Pineville Tavern – happy hour at bar from 5-7. $5 specialty drinks, $5 apps and pub fare, $4 house wines, $2 bottles, $3 drafts
Porterhouse Pub
Raven / Poe
Siam Cuisine – Great local Thai food and bar drinks served up by the wonderfully friendly owner, Mr. Long.
Square One Pub – Prix fixe specials and happy hour. The happening new place in the area.
Swan Hotel – Haven’t been there enough to make any snarky comments
Triumph Brewing Co. – Patio by the track. Micro-brews. Bar food.
Washington Crossing Inn
Yardley Inn – Dine early, pay less 4:30-6:15 every day, 3 courses $21.95. Say hi to Big Mike for me.

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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Teaberry’s Tea Room in Flemington – Much More Than Tea

02 Saturday May 2015

Posted by in dinner, lunch, restaurants, review

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God save the queen

God save the queen!

So early into my blog and I’m already breaking the rules…

Rule 1: This blog is “Dining Along the Delaware” – Teaberry’s isn’t along the Delaware

Rule 2: This is not a restaurant review site – and I’m about to write a “review.”

Ok, I know that Flemington isn’t “along the Delaware,” in fact, the Delaware is about 10 miles away. But Teaberry’s was such a dining revelation that I felt compelled to write about it while it was fresh in my mind. As for rule #2? If I have a great meal, I’m going to write about it because I want to share my excitement with you so you can try it too. But I am not a food critic. I don’t go incognito and I don’t want to waste time writing about my negative experiences. Go to Yelp if you want to read whiny reviews.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me start by saying that I don’t consider myself a “tea room kind of guy.” Not that I can’t appreciate a good cup of tea, but spending the afternoon sipping tea from fine china isn’t exactly, well, my cup of tea. So when we planned a trip to Flemington to buy some fig trees from “Bill the Fig Guy” and my wife said: “let’s get lunch at Teaberry’s Tea Room beforehand,” I was skeptical, so I checked TripAdvisor to see what people recommend. #1 restaurant in Flemington?! Even better than the exceptional Matt’s Red Rooster? How is this possible?
Then I looked at the lunch menu and was sold…maybe this won’t be so bad, I thought.

As it turned out, our friends, who we were going to buy fig trees with, were friendly with Sara, the daughter of the owner. Now we had to go!

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