Tag Archives: food

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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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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The Stockton Inn – Reinvented Better than Ever

04 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by in dinner, food, restaurants, review

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Stockton inn Hansen salmon roe - Photo credit Peter Breslow

Beet Farfalle w/salmon roe. Photo credit Peter Breslow

Forget anything you think you know about the Stockton Inn – the new Stockton Inn is gunning to be the best restaurant in the region! Based on our first meal there, it is well on its way to that goal with the addition of rising star Chef Alan Heckman.

Evy and I went for the inaugural Guest Chef Tasting Menu, featuring one of our favorite local chefs, Max Hansen (read about Max in this post). The menu, a salmon-lovers dream, featured four tastings of salmon followed by a luscious dessert. While it’s fresh in my mind, let me describe our food. I apologize for the lack of photos, but I was too busy enjoying my food to stop and take photos!

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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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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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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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2013-11-06 18.32.20

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.