Natasha

Thanks for the descriptions. I can't wait for tomorrow night! We're dropping my daughter and friends off at the TLA and then going for a lovely dinner. Two weeks ago we dined at L'Angolo while she saw a concert at the Wachovia Center. Her love of music is keeping me well-fed!

I'll be anxiously waiting for your report on the DDC dinner on Thursday since I just made reservations for Saturday night. I'm counting on you folks to steer me to the finest menu choices!

Admin: Threads merged. I've had a box of John Copes' dried corn in my cabinet for quite a while. I was thinking of adapting a corn chowder recipe to feed the relatives wandering in from out of town for Thanksgiving. Has anyone used this product and do you have any ideas for me? The baked corn recipe on the box also looks pretty good.

I'm curious about the prices as well. The food looks great. I can't wait to try it. ETA: Oops, I swear your reply wasn't there, V, when I posted. Thanks.

Dave, look for Post #146 on this thread - that may have the info you are looking for.

I guess the kitchen at Sovana just had an off-night when I was there. Based on LaBan's 3 bells I was really expecting a top-notch meal, and I think by any standards, they did not achieve that. I'll try the hangar steak next time. That sounds really tasty!

I'll be interested to hear what others think of the Whitehall Lane. We opened a bottle on Friday night, and while I thought it was just OK, my husband actively disliked it. He thought there was no real forward taste, no mouth feel and no finish. I know you liked it Katie, and that recommendation should be enough for plenty of others to try it. I was surprised that we didn't like it, but then again taste preferences are so individual.

I had dinner with my husband and some friends at the State Street Grill in Kennett Square on Friday night. The chef and his wife are Long Island transplants, and bought this place in late 2004. I wasn't in the place in its past life, but I understand they renovated for a sleeker look and incorporated an open kitchen. The restaurant is a little stark and I imagine could be pretty noisy if it were full, but overall it was pleasant. The service was friendly and attentive. We all enjoyed the food. I had a mushroom farfalle with a brandy sauce. This was tasty but was made with a lot of pancetta so it was pretty salty. This is probably a personal preference though and I think that it was well made. My entree was a NY strip steak with carmelized onions and garlic mashed potatos. It was cooked exaclty as I ordered it. My husband had lamb chops that he loved. The desserts are homemade. The standout was a poached pear in port sauce. Very pretty presentation. I had dinner a few weeks at Sovano Bistro and on a head-to-head basis, this was better. It is BYO and has a fixed price menu every day of the week for $32. Actually, I think they run a special one night a week (Thursday, maybe) when the price is about $10 cheaper.

You've made the Pontiac Grille sound like a place worth checking out, but what I am truly impressed by is the quantity of food you consumed!

There is a bit of a controversy stirring on a travel board about customer service at a local Philadelphia deli. I thought some of you might be interested. If this is against policy on this board, please delete. I did look at the rules and it seemed OK. http://tinyurl.com/pscd9

I don't get down Kennett Square way too often but I will try Sovana again. I was only disappointed because of the great review in the Inquirer, and also the reputation of the chef from Django who I thought was pretty involved with the restaurant. I wonder if that is still true. Someone just mentioned State Street Grill in KS to me and said they enjoyed their meal there. Anyone else been?

It is a BYO. It's right on business Route 30 in "downtown" Downingtown across from the First Fidelity Bank. Also, tell them to check out The Olive Tree on Route 113 for pretty decent Greek food, and another Italian place, Allegria near the intersection of Route 100 & Route 113. Both are BYO. The waiter did tell us that they had called their supplier and the spinach was grown organically near the supplier or something like that. My friend's salad was supposed to be spinach but they offered to substitute arugula if she wanted. She did, but I just decided to throw caution to the wind, and eat the spinach.

Had dinner at Fioravanti's in Downingtown with friends last night. Since we sat down before 6:30, they offered us the fixed price menu. Three courses for $20, but the entire regular menu is available with an uptick in price for some appetizers and entrees including the evening's specials. I started with the mussels in a spicy red sauce. These were really good and the sauce was great when sopped up with bread. The other notable appetizer was a smoked chicken ravioli - very tasty. My entree was a special of the evening, the braised short ribs with spinach and polenta. The meat was falling-apart tender and the spinach and polenta were garlicky and good. My friends all had swordfish with carmelized fennel. I didn't taste it, but everyone said it was really good. Dessert was a choice between two cakes, a white chocolate and a fudge cake. We all chose the fudge cake, and it was OK. I don't think they make their own desserts and it is never the best course there for sure. We had a really pleasant meal. The service was attentive but not overbearing and the meal was paced very nicely. I hadn't been there in awhile so I was happy to find the food still consistently good. I also love that this place is practically in my backyard (although not as close The Olive Tree which I can actually see in the distance out my back window!)

Wow, that looks good. Count me among those who grew up with a Butter cake coming home from the bakery every Sunday morning after Mass. My Mom who is 84 now and has lived in Florida for over 30 years still speaks wistfully of how much she misses German Butter cake. I found a pretty good version a few years ago at the Swedish Bakery in the shopping center at Route 3 and 352 outside of West Chester.

We were in the Kennett area last night (after the opening of the Warhol, Wyeth, Basquiat show at the Brandywine which was very good), and having read over the last year or so about Sovana Bistro we drove down for dinner. We waited about 30 minutes for a table, but sat at the bar (no liquor license), opened our bottle of wine and relaxed. The wait staff was friendly. The back half of the restaurant has no ceiling just a cavernous space up to the roof, and that makes it pretty loud in there. Husband and I were both pretty disappointed in the food. Since we only sampled a small % of the menu, I would certainly go back, but this time was a let down. I had a mixed green salad with dried cranberries and a vinagrette dressing - adequate but not great. My husband had heirloom tomatoes, locally grown and organic, with goat cheese, basil, avocado, arugula, and balsmic vinegar. We felt that this dish suffered from too many ingredients, and I know this is weird but the basil was really overwhelming (our first courses were $8 and & $12, respectively.) We both had pasta: my husband's had boar and a red sauce that was OK. I had a ravioli stuffed with braised short rib, mushroom and swiss chard. This was 3 large ravioli in a thin beef broth sauce covered in parmesan. This dish sounded so good to me, but was just too salty. Once in a while I would have a bite that wasn't too salty so that by the end of the meal I was trying to taste each element alone to determine where all the salt was coming from. I never did figure it out because even alone the saltiness was variable. Once in a while, I would bite into something crunchy. It wasn't unpleasant, but I couldn't identify where that was coming from either. The pastas were around $20 each. You could get half-orders as well. The wood-fired pizzas looked good, and they were serving a halibut special that was good-looking so I would return for another meal and hope that the pasta wasn't representative of the kitchen's skill in general. This is my first full restaurant review, so be kind!

I've been reading for a few years now, but this is my first post. I really like Allegria and while they do offer some "fancier" specials, I think the menu is very much like that of a trattoria. The last time we were there I just had a pasta with red sauce and thought how nice it is to have a neighborhood place that does simple dishes well. The time before that I had a veal chop with a mushroom sauce that was so good I am still thinking about it. ETA: Apparently I've posted twice before- they weren't memorable posts, I guess.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I called Azafran again this evening and, indeed, they do take reservations for parties of 6 or more. I think we will enjoy this meal a lot more than the one at Anjou. This board is great!

We are getting together in the city tomorrow night (Oct. 25) with two couples that we have not seen in a very long time. We waited too long to make a reservation at most recommeded places, and so one of the group made a reservation at Anjou on Market Street. I have misgivings about this place, and would really prefer a BYO. We called Azafran but found that thye do not take reservations. Any opinion on the wait for 6 people around 7:00 on a Sat night? Any other ideas? Thanks.