BrentKulman

No, I haven't had Chinese on the Main Line since I lived in the area many years ago. Generally, I stick to more urban settings for Chinese. Should I consider going to Yangming rather than Dragon's Lair. Also, I have been to Matyson, but before the change in ownership. If the new owners have kept up the standards, you will be in for a treat.

Oh, you should say macro beer coldness. Good quality beer shouldn't be served at that temperature, either, and Tria has plenty of fine craft beers available.

Not a prix fixe but I am headed to the Main Line next week and have settled on a dinner at Margaret Kuo's Dragon's Lair. As you know, there is no decent Szechwan in North Carolina, so I have high hopes for this. Whenever I am in that area, I always hit Mama's in Bala Cynwyd for a cheese steak. Not an iconic cheese steak by any stretch, I think it is the cheese steak equivalent of kobe beef. It takes about 15 minutes to prepare but it is well worth the wait. When I lived in Charlotte, Peter Reinhart and I shared Proustian moments about Mama's.

What the heck. Tonight it's a Grand Teton Cellar Reserve Imperial Stout 2005. Dinking very nicely, I might add.

We went back in March and had a very pleasant experience with the server. Everybody at the restaurant rotates roles so all of the servers have also had experience in the kitchen. If you show an interest in the food (and that is a given if you are a user of this website), the servers can provide unparalleled insight into the cooking techniques. And that is a refreshing change from restaurant servers who cannot even remember the daily specials without a cheat sheet.

This is a trend I would like to see make its way back east, where there are only a few top drawer establishments (Grammercy Tavern in NYC comes to mind) that take as much care in their beer lists as in their wine lists.

The PF stands for Paul Fleming. That should tell you all you need to know.

No, it's more like scrapple, if you are familiar with that product.

Of course not as they are not of the same style. How could you compare an American Strong Ale to an IPA or a DIPA? You would need to compare Stone's IPA or Ruination to make a heads up comparison. Of all four of those beers, I would probably reach for the Hop Devil. I like both breweries IPAs, but their DIPAs are not to my taste, though for different reasons.

Nothing like a new convert to NC BBQ. I'm afraid you are going to have to return to Lexington while you are in the area, however, as you missed two of the best BBQ joints in the town, Lexington #1 and BBQ Center. Also, you must go back to figure out whether Smokey Joe's is a log burner or a gasser. While they have the equipment to burn logs, I have a sneaking suspicion that they have shifted to gas. Of course they won't tell you the honest truth, you will just have to figure it out by looking at the condition of their pits.

I'll take the contrarian view here. Generally, most places I have frequented only offer freshly cracked pepper with the salad course, so the chef's seasoning is not an issue. I happen to like a lot of pepper, so the big pepper mill can provide the coating I am seeking much more rapidly than a little pepper mill at the table. And, since I prefer freshly cracked pepper, that is a much better alternative than a pepper shaker. In fact, I am disappointed when a restaurant does not provide this service with the salad course. With respect to the tip, I never previously considered the issue. I tip based on the overall experience, not based on the size of the pepper mill.

In my limited experience with the Clover (Intelligentsia in Chicago), I found that there was sediment on the bottom of the cup, much like you would get with a French Press.

I was in Chicago last week and tried out the Clover at Intelligentsia a few times. They offered a choice of 7-8 different coffees, most of which were in the $2.50 range for a small cup and closer to $3 for a large cup. There may have been one coffee that was considerably more expensive than that. I came away very impressed by the quality and found it well worth the extra $.50-$1.00 for the vast majority of the coffees offered.

I live in Greensboro and work in Winston, so am familiar with both cities. For fine dining in Greensboro, I would recommend Bistro Sophia, Print Works Bistro, Green Valley Grill and Undercurrent. There are a few other good ones, but those are my favorites. In Winston, fine dining at Meridian and Fabian's. There is good Vietnamese in Greensboro (Saigon, Van Loi and Pho Ha) and you might enjoy a local bakery, Cheesecakes by Alex. In Winston, Foothills is the best local brewpub in the area, having won several awards at the GABF. Mary's of Course is a funky local spot, with great breakfast selections. I also like Ollie's Bakery and, for local Moravian baked goods, you can't go wrong with Dewey's. Sweet Potatoes is probably the best southern style local restaurant in the Triad.

Not defending the service, but I went to B&G about a month ago without a reservation and they took my cell number and sent me across the street to the Butcher Shop to have a drink. Apparently, the Butcher Shop and B&G are under common ownership. (Don't know about the Beehive and wasn't sure whether that was a different place or you had confused the name.) So my point is that the other couple may have also had a reservation and was sent to the Butcher Shop to wait for their table and then was called over when their table was ready. I was there on a rainy night and one of the busboys went out to flag a cab for me after the meal so I was actually quite pleased with the service. They have an awkward set-up as their bar area really is designed for dining rather than for patrons to wait for a table. And the Butcher Shop can get crowded as well. I think they do pretty well given the limitations.

Scroll back up to the top of this thread and you will find some good recommendations that will fit your bill. Also, the restaurant in the recently opened Proximity Hotel is terrific.

I see them all the time here in North Carolina and they are readily available in Philadelphia, too. The Genesis and Messiah bold are their standard offerings and are available in 12 oz bottles. More interesting are the brews they bottle in 22 oz. bombers, particularly their recent special release, Jewbelation 11. Although they are brewed in upstate NY, the are brewed under contract and the company that markets the brand is based in San Francisco. I think of them as a west coast beer, as a result. Perhaps that is why you are not seeing them locally.

Hebrew Genesis is an American Pale Ale. It's reasonably well balanced between the caramel malt and piney hop elements but is nothing special. There are better APAs out there and there are much better beers from this particular brewery, in my view.

I'll be in the area next week and was curious about what makes it unique. Also, I noticed from their website that they have four locations and the one in West Orange will be closer to where I will be. Are they equally good?

Wow, I cannot believe they still have problems with the voice mail box system. I had the same problem over six months ago. At that time it was even worse as the website had not been set up and you couldn't even find out their operating hours as they were not posted on the door or the website. These should be simple fixes and are basic elements of running a restaurant.

I hope you didn't form a negative impression of Philadelphia from this list. There are a lot of great places to eat in Philadelphia. With the exception of DiNic's, I don't think you got near to the top of any category for the type of place you visited. There are some great ethnic places (every variety of Asian comes to mind, not to mention all the Belgian places) and some superb chef-driven restaurants (Snack Bar and Ansill, for starters). Next time, I hope you will have better luck.

I was lucky to be in town for the Monday night dinner and Katie's post captures a lot of it for me. The only thing I had a problem with was the warmed sake which I found undrinkable. I did not mind the champagne drink, however, and found that it paired well with the the soup. Highlights were the desserts, without saying, but I also was wild for the gyoza - as a southerner, I found the comfort element in the oxtail quite gratifying. The kobe beef was terrific and the epoisses dish (and wine pairing) were perfection indeed. I did learn from Gabrielle (sp?) from Downtown Cheese who sat next to me that there was a problem with the cheese that was delivered but had I not known that I would not have cared in the least. Other interesting elements were the fried capers with the skate, the shitake soil and that red/orange concoction that accompanied the skate wing torchon. Can anybody remind me what that was? Do I remember correctly that it had something to do with sturgeon?

I've not been very impressed by any of the Vermont beers - I have tried a wide range of beers from Otter Creek, Wolavers and Magic Hat. Having said that, if you can find Magic Hat Thumbsucker on tap I understand that is worth seeking out.

When I saw the title caption I was hoping your post had to do with a new restaurant rather than a drive-by appearance. This is certainly exciting news for the entire NC BBQ community.

Not sure which TW you patronize but Brawley's on Park Road has a much better quality selection than the TW across the street. Particularly if you are seeking Belgians or some of the better quality domestic craft brews.