sunra

You could try calling Savona in Gulph Mills. The food is excellent and they have rooms for private parties including the wine cellar. It might be booked because it is close to Villanova, but it is worth a try. I am wondering if the restaurants in the Fairmount section are on the graduation dinner radar? I think the Chinatown idea is an excellent one. My favorite place is Tai Lake for Cantonese style fresh seafood.

Dock Street would be a destination brewpub on anyone's guide to Traveling the Spaceways! Along with the Grey Lodge, of course.... "Space Is the Place"

The beer is outstanding. Enjoy it before the brewer moves on. This is some of the best brewpub beer I have ever had. Far more flavorful and adventurous than those poured at the 'original' Dock Street, though Nick and Eric were outstanding brewers. It just seems the brewer is being given some freedom here right now, and you can taste it! As for the pizzas, I have had better, but I will say that the crust was very good. Crisp and crackly on the outside with some carmelization, and chewy with fine bubbles on the inside. The topping are good, not great. I would like to see if they can put out a more charred crust a la the coal ovens in New Haven, Brooklyn and Queens, or even the oil burning oven of Tacconelli's. We have had good service on our visits. I give this place a big thumbs up for the overall quality of the beer and pizza as well as the real down to earth setting. I even bumped into the original Carrot Cake Man selling his wares on foot! It doesn't get much more real than that, lol.

We are huge fans of BBQ(and pizza, beer, and anything well executed with lively taste!). I would say my favorite BBQ is ANY true BBQ that I am eating either at the moment or en route to eat for my next meal. I mean, of course, cooked low and slow(as evidenced by the pit temp, real hardwood, tenderness and smoke ring). I have been inspired by a friend who runs a homebrew shop in Philly(and turned me on to his home BBQ efforts) and a book called 'Cooking with Smoke and Spice', which I am sure you are familiar with. That being said, I like my home BBQ a lot. I will go 10-16 hours, if at all possible at 180 degrees for any large item, and at least 6 hours for pork ribs. Unrelated to true BBQ, but also a favorite of mine, is the foods cooked on the endless variety of grill arrangements. I have done a rack or pork ribs over direct and indirect grilling in about 2 hours, and they are very tasty! As for heading out for BBQ a local favorite(and we miss the long gone Lester and BB's Lawnside on South Street) favorite has become Tex's BBQ, a roaming outfit in Montgomery County. Here is a link to some pics: http://www.texssmokinbarbq.com/Photos.html And here is a link to their website with schedule: http://www.texsbbqpa.com/ Of course, ANY BBQ is a good thing!

Tuna Tartare... Hot Tuna... Sounds like a tasty menu!!!

1) I can't believe no one has mentioned: Taqueria Michoacan on Main and Walnut in Norristown. Excellent Mexican food in a bright and colorful dining room. The soups are excellent, running the gamut from real tortilla soup to posole to seafood soup, a meal in themselves. Excellent trio of salsas((tomatillo, red chile and fresh tomato/pepper/onion/cilantro), delicious guacamole(seems made to order though it is served too quickly to be so) and of course homemade tortilla chips to keep you busy. Entrees include the full range of soft tacos(well, no sheep eyeballs!), excellent enchilladas, etc. The other entrees cover everything from steak to seafood, each served with an abundance of excellent rice, beans and fresh vegeatable garnish. The only downside would be just so-so margaritas and a limited beer menu(if they could get those things up to the quality of their food...!!!!!). 2) Aman's mentioned above is excellent. If you ask for it to be spicy, it actualy is prepared that way. Be advised that their tandoori chicken is not the traditional heavily marinated tangy yogurt variety. Rather, more of a sizzling plain, though reddish, roasted chicken which is excellent in its own right. Also, the deserts were excellent, but the Indian tea was not the cardomom-spiced variety I expected. Still, excellent overall with great service and low prices. Don't know of any dim sum, but how could any place compare to the excellent offerings we have in Philadelphia's Chinatown.

Zwahlen's is awesome. The custard is made fresh every few hours. Never frozen to a hard/tasteless texture. Do not miss out on Zwahlen's other offerings. Try some chocolates with nuts, and you will be blown away by the freshness and wonderful aroma of the nuts. Unsurpassed. Finally, a word about the apples. Crisp, tart granny smiths covered with your choice of confections. Yummy. Another gem hidden in a megaplex of strip malls, behind a McDonald's! BEWARE: CLOSED SUNDAYS

We have taken the kids to New York numerous times. My kids are foodies like your boys, but there are a couple of places that they liked that might please all of your kids. John's pizza in Times Square is fun to go to because it is in an old church with many of the architectural details left intact. We loved the pizza, pasta and salad there. Ollies Noodle Shop was a hit with my kids also. They will eat more authentic and challenging Chinese food, but the noodle dishes and big noodle soups were good there and if you arent running down to Chinatown its nice to be able to get dumplings and noodle soups further up town. My kids love Katz's. They havent stopped talking about the turkey there. We like to eat breakfast or brunch at Barney Greengrass, and they are relatively empty on a weekday late morning. Your picky kids could eat eggs, everyone else could feast on the awesome lox eggs and onions, kippers and eggs, or my favorite a sturgeon sandwich on rye with butter and onions. A place I am waiting to try with my kids next visit is Kefi, a casual Greek restaurant on the Upper West side, dinner only. Dim Sum is something to consider because there are many choices, small dishes, and you can always order off the menu in a pinch. I was intrigued by the thread about the Chinese custard place, I have not been there, but it seems to me that hot custards in multiple flavors and colors would be a memorable experience. How about the pickle guys in the lower east side?

I cant think of a large enough BYO in that area. Chinatown has numerous places with banquet rooms that would fit the bill. Any small BYO would need to make their money for the entire evening from your party, because you would close down their restaurant during prime time. Sang Kee Asian Bistro is busy every night of the week and turns their tables over several times in an evening, so I dont think they woud work with you. I think you should price the Manayunk Brewing Company. They have a very nice upstairs room. I attended my husband's employers Christmas Party there and it was very nice, the food was good and his administrator said the prices were very reasonable there. It is not a BYO but I doubt the wine or beer would cost as much as Yang Ming. It is very close to the Hilton on City Ave. I think La Collina in Belmont Hills might be too expensive but you could check them out. Conshohocken isnt too far from City Ave, about 5-10 minutes down the Schuykill. There you might check out Viggiano's or Spamps. Viggiano's has a 28 dollar per person banquet menu that looks good. Oops! I am Sunra's wife, Chowfun (not the real Sunra of course)! I posted on his computer and he was already logged on.

I was really bummed when I heard the quality at Pepe's had gone way down, BUT reading this at Rebitrth of Pepe's is great news. We have had the clam, bacon and green pepper pie at Sally's Apizza, kind of like a clams casino pizza, and it was outstanding. The clams were fresh, juicy and the pie was charred just perfectly from the coal oven. Regarding NYC pizza, Lombardi's used to make an excellent clam pie, but their quality control had been an issue in the recent past. I was told by the Philly Lombardi's management, may they RIP, that the NYC Lombardi's was going to focus on the quality control in there much expanded space. If they get back to their old selves, I would highly recommend their white clam pie. As good as Sally's, but different. Finally, DiFara, though deliciious, is reportedly a two hour wait no matter when you go. Maybe if some of those people looked in the bathroom(he rarely lets anyone back there) thel lines woudl be shorter, lol. Still, it is so good, that wouldn't keep me away. I hope I can join you all for some pizza at some point, but my schedule always seems to conflict. Enjoy!

Yes, sotmach, esophagus, etc. is the usual connotation. At least Bea Bea was brutallyh honest about what she was serving

I can only think of one thing when I hear hog maws mentioned: Lester and Bea Bea's Lawnside BBQ which occupied the space now occupied by ?Ron's Ribs on South Street. About 25 years ago I brought my girlfriend in there to have some dinner. While standing at the counter and perusing the menu she asked Bea Bea, "What are hog maws?" The words were barely out of her mouth as the the reply was fired back, with authority, "pigs' testicles...WANT SOME?", lol! Well, we still laugh about that, and we still miss the old Lawnisde. The BBQ was not the best we have ever had, but the place and the staff had a character all their own. We dined there many times until they eventually closed. We never ordered the hog maws, but we eventually married, and we, at least I, would give those maws a try, if they we being served at the Lawnside today. Or maybe not, lol. Sorry I have no recipies for you, but I guess they would go well with BBQ or some other highly seasoned fare.

Zwahlen's has become a destination for our family, often after an authentic Mexican dinner at Taqueria Michohacan(sp?) in Norristown. Our children, ages 7 and 11 ask for either Zwahlen's or the Franklin Fountain whenever they are in search of ice cream, and we are happy to oblige them whenever we can(they do have good taste as they will only eat sushi at Fuji or Bluefin-in that order, lol). The logistics are far easier for us(Lafayette Hill) at Zwahlen's, though the frozen custard is certainly much different than the ice cream featured at Franklin Fountain. Both are wonderful, imho. The candy covered apples at Zwahlen's are not to be missed, and the chocolates are also top notch. Tell me more, please, or direct me to some info regarding Good Dog!!!

vientiane is at 48th & baltimore? i went by last night (on my way back from a great dinner at marigold) and it's on the corner of 43rd & spruce. in fact, i suspect that the websites where you might have gotten that address are old--i think that vientiane was up on baltimore when it was the blue tent semi-legal restaurant. that spot is now meskerem ethiopian, i think... ← Nope, Katie's got the right address for Vientiane, there's indeed a place at 43rd and Baltimore, but that ain't Vientiane Cafe... edit to add details: The Place at 43rd and Spruce is "Pho and Cafe Saigon" http://www.ucityphila.com/world_cuisine/li...Type=Vietnamese ← Cafe Saigon is a good place for a quick lunch or dinner. We have gone before catching a show or some live music in the area and we are able to eat well very quickly. They make good pho, broken rice dishes and fruit shakes. I would avoid their spring rolls, though, way too greasy.

Amen to that! Matt Ito is the true iron chef.