SaxChik

i've been a few times since they opened. my reaction is luke warm. the food has been okay, but nothing outstanding. my litmus test for northern indian restaurants is chicken mahkani. if they do that well, typically all their other food is good. the chicken mahkani has been so-so. i agree with you on the spices (or lack-thereof). the two times i ordered it, it was rather bland. it's not a highly spiced dish to begin with, but a really good place will incorporate a lot of nuances in the taste. the service has been kinda poor. they seem to be understaffed. granted, every time i've gone, there haven't been many people in the place. one time, there was one waiter from the wayne restaurant who didn't know where anything was in this restaurant. on the plus side, he was nice enough to take off the indian-rap music that's typically played in there and he put on the beatle's "revolver". he got a bonus in his tip for that. also, two times they gave us free rice pudding for dessert. that was cool. i REALLY wanted this place to be stellar. it's so nice to have a non-vegetarian indian place so close. unfortunately, their food is on the pricey side for a casual stop by, it's not that great and the dining experience is underwhelming. i go back every once in a while to see if anything's changed, but as of yet, it hasn't. i'll have to try their lunch buffet sometime. the one in wayne is one of my favorites. that's my 2 cents.

i agree with the "comfort factor". herd mentality comes into play, as well. it takes a little thought to go to the olive tree grill (great greek food in downingtown) vs. the no-brainer for the masses of going to the olive garden. on the plus side, while the masses are waiting for 2 hours to get into the chains, the rest of us aren't having too much of a problem getting a reservation at a great non-chain place.

it's an appetizer. they were having some trouble getting it after katrina, but we went there in may and they had it again.

hey! that's my favorite dish there! matt loves their alligator sausage with goat cheese. yum.

also in the burbs, the drafting room in exton has EXCELLENT sweet potato fries. shoestring cut, crispy and sweet.

there's a bravo pizza in exton (if you know exton, in the giant shopping center) that makes pretty good rolls. i prefer their meatball rolls, but they have sausage, pepperoni and veggie, as well. i'm guessing if you have a favorite pizza place and you ask nicely, they'll make one for you. you may have to explain what it is, so come prepared with a picture.

i had lunch today at five guys burgers and fries in the gateway shopping center in wayne (the one with the trader joe's). five guys is a franchise up and down the east coast. if you're familiar with in 'n' out burger in california, it's a very similar concept. basic menu is burgers and fries with a few extras like hot dogs and grilled cheese. their burgers are fresh and hand-pressed, their fries are from whole potatoes sliced and fried in peanut oil. they even tell you where the potatoes you're eating that day come from (mine were from rexburg idaho). i'm not a big french fry fanatic, but these were EXCELLENT. the perfect amount of crisp, salt and grease. the burger was delicious (their regular is two patties with your choice of toppings, they also have a "little" which is one patty). if you're in the mood for a junk food splurge, i highly recommend this place.

for father's day, my sister and i took my dad to a NJ jackals game. i was looking for good restaurants in montclair and read through your threads. we decided on blu. for appetizers, i had their special, cold cucumber soup with smoked trout, my dad had their duck special with an asian sauce and sister had the tuna sashimi off their menu. for dinner, my dad and i had their special, short ribs with barley & onions in a wine reduction with portabello mushrooms and my sister had the monk fish with green peas. (sorry, i should have brought home a menu or wrote down exactly what each dish was, the dishes were different than the menu online and i know i'm missing ingredients ...) for dessert, i had the almond-basil-riccota with fresh fruit (strawberries and blueberries), my dad had the coconut tapioca pudding with papaya & mango and my sister had the vanilla bean creme brulee. the restaurant was nicely decorated (simple and chic), the waitstaff was lovely and the food was outstanding. i'm sorry i live so far away (chester county, pa) or i'd make it a regular stop. so thanks for the good tip, NJ gulleteers! if you're ever out in my neck of the woods, i'd be happy to recommend places for you!

i wonder, if it's just in philadelphia and not the burbs (doesn't seem like it's statewide), then the drafting room shoudl be safe (for now).

i need some advice from you wine afficienados out there. i'm getting married in august at the Duling-Kurtz House in exton (yes, he FINALLY asked! yay!). since they're not a BYO and i'm by no means a wine expert, i need some help choosing one red and one white to serve at dinner. i'd prefer they be $40 or under. i like my reds big and bold and my whites fruity. not a big fan of merlots or chardonnays, but if they're exceptional, i'll bend. here's the link. any help is greatly appreciated!

i drove through the fairfield shopping center parking lot in exton (with the giant, TGI fridays, and the staples & office depot one store apart) and the new "taste of india" restaurant is finally open! yay! i plan on stopping in on thursday for dinner and shall report back. it'll be good to have meated indian food within near walking distance from where i live.

i'm not sure it's all that bad, i think if we had went earlier in the evening, it might have been better? i will re-try, although i'm not sure the boy will ever go back. they do, however, need to stock up so they're not out of things.

well, i went with the boy and a friend around 7:45 for dinner tonight. let's see ... they were out of most drinks, lettuce, tomato, octopus salad and soup. all three of us got the pernil with the red rice. it didn't suck, but it definitely wasn't that good. the pork was very fatty and had very little flavor. thank goodness for hot sauce. the waitress also forgot our appetizers, so we didn't get to try the pastilles or the plantians. not a great experience. they need to beef up their shopping list so they can stop running out of things. makes me REALLY miss la cena.

i saw that place when i was oot and aboot in w.c. last weekend. think i'm gonna go there for dinner tonight. when you went, was it busy? did they have a decent amount of seating? thanks!

yay scoats! did they have a picture of him all "007'd" out in a tux with a beer in his hand?

hey m! glad you found your way to egullet! i'm also glad your stomach was well enough to go to HSC. we went, too, at 7pm. like you, the waitstaff was slow, but the food, as always, was wonderful. we shared the alligator sausage with goat cheese (mr sax's favorite), he had seafood etoufee and i had my favorite, jambalaya linguine. we split a bananas foster for dessert. it's a byob, so we shared a bottle of 2000 foxen santa barbara syrah, a good, unfiltered, fairly sweet syrah. i like my wine like i like my beer ... dark and chewy. the high street caffe is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. philadining, you REALLY need to go.

i frequent kabuki often for lunch. they have really good, really fresh fish and creative rolls. my only complaint is they're a little slow at lunch, but that's to be expected with only one sushi chef. it gets two thumbs up in my book.

one of my favorite restaurants in that area is a german place in abbottstown (a few miles outside gettysburg) called the hofbrauhaus. it's not very glamorous, but they do have a decent selection of german beers and they make a mean potato dumpling. if you like german food, i'd recommend it. here's a website with some other restaurant choices ... Gettysburg

do i smell road trip?!!

I grabbed take out for dinner from there a few months ago as well. Not sure if they are still serving dinner, but I can check. Try the "Chili Chicken", an Indo-Chinese favorite....they do make it spicy. ← i had dinner there a few weeks ago. it was really good. my only complaint was that they used whole cloves and cardamum pods in the dish and i kept biting into them (major spice rush!). so yes, they serve dinner. for a while they only did indo-chinese lunches (non-buffet). HUGE bowls of food, really hot and tasty. now they do mostly indian with a little indo-chinese on their buffet for lunch. i like that place and always end up buying a lot at the market next door.

i went last night for my last hurrah. the guizhou style chicken was atomic (i asked that they tone it down a little and i think they did the opposite) and ma po tofu. yummm. i'm gonna miss it.

is tifco's closing or getting a new master chef?

I too would have mentioned this but I thoought they wanted Princeton proper. A good choice indeed if you can get there, also not sure about brunch but call ahead 609*895*9885 ← around is fine, too. as i stated, i grew up in the highstown area, so i'm pretty familiar with the burbs o' princeton. thanks for all the suggestions thus far! (i remember eating at acacia fairly soon after they opened and liking it a lot).

out here in the desolate wasteland known as chester county, IMHO, the BEST cheesesteaks around are at Jack's Pizza & Pasta (the original one in Frazer). they're big, meaty, just enough grease and they use a great roll (not positive, but i think they might bake them there). i like their chicken cheesesteaks, too, with provolone, sauce & shrooms. yummm. one day when you or your wife are doing business out in the burbs, stop by. they're on rt 30 west, next to the wawa (rt 30 & planebrook road). i'll second the pepper mill in WC, too. when i worked in WC, we used to eat there a lot, but it's a little off the beaten path to get to easily from where i am now.

I'm going to meet my dad and his wife for brunch on Sunday, April 2nd. I'm from PA and he's near the shore, so I thought Princeton would be a nice place to meet ... maybe hit the U museum or just stroll Nassau Street. What are some nice brunch places in or near Princeton? I grew up in the Hightstown area (haven't lived there in years), so I'm familiar with the suburbs. I'm looking for someplace that's under $30 p/p, nice variety, maybe a little adventurous. It can be lunch, too, if it's a really great place that doesn't do brunch. Thanks for your help!