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I agree that Helmand is delicious. I have also had many great meals at the Elephant Walk, but mostly the one in Boston. Although I think the quality of service has declined in the last year or so. Sunset is a college-place, but they do have a HUGE beer list and the food is pretty good. Casa Romero has good Mexican food, at least good for Boston. Romantic atmosphere. The best Mexican in my opinion is from El Pelon Taqueria near Fenway.

That was a really beautiful slideshow. Thanks for sharing!

Ate here on Saturday night. Had been about a year ago with family and remembered liking the food so wanted to try it again. The place is very small, so when we were seated next to a large, loud party in the front room, we asked to be moved to the back but there was no room. We adjusted and the party ended up quieting down after a while. We started with the romaine-radicchio caesar salad with strips of anchovy on top. The salad was huge and came with dressing lightly drizzled on the salad and then a cup with more dressing on the side. Very good. For our entrees, I had the mac and cheese with turkey kielbasa. Really delicious and creamy, with lots of cheddar on top. And the kielbasa was delicious. Boyfriend had the steak, sirloin maybe, with fries which he really enjoyed. Huge portions of food. We looked at the dessert menu but were too full, although the desserts looked wonderful so we may have to go back and try them. Overall, a very nice meal.

Went again last night, this time with boyfriend and parents. I thought the food was even better than the first time I went. We all opted to do the four course tasting, which is now listed on the menu. Somehow, we all managed to get a different dish for every course so there was lots of sharing. Amuse was a warm mushroom soup, some kind of fish spread and parsley oil on toast and a cheese croquette. All of it was delicious, especially the croquette. I could have eaten them for one of my courses! To start, I had the hen of the woods mushrooms with the perfectly poached egg, mom had yellowtail, dad had winter veggie soup and BF had the salad. All were delicious, according to their tasters, and the mushrooms had an amazing flavor that was enhanced by the egg. Next course, I had the lobster bolognese, bf had the ribiolo tortellini, mom had the cauliflower and dad had the scallops. Again, all were delicious. The cauliflower I had last time was a little salty for me, but mom liked it fine. Third course, I had the duck breast with foie gras custard and poached pear, mom had the sweet potato blini, bf had sirloin and dad had the chicken. The duck was once again excellent, great flavors and everyone else loved theirs. Dessert, I had the caramel rum profiteroles, bf had the steamed chocolate cake, mom had the quince dessert finished with a touch of prosecco at the table and dad had the peanut butter and chocolate dessert. I liked all of them but wasn't thrilled with mine, more because it is not something I would normally order but did so we could all try different things. I think it was more my personal taste than anything wrong with the dessert. The rest of the desserts were great. I disagree with Bruni about the decor - I love the color of the walls, find them quite soothing, and like the structure of the two rooms. Service was good again, although we had to ask for bread, but we had the same waiter as last time who was capable, knowledgable and very enthusiastic about the food. Overall, a great experience.

Just made reservations for my BF's bday in March. Spent this afternoon reading through the entire Babbo thread. Seems like it was all raves in the beginning but these have dropped off in the last year. So, my question is - did I miss the boat? Is Babbo old news? Or did the rave reviews drop off because it was new in the beginning and now it has been around for a while. Would love to know your thoughts before our meal there. Great food is more important to me than atmosphere so my query is mostly about the food.

Just wanted to say thanks to philadining for his post above. I am totally in agreement and glad you so eloquently vocalized my feelings!

You are very right - I misread something in Zagat's (ever an unreliable source) that actually pointed out it is a great value for the qulality. And I wholeheartedly agreed. It was about $150 for us with 2 entrees, 2 apps, 1 dessert and a great bottle of wine. Really a steal.

You are absolutely right, it was a Chateau Kefraya 2000. I meant to ask for a pen to write it down while I was there. But by then I had already had half the bottle so my thoughts were kind of shaky

Had a fantastic dinner at Hearth last night. I have read that the prices are extremely high, but I thought they were quite reasonable for what we got. Started out with the parsnip soup amuse. The waiter suggested a delicious wine from Lebanon of all places. Went with our dishes perfectly. For appetizers, boyfriend got the frisee salad and cleaned his plate. He is not the most enthusiastic eater so I know when a dish gets a "Yum" from him, it's great. I had hamachi with apples and celery - delicious and refreshing. For our entrees, I had the duck papparedelle and he had roast chicken. My meal was delicious, the duck was very rich and flavorful. He liked the chicken but don't know if it rated a "yum" from him. For dessert, we ordered the donuts and chocolate tart. About 10 minutes after we ordered, the waiter (who had been excellent all night) came back and apologized that he hadn't remembered if we had ordered dessert and if we had, what we ordered. We weren't in a hurry and he apologized so neither of us minded. But the boyfriend in the meantime realized how full he was so this time we asked for only the donuts and told him not to bring the tart. He told us he would bring the tart anyway, free of charge. It was very sweet and a classy way to handle a mistake. A mistake that in my opinion didn't warrant any free food! The tart was good but the donuts were ridiculous. Hot, crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside. And the apple compote was the perfect compliment. They gave us spice cookies for an after-dinner treat. It must've been the wine b/c apparently I ate both of them without letting the boyfriend have any. Whoops! Overall, our experience was great. The service was wonderful and made us feel at home. People have also said that the back room where we are seated is "Siberia" (in Zagat's) but it was perfect for us. Lots of tables for two and it was very quiet b/c it was a narrow area. And since the service was attentive, I don't think we missed out on anything not being in the main room.

My sis, who went to Barnard but no longer lives in NYC is visiting tonight and we have decided to go to Saigon Grill. But we both thought it was located on Broadway the last time we were there about 5 years ago. Has it moved? Or is it our memories??

Had a similar experience at 66th St. Balducci's. Don't know if the meat was Luger's but brought it home and cooked it up and it was one of the best burgers I have ever had.

It wasn't loud but wasn't quiet. It's a pretty open space, but we had no trouble hearing each other or the waiter. They sat me and my BF at a booth table and we sat next to each other but on different parts of the booth, if that makes any sense. And we always find that a nice way to sit because we can talk to each other. I would say it would be very romantic.

I second Katie's suggestion of Carman's Country Kitchen. I have lived in Boston and am currently living in New York, and have never found anything quite like it in any other city. The constantly changing menu items are innovative and the ingredients are fresh. It is a little out of the way but definitely worth the trip.

Is it that super sweet stuff that tasted like it was just made with butter and sugar but is oh-so-delicious? If so, I had one a few years ago, given to me by a guy in Philly so they definitely exist. I just couldn't tell you where. But yum!

Just returned from my meal at Telepan. I agree with the previous poster that the meal was wonderful. And, reading egullet also helped me choose my meal quite well. Every member of the staff was friendly and helpful. When we left, one of the hosts said "Goodbye Ms. X" which I thought was such a nice and personal touch. We sat at a banquette towards the front of the room and it was very cozy. We decided to have the four course prix fixe. A prix fixe option was not on the menu so I am glad we knew from egullet to ask. Our waiter suggested we try 3 savory and one sweet/cheese course so we followed his advice. In general, the portion sizes were probably smaller than normal but perfect for a tasting. First, our amuse was a mushroom foccacia (sp?), celery and apply "soup" and I believe some kind of duck liver with toast. It was all very good and a nice start to the meal. We also were given a choose of warm, crusty rolls - yum! For our first course we had the romaine salad and the yellowtail tabbouleh. The salad had generous shavings of Monterey Jack cheese and crispy croutons. The tabbouleh was very interesting with the farro taboulleh giving a crunch to the fresh and light fish. For our mid-course, we had the lobster bolognese in a lovely tomato, shallot and garlic broth. The sauce was delicious and went perfectly with the lobster. I had originally chosen the sweet potato blini but when I made my server aware that I have this weird potato (not sweet potato) allergy, he offered to check with the chef to make sure there were no potatoes in the dish. Surprisingly, he came back saying there were, and that the chef had recommended I have the cauliflower dish. This had been my second choice, so I agreed and the waiter says "that's what's so great about the chef, he just has a knack for picking these things." It was very sweet and a testament to the way the staff feels about the chef which I thought was obvious in everyone's behavior. For our third course, I had the duck with an amazing foie gras custard and the most delicious poached pear I have ever had. The flavors mixed together were wonderful. My partner had the sirloin which was also delicious. We contemplated having a cheese course, but opted instead just for dessert. I had the carrot cake with cheesecake ice cream as Sadie_siamesecat recommended and it was really delicious. The dish was covered with a carrot slaw with plump raisins and nuts. My partner had the chocolate souffle which was also delicious. We were also given some homemade fudge to take home. The food and service were great - we drink a lot of water and had our glasses filled again and again which is a rarity for us, we usually have to ask to be filled many times. Our waiter was extremely knowledgable and enthusiastic and the food was wonderful. Please try this restaurant soon! (Although given how crowded the restaurant was on a Tuesday night, I don't think Bill Telepan needs me to tell anyone this is a great place.)

Thank you for the clarification, that makes a lot of sense. I look forward to dining at your restaurant on Tuesday.

I just made a reservation for Tuesday night. And in a vein similar to another recently opened restaurant in NYC (I believe it was Gilt), I am supposed to call and confirm instead of them calling me. I guess the thing that bothers me most about this policy (and obviously I don't yet know the ramifications if I don't call) is that I am a very courteous and conscientious diner in that if I am going to cancel a reservation, I always call. And if I think I'm going to be rather late for a reservation, I also call. And usually if a restaurant calls me to confirm and leaves a message asking me to call back, I do. I always give the restaurant this courtesy and I expect that if they want a confirmation, this should not be my responsibility. Especially if I am going to be spending my money on them, shouldn't they make it a little easier on me? Maybe I'm wrong.

Walked by Telepan on Friday night on 69th and Columbus. Looked hopping inside. Anyone been or planning on going?

I can't speak from personal experience, but would like to comment about my parents' experience at Providence. They were visiting LA from the East Coast in September and the concierge at the W where they were staying made reservations for them and some friends at Providence. Due to the LA traffic, they were an hour late for their reservation. The hostess was extremely accommodating and since the chef's table was free, offered them seats there. Apparently, the chef's table is in a glass-enclosed room that looks into the kitchen so they were able to have an intimate and quiet dinner while still being able to see what was going on around them. After a meal they thought was fabulous, they went into the kitchen and gave the staff a standing ovation to show their appreciation. Cheesy but true. It really put a bright spot in their trip to LA.

If you want a diner, the All Seasons off Rte 36 is great. Also, they just re-did the Blue Swan diner. If you want something a little different, try Sunset Landing in Asbury Park. It's on a lake and has great homemade breakfast foods.

Since I am no longer a Philly resident, your reference to the young kid who helps his mom in the sushi place at 20th and Sansom warmed my heart. That places looks like nothing from the outside but I never had a bad experience with the sushi I got there and watching that little boy help his mom is adorable! And I agree with you on Porcini - the food is not worth the aggravation of the service!

A friend of mine is getting married in Philadelphia in March. The wedding location is all set, but they are looking for a good space to have their rehearsal dinner for about 60 out of town guests. Nothing too pricey but they would like good food and atmosphere. Any suggestions?

Went to Chez Nicholas tonight for the first time and although I will be mostly reiterating the praises from others, I wanted to post about my meal. One of things I really like about the restaurant (and something that is rare) is the different dining options on the menu (2 and 3 course prix fixe, 4 course vegetarian prix fixe and 6 course tasting) and each person can order a different one! So often I am thwarted in my attempts at ordering a tasting menu because the whole table is required to order it and half my family is vegetarian, but that wasn't a problem here. We started with an amuse of hamachi tartare in a salty soy sauce and the vegetarians got the roasted corn chowder. For an appetizer, I had the Roasted Corn Chowder with lobster, cherry tomatoes and chanterelles. The soup had an amazingly strong flavor and was wonderful. Two others got the Scallops which were also delightful and the vegs each got a salad which I didn't taste. The vegs got an extra course - a plate of sweet heirloom tomatoes, watermelon sorbet and peeled grapes. A refreshing course. The main was probably the biggest disappointment for me. I ordered the Cod which was way too salty. My father tasted it and liked it so we switched his halibut with my cod. We mentioned the saltiness to the waiter who was concerned, but we assured him we were okay with the dishes after switching - even though I didn't like the cod, it was nice to know the waiter and kitchen would have been very accommodating if I had sent it back (something I rarely do). The vegs had a marscapone ravioli and another companion had the NY Strip Steak, cooked perfectly. We had a cheese course for the table with four tasty cheeses - a double cream Camembert, a Petit Basque, Manchego and a creamy, pungent Muenster which was fantastic. For dessert, we had the Warm Chocolate Cake, Blueberry something or other and Cantaloupe Soup with Cream Cheese Ice Cream. Sadly we didn't get to try the watermelon/strawberry shooter before our dessert that other tables had, but we did get an after-dessert treat of chewy nougat with nuts. Overall, it was a great experience - the dining room was filled but quiet so we could all converse and the food was really extraordinary, as was the service. It has certainly lived up to its reputation!

Went to Fiamma Osteria tonight and had a lovely meal. We had the mixed salad - fabulous but subtle dressing that wasn't poured on too thick complemented the asparagus, tomatoes and other delicious vegetables. Also, an octopus appetizer was also great. I had the pasta special, consisting of fettucine-like pasta in a fish/marinara broth with mussels. Others at the table had a cream-based penne, swordfish and pork tenderloin. All were great. For dessert we had sorbets, a chocolate and banana "parfait" and an interesting combination of bittersweet chocolate tort and orange granita. While the food was great, I was most impressed with the service. One of my pet peeves, and something that should not happen in any vaguely upscale restaurant, is when patron's plates are cleared before everyone at the table has finished eating. That was not a problem here and every dish was brought out and cleared simultaneously. The entire waitstaff was gracious and helpful and made the experience that much better.

Don't know how pricey you're willing to go, but Aujourdhi (I probably spelled that wrong) in the Four Seasons has a phenomenal Sunday brunch buffet.