Meanderer

I am annoyed by servers who haven't the ability or cannot summon the will to disengage themselves from overly friendly diners who want to converse with the server about things other than the food. I don't know how many times my beverage, food or check has been held up because a server was unable to slip away from the customer who wants to be a pal. Of course, it is the diner who is most at fault here but the servers need to develop tactful ways of escaping so that they can take care of others for whom they are responsible.

If the menu looks good(I hope you have an up to date website)or if the restaurant has received a strong recommendation from someone I know and trust, I wouldn't hesitate to eat in an empty restaurant. If I liked the place, I would continue to go back regardless of how busy it is. The situation you describe is akin to that of one of our favorite restaurants which is located in a small, rural town and off the beaten path. When we first started going there--and we almost always dine out on weekdays--there were never more the two or three other tables occupied. Now, some two years later, the place is doing a pretty good midweek business. The change must be through word of mouth because I don't think the restaurant advertises. How long have you been open?

We had a pretty decent lunch last fall at the Jazzy Fox Bistro in Fergus Falls. I guess that isn't too far from Fargo.

One product worth a mention is Domfront poire. I became nearly addicted to it on a recent visit to the region and, regretfully, I have had to do without since my return home as it appears not to be available around here.

With one exception several years ago when there were service issues, we've always enjoyed our lunches at the Eiffel Tower in Leesburg which, as the name suggests, serves classic French food. Part of the pleasure has been our waiter on several occasions, a Breton, who is professional, confiding, mercurial, and hilarious, all by himself. I'll always remember the time when, after he hung up the phone one day, he laughed out loud, came over to our table, and asked if Northern Virginia ever had typhoons. He explained that a reservation for a table of six had been cancelled because of the expected typhoon. You can have a very nice light lunch there and it has a decent wine list and outdoor seating if the weather is good. I've never had dinner there.

I was unpleasantly surprised, while in a regionally well-regarded restaurant several years ago, to see the chef use Jaquin's port in my duck breast with port sauce prepared tableside. I guess that was a case of "propensity to profit" as well.

Having read his review of the show, he is not targeting me as a part of his audience. I wish we could know what a Dorothy Parker or Mark Twain would have written had they been around to watch the production. I suspect their reviews would be a bit more subtle in style while containing considerably more wit.

Pho Pasteur is at 560 S. 29th St. in Harrisburg and seems to be popular with the local Asian population. Another possibility is a place at 3rd and Reilly(its name has escaped me), a few blocks north of the state house. Rose's, at 2306 Walnut St., closed for some time after its owner suffered a serious injury, but I recently noticed that a Vietnamese restaurant is again open in that location. I don't know if it is operated by the same people.

I think you may be out of luck in Hershey but if you expect to have transportation I can give you some places in Harrisburg that might suit. Hershey is a relatively small town with relatively few choices for dining.

The nearest chain restaurant to my home when I was in high school was Henri's. It had nothing in particular to distinguish it from other burger palaces except for the friend who worked there. If we "happened" to show up at the end of his shift, we got the shared benefit of the bagful of burgers that he brought with him as he emerged from the employees' entrance.

Foti's, in downtown Culpeper, is worth a stop based on a recent experience. The lamb dish-- lamb shank and an excellent lamb sausage was perfect for a cold winter evening. The chef/owner is originally from North Dakota--not exactly a hotbed of culinary arts--but he spent time in the kitchen at the Inn at Little Washington and he appears to know what he is doing.

We were a little late getting into Atlanta so we decided not to leave the airport and, instead, headed for Paschal's. I wanted to try the fried chicken, as that appears to be the signature dish, but I had eaten too much during the prior four days and was looking to taper off a little. I thought I was getting the best of both worlds by ordering the fried chicken caesar. I was wrong. The chicken was excellent, but the salad wasn't good at all. There was a layer of old brown romaine, artfully covered by some fresh green romaine, sprinkled with some canned parmesan cheese. The dressing on the side appeared to be creamy italian from a bottle. Next time, I'll order the chicken and a couple of sides. Anyway, thanks to everyone who responded to my original post.

If you plan to be there in late August, don't miss the Cotati Accordion Fest. The culmination of the event is the Lady of Spainathon. Chills will run down your spine.

Thanks. Paschal's sounds like a good option if time is tight. Otherwise, it is in to town on MARTA for us, I think. I enjoyed walking between terminals last time because there was a display of contemporary sculpture down there.

Robyn, you are probably right, but I have the gray hair already and I get pretty restless sitting in an airport for hours. Is there anything at the airport itself that is worth a try? Whenever I am in Detroit and have a little time I head for a particular sausage vender that sells worthy sandwiches. The last time I was hungry and at Hartsfield, I ended up at a Chili's because that was the best of an uninspired lot. That was two or three years ago, however.

In theory, we have exactly 3 hours and 56 minutes, but that assumes the flight arrives on time. It also assumes no time will be lost waiting on the tarmac for an open gate, at the gate for a gate agent to show up to open the door, or on the plane for 30 or 40 rows of passengers to get off ahead of us. I assume we are safer assuming the 3 hour time frame.

We have several hours to kill at Hartsfield next week in the middle of the day. Does anyone have suggestions for lunch within a short cab ride of the airport? All suggestions, from barbecue to bordelaise, would be welcome although, in deference to our fellow passengers on the second leg of our journey, we wouldn't want to eat anything with an abundance of garlic. Thanks.

Perhaps "cutting edge" was the wrong phrase, but I was responding to the opinions of some that there was an absence of imagination.

Speaking from the perspective of someone who lives a significant distance from Philadelphia and its restaurants, I am amused both by the article that prompted the thread and by many of the posts. It makes me imagine a discussion in the household of Sam Walton where some of his children are upset because dad is not as rich as Warren Buffet and Bill Gates and that must mean there is something wrong with him. From following numerous other threads here, I have to think you have almost an embarassment of riches in your restaurant scene. The choices you have when you decide to eat out are almost endless and dozens of restaurants have appeared about which posters have expressed lofty opinions. I perfomed a small experiment. I went on line and looked at the menu of Matyson, a place I've never eaten. Of the 7 appetizers, I would happily eat 6 if well prepared. Of 7 entrees, I think I would enjoy all 7. That means I could make 6 enjoyable visits to Matyson even if it never changed its menu before I would have to order something twice. If I then turn to Pif, Mandoline Vetri, Striped Bass and every other place that has received accolades here, I would never run out of opportunities to eat well even if I ate out every night for the next year. Perhaps no dish would be considered by some to be cutting edge or imaginative, but I don't care, so long as it is exceptionally good. A few years ago, a shot glass of tomato water was cutting edge--I can give you gallons of the stuff as soon as my tomatoes ripen next summer. If you must have cutting edge food to make you happy, take a vacation where you will find it. If you have cutting edge food in your neighborhood, maybe even that will make you jaded.

Haydn's on Pine, which is downtown, might fit the bill. The place has a clubby feel--I think to attract lobbyists and legislators--with expensive wood and plush furnishings and the menu might be a bit more conservative than many of the other new restaurants in town.

Never mind. In reading the history portion of the website, I see that it was distilled this year.

I see from the website that the producers are a little sensitive about the lack of aging of the whisky. Does the bottle say how old it is?

While there may be plenty of new Italian restaurants opening, those restaurants don't seem to reflect the various cuisines of Italy very well. Perhaps urban areas are different but outside of the beltways, most everything seems to be red sauced, cream/cheese sauced, and the now-obligatory "Tuscan" this and that items added to the menu. I've seen nothing like the food I've had in Emilia-Romagna, Le Marche and Venice. Don't chefs from those regions open restaurants over here?

The people I know who are familiar with the various options prefer Fuji Do in the 1700 block of Paxton Street.

On reading these posts, I couldn't help but think of the hilarious passage in Redmond O'Hanlon's book "In Trouble Again" in which he describes his experience eating a monkey eye.