Shmily

Thank you so much for all the wonderful information..will check it all out...and after our trip I will report back...

Hi..Thank you for sharing your experience...we had the same feeling that you did that a lot of restaurants are indeed overpriced and their food does not measure up to the cost...so that is why I posted my query...Will look into both places that you mention... ← LA may be too far away from SD. But Orange County isn't. Stonehill Tavern in Dana Point is getting some good reviews from forumers. Got 3 stars from LA Times. Supposedly the "classiest" restaurant in OC. In case you change your mind about trying a "star" restaurant. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...34&hl=stonehill ← thanks..will check it out...

Hi..Thank you for sharing your experience...we had the same feeling that you did that a lot of restaurants are indeed overpriced and their food does not measure up to the cost...so that is why I posted my query...Will look into both places that you mention...

I have heard from friends who ate there that they were REALLY disappointed...and will not return...cooking was just disappointing..

I have lived near Sun Wah for many years..when it opened, it was wonderful...sadly, it has changed hands many time and is no longer a place I would frequesnt...and I have no other suggestions...

or probably most restaurant food, sadly...

Dear Yannii...I do believe that Bar Harbor will be pretty crowded in laste August..it still is in September when we go...I hope that while you are there you will have the chance to see more of Acadia also...like sunset from the top of Cadillac Mountain (you can drive up and park at the lot just BELOW the summit for the best views)...get to Thurstons for lobster and see the bass Harbor Lighthouse...if you have a chance drive back to Ellsworth and go to the next eninsula north ...Schootic..more of Acadia Natl. Park but very different look...pretty flat...in Elsworth, check out the LLBean outlet...can happen upon great buys...Have a wonderful trip...Some years ago we stayed at a B&B owned by the chef from the Bar Harbor Inn..when he made breakfast, it was great...

Hi ...Doe the Thirsty Whale do other than fried..I love fried, but for health reason, I try so hard to avoid it...That is why we go to Thrustons...

just use the google search box instead of the egullet search box. ← OOH. How obvious...thank you so much...from a totally non intuitive computer user...

Dear Pete...Thank you so much for the link...I have another question, though..when I put a restaurant name into the eGullet search, if any of the words are 1 or 2 letters, it spits out my selection and shows an error...it happened again when I looked for Table 8..any suggestions how to do it properly?? therefore, my posting...and thanks a lot for your reply..sounds very helpful...

SO SORRY...somehow this got posted twice...please ignore as I do not know how to delete it...

Hi..I am sure that Table 8 has been discussed in the past...but alas, I cannot find any discussion. We are going for the first time on Aug 2nd...suggestions, review, comments, please...thanks a lot in advance...

Edward, I know that they DO have a waiting list...it is much easier to get reservvations during the week than on the weekend...so give it a try..all you have to lose is a bit of time...

Stop in at the Four Seasons resort and visit Aviara for the Friday night seafood buffet, includes all the high end stuff like lobster, oysters, scallops, etc. You can also check out some of these places - The Red Dahlia Currently getting some buzz; reviews have been somewhat mixed though generally positive. Bellefleur Tip Top Meats Some people swear by this place, some think it's overrated. It's more of a butcher shop/grocery type of place that also sells food. Not a bad option for lunch, stop in for a meat (of your choice) sandwich Le Passage French Bistro Blue Fire located at the La Costa Resort & Spa For pizza in Carlsbad check out Pizza Port, which quite a few people think has the best pizza in San Diego. Sammy's Woodfired Pizza is a local chain, but that shouldn't put you off, their pizza is quite respectable and not a bad choice for an easy, enjoyable lunch. I don't believe there is a web site but Vigilucci's is one of the better choices for Italian in the North County and they are located in Carlsbad. Moving south into Encinitias - Meritage Meritage is located in the Lumberyard, which is really a mall, but it's a pretty trendy, beach, upscale mall. NOT a Macy's or Nordstroms type of mall. And Meritage is pretty good, nice wine selection, waitstaff is knowledgable and engaging. Don't have dessert at Meritage though. It happens to be almost next door to Chuao Chocolatier which is marvelous. Since you'll be there in January and it might just rain and be cool, you can also buy some of their Spicy Maya Hot Chocolate mix to take with you. Chuao does fabulous chocolates, some of the best in the U.S., this is a "don't miss" stop. They also offer chocolate making classes on some evenings at their new location in, where else, Carlsbad. The classes end with chocolate and wine pairings/tastings. Also located in the Lumberyard is St. Tropez Bakery & Bistro which would be a nice stop for breakfast or lunch. For the funkier, beachy side of Encinitas Swami's/Honey's Bistro & Bakery/Beach Grass Cafe Swami's has been around a long time and is extremely popular with surfers and the non-surfing locals alike, especially for breakfast. Then we come to the Italian contingent - Firenze Trattoria Trattoria I Trulli which some think is the best Italian restaurant in the entire county or San Diego, which is a pretty large place. However, Best being subjective, there are also those that swear by When in Rome for great Italian. Savory opened a couple of years ago in Encinitas and generated a great deal of very positive buzz, including best new restaurant awards. If you want to venture south into La Jolla, the best deal in town can be found at two of the better restaurants, Fresh and Roppongi. Both offer their entire appetizer menus plus drinks for half price for Happy Hour from 4 pm - 6 pm. The appetizers are substantial enough to be shared by more than 2 people and lean heavily towards creatively done seafood, especially at Fresh. And finally, since you'll be here in January you might want to check out the Marine Room in La Jolla for one of San Diego's oldest food traditions - High Tide Breakfast or High Tide Dinner. The Marine Room is located at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club and sits directly on the sands of the beach. Twice a year the tides get exceptionally high and come right up to the restaurant, and occassionally, when the tide has coincided with fierce winter storms, the restaurant windows have given way to the sea. Back when SD was still a sleepy Navy town, getting dressed up to go to The Marine Room was a big deal. The food is excellent here and whether you go for breakfast, which is a buffet and exceptionally well done, or dinner, it's rarely a disappointment. Hide tides in January vary, but usually it's the first and/or last week of the month. The schedule for Hide Tide Breakfast and Dinner is usually posted on their web site in early to late Fall, meaning check it around October. Because of the explosive growth in the North County over the last 10-15 years, the restaurant business has developed right along with all that growth. It's not that hard to find good to very good, to even extremely good food in the area. Just cruising up and down PCH will yield you more choices than you could possibly try in a week's visit. Good luck, enjoy your visit and then report back to us what you found and how it was. ← Thank you for some PERFECT suggestions...like Fresh...just went to their Website...and I will chaeck out lots of your other suggestion...so I do thank you so much...

Have you tried Fascinos in Montclair yet? - A fine NJ restaurant. Which places have you tried in Jersey that you found lacking? ← I guess that I compare food and prices to comparable places in NY...and sadly, New Jersey has been a problem for me...at high end restaurants, and at inexpensive places...sadly, my home state just has not cut it for us...No, I haven't eaten at Fascinos yet..we will try though...I am a bit embarrassed to list our sad experiences here...poor service, unimaginative food, poorly prepared food...from pizza and paninis to haute cuisine...we have tried local places...but rarely return...

A lot of the $700 must have been for alcohol...We ate at Per Se for the 2nd time a few weeks ago...and the 2 meals there have been the MOST amazing food experiences we have ever had...with minimal wine, it was under $500 for the two of us...with tip...granted, that is a huge amount of money...but honestly, if we had had a cheaper meal and theater tickets...it would have been a pretty high bill also..and this was a very special occasion for us...Not only the food was sublime...but the service was the best we have ever had..and we have eaten at most of the top places in NYC...when we first ate at the Ryland Inn, it was excellent...sorry, I can no longer say that....

About 10 years ago we ate there quite a number of times. For awhile it was comparable to New York City's finest...alas, that did not last, except for the prices keeping up with New York CIty's!! Then about 2 or 3 years ago we had an unfortunate experience...they mixed up the bills and gave us the bill for an adjoining table whose bill was several times what ours should be..we caught it..no harm done, you think...well, they did not cancel the "credit" against our credit card...and so I had a $500 or $600 charge against my card which was not mine (it was against the credit I could charge in the future..and would go away in a week or so...I was not happy at all...finally, I called Mr. Shelton who when I spoke to him was pleasant and agreed it had been mishandled...and gave us our dinner for no charge..which was a lovely gesture...Sadly, I have not been back, nor do I plan to...New York has so many better places...Sadly, I am not a Jersey restaurant fan ...having had so many not so great experiences...

To everyone who so kindly gave me information...We just made our definate reservations to spend 9 nights in Southwest Harbor in late September...I am pretty excited as I get every year...and I called Thurstons to be certain they would not close until Columbus Day and we plan to try XYZ and Red SKy..will give you a report after our return...Thank you all again...

Does it have to be in Carlsbad or can the places also be in San Diego. In San Diego I would recommend Region, Cafe Cerise and Parallel 33 for good places to eat often focused on local produce (Region and Cafe Cerise) or an interesting concept (Parallel 33). ← As I mention below..only reason I mentioned Carlsbad was to say where we are staying...I will check into the places you mention...thank you...someone mentioned a little place that had wonderful mussels and jazz?? Does that ring a bell?? Thank you...

ABSOLUTELY does not have to be in Carlsbad...I only mention Carlsbad to tell you where we plan to stay...north of San Diego would be ideal with less driving...but if we need to go into the city, we will...did I here about a place that had wonderful mussels and jazz?? does that ring a bell with anyone?? Thank you again for any and all help....

please share some suggestions...

Hi..Found another interesting source by following Bob's suggestion of looking on the Southwest Harbor Chamber of Commerce site...there is a magazine called "Maine Boats, Homes and Gardens" and they have a restaurant review section called "Mainly Gourmet"...as you go back through the issues there is a review of XYZ as well as Red Sky and a homemade ice cream place in Ellsworth called Mainley Moo, as well as reviews of other Maine places. When I was looking on Google for reviews of XYZ, I found a reference to this Forum!! Just doing the investigating is such fun...now, if only I could get the same help for a trip to San Diego, I would be all set...Thank you again.

It's not difficult to eat the way you wish on MDI. For breakfast and lunch there's a pita/lunch restaurant on SWH's main drag, Cafe 2 / Eat-a-Pita, that probably will fit the bill. Although I'm not a fan, I suspect you might enjoy The Burning Tree in Otter Creek which emphasizes non-fried seafood and vegetarian fare. Lots of places offer salads of various sorts. I won't pretend that XYZ has "healthy" food if you consider cheese and pork unhealthy. (I don't.) But it is among the most flavorful food you will find on MDI. the Queso fundida is basically Mexican fondue: melted cheese, frequently mixed with Mexican chorizo, which you scoop up with tortillas or chips, etc. They have a lengua (tongue) appetizer that is to die for. Simple it is not. Delicious, yes. As far as I've been able to determine, they haven't put up a new website yet that I can link to. But expect some adventurous menu items (like the lengua) along with very well-executed standards, like chicken mole, roast pork, chile rellenos (XYZ's is baked, not fried), etc. This is not a cookie-cutter Mexican restaurant; more like Chicago's Frontera Grill or Scottsdale's Los Sombreros than your local Chi Chi's or Baja Fresh. Any of the basic fish house restaurants should be able to prepare a simple broiled fish. Just ask them to go easy on the butter/oil and avoid sauce in its entirety. Although they certainly have a fair amount of red meat and fried seafood, you should be able to find healthier fare at Rupununi. George's has a cafe menu that is considerably less expensive and I think comes closer to your desire for simple cooking. I've generally just struck with pizza at Little Notch. Too bad about that chicken. You can always do picnic lunches and/or dinners. There's an organic farm on Beech Hill Road which is a project of the College of the Atlantic: Beech Hill Farm. It's farmstand is open 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Rather lengthy discussions about Bar Harbor/Mount Desert Island restaurants can be found here, here, here and, most recently, here. ← Thank you for a wonderful, helpful summary...will spend more time carefully reading your links...Can't wait to go back to Thurstons (have been enjoying their lobsters since before they shot the movie there)..and to try some other places.

Dear Bob, I thank you very much for all the info....We have had sandwiches at Little Notch..they have ranged from outstanding to overcooked and too dry chicken...XYZ sounds intersting, but I know little about Mexican food...what is queso fundido?? I know the cheese..but...?? What else have you eaten there?? We try to watch our weight and have had trouble finding places that cook simply...know anything about Top of the Hill?? just outside SW Harbor? We stay in a B&B and have healthy but "heavy on the carbs" breakfasts... I am a new member..where can I find your earlier posts?? Thank you again...