HD73

Any new suggestions for LBI? This was the most recent thread I could find on the topic. I will be in town next weekend and I'm looking for some place to eat dinner on Saturday. I'm open to anything - casual, formal, seafood, ethnic - as long as it's good. I know that's a tall order at the shore, at least in my experience, but I'm hoping someone here can help me out. Thanks in advance!

This weekend, I'm going to be making a trek from Philadelphia to Tappahannock, Virginia to visit some in-laws. The current plan is to go out to dinner with a small group (5 people) on Saturday night. I was tasked with picking the spot for dinner, with the only qualification that it NOT be Lowery's. Don't ask. Initially, this didn't seem like it would be much of a challenge, and I turned to my usual sources for restuarant knowledge with hopes of finding some great Tidewater joint where we could enjoy the fruits (raw, fried, shelled and clawed) of the local environment. Alas, I have struck out entirely. At this point, I am entirely open to any type of cuisine (great Chinese? Fine!), and to any restaurant within a thirty-minute drive of Tappahannock. Any distance greater than that will probably be a non-starter with the in-laws. Please let me know if anyone out there has a suggestion that might fit the bill. My thanks in advance.

I've got to drive from Philly out 76 to Lancaster and back at some point in the next few weeks to pick up some furniture. Any must-stops in Lancaster or between here and there?

One more place to consider would be Estia. They have a 30 dollar three course pre theatre special served between 5 and 7. Great greek food. Not sure if that is in your price range, but the fish here is superb. ← Estia is great. If you can swing the $30 per person price, the food can't be beat. Good Dog is good but a bit of a hike. If you're really pressed for cash, Argan has decent Moroccan pita-like sandwiches (is it still open?) next to Bonte near the Sofitel. ← According to google maps, the Good Dog is .2 miles from the Kimmel Center on foot. It's well under a 3 block walk. Maybe my perceptions are skewed by living in the city and walking everywhere, but that's not a hike to me.

The Good Dog probably fits that bill. It's on 15th between Walnut and Spruce.

I thought the Hot and Sour soup was good but unremarkable. Better than I'd expect at any old chinese joint, but not even in the same ballpark as the other stuff at HD2. Han apparently agrees, as he told me it was no good when I tried to order it (after having read the reviews on this thread) and gave us something else instead. At the end of the night he gave us a couple of take-out containers, so maybe (probably) I would have enjoyed it more piping hot in a bowl there. I would bet that in a different context, say your neighborhood chinese place, all the standards would be enough to keep even discerning people coming back. It's just that in the elevated company they keep at Han Dynasty, hot and sour soup and friends look pretty bad in comparison. And I doubt that Han actually telling diners that they are eating something bad improves the subjective experience of the dishes. Personally, I love that aspect of the place, and having Han do the ordering is an element of the experience with which I wouldn't want to part. "Entertainingly frank" is an understatement. When we asked if there was anything for dessert, he told us "Not really. I've got some green tea ice cream. From Genuardi's." It will be exciting to see what he does with a place in the city, when he can presumably do away with the concessions to suburbia and really stick to the things he wants to be doing. Until then, though, this place is definitely more than worth the trip.

Sue's has honey-tangerine juice intermittently, and it is indeed delicious. The acid is a bit lower and it really brings the sweetness and flavor out.

I've never had to ask to hear one of those rants. In my experience, they come free with every falafel. Maybe I just look particularly rant-worthy. I agree completely with your assessment - great food, but the dude is nuts. It's mostly benign, although I have seen a couple of ugly scenes unfold while in line at the cart.

There's a good falafel cart at (I think) 20th and Market. It's on the northeast corner. The proprietor is more or less completely insane (I don't think I'm the only person that calls him the Falafel Nazi). He piles on lots of weird stuff (grilled grapes, beet(?) couscous, etc.) but the end result is delicious, albeit tough to eat. Edit: A google search confirms that 1) the cart is on the northeast corner of 20th and Market; and 2) I'm not the only person that calls him the falafel nazi.

Do you still have to call ahead for the chicken? I think I remember hearing that they have a bar, is that right?

Doing a little research? Way to keep some great news about SSOH under your hat! Congrats! ← I'll second that! Can't wait until it opens back up.

If you're going for the heart of the menu (gumbo, jambalaya, poboys) then they'll almost certainly still have what you want on a Friday night. It's Saturday after lunch time when the pickins start to get slim. But you might as well call ahead anyway for ease of pickup and to be safe.

I'll throw in my two cents as well. I was excited to check this place out, and it didn't disappoint. It didn't quite thrill either, but I'll definitely be coming back. Showed up with a friend and we weren't sure how hungry we were, so we just started out with a big order of the fries and some of the wings. I loved the wings at Snackbar, and while these were way more straight-ahead buffalo, they were delicious. The texture was less crispy than my ideal, but these were still quite good. The fries were also great, whether dipped in the truffle mayo/mustard that came with them or in the wing sauce. The first two things were good enough (and we were hungry enough) to order the burger. I asked the server if we could substitute the malt vinegar crisps for the french fries that come with the burger. Answer: No substitutions, except that fries can be substituted for a salad. With no prompting from me, he went on to explain that this was a matter of food costs: bibb lettuce is expensive, potatoes are cheap. I nodded with a quizzical expression and just let it go. I guess it never hit the guy that: 1. I was substituting potatoes for potatoes; or 2. substituting crisps ($3 alone) for fries ($6 alone). Not a big deal, and I didn't make a big deal about it, but it just seems silly. I completely, completely understand having no substitutions in a regular restaurant situation. I also understand rules based on food costs. But you're running, at least ostensibly, a bar. If a substitution is going to save you money, let it happen. And as others have suggested above, if a substitution is going to cost you extra, just pass that cost along to us transparently and we'll be happy to pay. The burger itself was delicious, despite coming out pretty close to medium well after we ordered it medium rare. The meat itself seemed to be very well seasoned, and I think that made the flavor of the beef really pop. The toppings were great. Service was very nice if a little stiff, but I think I'd probably sit at the bar next time. The tables are cheek by jowl (think Lolita or Melograno) and it kinda killed the "bar" vibe. Prices were eminently reasonable, both for food and drink, which was nice considering the fact that it looks like they spent quite a bit of money working over the space. A decent list of craft beers on tap and in bottles, although this isn't a beer destination with food so much as a food destination with beer. Their "house" wine was a Red Head Studios Shiraz(?) that was good and fairly priced, although I didn't look at the rest of the wine list. This place has a ton of potential, and if it relaxes just a smidge and takes its name to heart, it could be a fantastic addition to the neighborhood.

Made a special trip to Cajun Kate's for lunch today and wasn't disappointed. In fact, I might be back tomorrow! I had a softshell po'boy and the cochon du lait gumbo and they were both excellent. I love me some Sarcone's bread, but the softer, lighter roles were a perfect delivery vehicle for the softshell crab (or anything fried, I'd imagine (and hope to confirm)), and the pickles, lettuce and tomato were a great accompaniment. The softshell itself was beautifully fried with just a gentle, crisp coating on the outside. It was well-spiced and greaseless, and good enough to make me wish I'd ordered a whole instead of a half. While the po'boy was delicious, it was the gumbo that was really the mindblower. The depth of flavor seemed almost bottomless, and with a few drops of Crystal (as Philadining suggested) it became virtuosic and really played all over my palate. I don't think I've ever had gumbo before today that actually deserved the name. The cramped space is a pain, and I'll imagine it'll get more crowded soon, as they apparently appeared on NBC 10 today. That annoyance is mitigated by the very friendly and somewhat frenetic staff, who seemed to be working at capacity and still turning out, from what I could see, very well-executed food to all comers.

I'm with you on the White House Cheesesteak. Their Italian and Meatball Hoagies are fantastic, but the cheesesteak really didn't do anything for me. It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't in the same league as 1) the White House's other sandwiches; or 2) the top 5 or 10 places in Philly.