[Need recommendations, Philadelphia, 1 fine dining, 1 casual]

Your sister should be searching for a small neighbourhood B&B or an AirB&B in Rittenhouse.

[Need recommendations, Philadelphia, 1 fine dining, 1 casual]

Plenty of places that serve French and Italian food in centre city. I suggest Cucina Forte, Amis, Bistro la Minette, Beau Monde, Cafe Lutecia, Cafe Clave, Bibou, Patisserie Creme Brulee, J'aime Patisserie, Frangelli's, Gran Caffe L'Aquila, La Maude Cafe, Le Virtu, Melograno, Monsu, Res Ipsa, Victor Cafe. You can Google each of these for more information. Feel free to send me messages. I live in centre city and am very familar with the dining scene here.

[The foodlover's guide to Amsterdam]

Another restaurant for your consideration:

Bar-Restaurant 5

Prinsenstraat 10

(020) 428-2455

This is a pretty restaurant located in a typical "winkel" sized building on a shopping street near the Anne Frank house on the edge of de Jordaan.

The theme here is that there are five choices of anything offered on the menu. Five whiskys, five starters, five entrees, five desserts, five gins, etc.

There are three levels where one can dine: the lower level (basement) is intimate and cosy, with nary a hint that you are in a basement, the main (entry level) with scrubbed wooden floors and polished piano, and the upper level, more like a balcony over looking the main room. The atmosphere is welcoming, the patrons a mix of good looking neighbourhood locals and visitors. The decor is a beautiful mix of contempoary metal and stone materials with woodwork/joinery reminiscent of Asia.

This a refined place offering the best of fish, meat, foul, and pasta dishes and sandwiches executed and served by a talented staff.

[Wasabi cashews]

Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop has wasabi nuts. 215 242-2211 or look them up for an online order via Google search.

[The foodlover's guide to Amsterdam]

Ko Chang Westerstraat 91 (020) 638-1039 http://www.ko-chang.nl/

Located in a small "winkel" on the busy Westerstraat, this husband-wife team (he- Dutch, she-Thai) prepares some of the best authentic Thai dishes in a very pretty room with traditional hangings of elephants, banana leaf motifs, etc. Banquette seating along one wall and chairs & tables in the remainder of the room make for flexible seating various parties. This is a neighbourhood hang-out, where the locals come out for their noodle and curry dishes to take-out or eat-in, and some chat. Kick back and order a Thai beer or coconut drink and enjoy the genuine tastes of Thai cuisine made to order. You will be recognised by the amiable staff after your second visit, so be warned! This place is "gezellig" (warm, home-like, and comfortable).

[The foodlover's guide to Amsterdam]

De BelHamel Brouwersgracht 60 (020) 622-1095 http://www.belhamel.nl/

Located on the edge of de Jordaan on a picturesque gracht (canal), De BelHamel is a seven minute walk from the Centraal Station. It is a romantic jewelbox of a classic French restaurant whose bi-level dining room is executed in period Art Nouveau fossilised marble on silver wallpaper and painted wooden paneling. This is a special place to be on a beautiful evening when the double doors are open and tables are set up on the Brouwersgracht. The food is French in style and execution, but the ingredients and many of the dishes are Dutch in inspiration. The service is polished and friendly.

After dining here for ten years, the service and quality of food remains consistently high. There are daily specials on the blackboard and a private dining room on the lower level for private parties. The wine list is varied with bottles in virtually all price levels.

[Carbonade Flamande in Bruges/Brugge?]

FYI: The correct spelling is Brugge. "Bruges" is the French spelling for a place in the Dutch part of Belgium. The local people are Hollanders and the language is the Flemish dialect of Dutch.

About the food: some of the best mussels to be had are at

Restaurant -Tea Room De Torre. Langestraat 8 (050) 34-29-46

Pretty rooms good for dining when it is cold or for inclement weather, but everyone sits outside on the canal (gracht) otherwise.

[The foodlover's guide to Amsterdam]

Hello all:

This is my first post, so please forgive any errors.

I have been a regular visitor to A'dam for the past 14 years. My wife and I live in an old section of the city called "de Jordaan". It is a beautiful place interlaced with small canals called "grachten" and some of the best dining in the city.

I would like to add some places not previously mentioned that I think a visitor, tourist, or local might enjoy.

Toscanini Cafe 75 Lindengracht (020) 623-2813

This is one of the most exquisite Italian restaurants in which I have ever eaten. The decor is very simple with candle lit wall sconces and butcher paper covering the tables. This started as a family owned-operated restaurant 40 years ago in a small place around the corner. It it now located in what used to be a garage, with small bar and a few tables that serves as a waiting area-lounge-coatcheck as you enter. The small bar area opens up into what used to be the service area of the garage with orderly tables for four around the edges of the room and smaller candle lit tables in the centre section. The large central skylights provide a warm glow to the stucco walls as the sun begins to set during the Summer months. Reservations (bookings) are strongly suggested, as this place is busy late into the evening. We have often observed that the restaurant is three quarters full at 10.30 PM on a Monday night, noted by most restaurateurs as the slowest night of the week for business. Might have to do with the unfussy, comfortable service and unhurried pace of the kitchen and staff. This is a place where you immediately feel at home, to sit, linger, and people watch.

Chef-owner Leonardo "Renato" Parenti and his talented staff offers a varied menu of meats, fish, shellfish, foul, risotto, and pastas from all parts of Italy. There are daily specials handwritten on the board in the dining room which should also be in the metal binders that serve as your menus.

What's good? Everything! Portions are reasonable, allowing for a three or four course meal without leaving as if you ate the table. There is a broad selection of water, wine and grappa and full range of coffee and tea drinks to go with their five or six dessert offerings.

Prices for a dining experience of this quality are about $50 per person, more if you drink a lot or order lots of very expensive bottles. This is a place that you will want to revisit over and over again.