tautog

Southern Inn is good for casual but quality American. Wilson Walker House is also pretty good.

Gnocchi w/ Pesto Sauce at Monte's No. 1 Spicy at Saigon Banh Mi Oyster Panroast at the Oyster Bar Toro Handroll at Yasuda

Haven't stopped to eat there in a few years. Usually stop in Roanoke at have a late lunch at El Palenique or an early lunch at the Southern Inn in Lexington if I am going visiting in Blacksburg/WV. Eating down that way gives me a bad memory of a beautiful, barely legal girl I was dating who had no idea what good food was. Thought Taco Bell and Kabuki were the best thing going. Actuially told Frank Galvan at El Palenique that the food was almost as good as Taco Bell..*LOL*.

There was a half way decent Vietnamese/Thai place near the Mall. Not sure if it is still open. Nothing special, but great for the area.

Went to Dumpling House and the pork and chive dumplings were not well browned as the place was slammed. Beef sandwich was decent but a bit cold.

Fried Dumpling at Mosco still going strong. My cousin from Ireland was amazed at the price. He couldn't get 5 similiar dumplings for less than $5 in Dublin.

I like the scallion pancakes a lot, light and flakely and not oily, but they could use a bit more scallion flavor in my opinion. I also enjoy the steamed pork dumplings which are very juicy.

I'd recommend Monte's too. I love their gnocchi w/ pesto sauce. It has good red sauce cuisine too.

Never made it. First day, Fri, was so rainy that we didn't feel like a 20 minute drive in the dark. Next day we were too tired after a marathon 5:00am-6:30pm trip. Anyone have a similiar recommendation for Quincy? We are only doing a few half day trips so hopefully we'll have the energy to actually go somewhere this time.

I am looking for a relatively inexpensive and casual place for plain but tasty seafood in the Scuitate area that is open in late April. A group of us are doing a cod charter in the area next weekend and will be too tired to travel very far. Thanks in advance

Bonefish Grill is actually pretty good in South Florida where it started. Not sure how well it does outside of that area.

I went last night with 3 other guests. The food was very good. Most appetizers were $10-11 and entrees were $19-$24. I had the crabcake appetizer which was very sweet, in a good, natural way, and had no filler. For a main I had pasta with broccoli rabe, sausage and sundried tomatos. It was good, but maybe a bit too mellow. Would have liked a touch more garlic and broccoli rabe, but it didn't skimp on the sausage. I also had a small taste of the scallop with bacon entree which had a nice smoky flavor and was not overwhelmed by the bacon, as well as some nice fresh squid from the frutti di mare, which was a light seafood salad, rather than a fried dish. The fried oysters appetizer looked good. A special of fluke with crab meat was raved about and another diner liked the tilapia with crab meat. We had no desserts. I think there could be a few changes in the way the front of the house works. First off, it still looks like a pizza parlor. I understand it is supposed tto be a simple restaurant, but they could put a few thousand into decor to at least make it look charming. Secondly, I hate they they use plastic glasses for water, soda and the like. I'd rather they add one dollar onto the entree prices and have real glasses. I also thought the bread could be of better quality, given that so many dishes called for dipping. It was mediocre supermarket quality Italian bread. Also our waitress was rather old, slightly grumpy and somewhat inattentive, i.e. never refilled water or bread. Sort of charming for a diner and a lobster shack, but not so good where bills are $45 a head just for food. The other waitresses seemed to be a bit better though. I do however love the BYO and ultimately think it's a nice place.

Note to self, never go on a date with Jeffrey Chodrow's mother.*LOL* Sure the guys just loved him tagging along.

What are the three ingredients? Usually get the fried pork buns but they were out. Sounds like I should have went for the 3 ingredient dumplings voer the soupy dumplings.

Went to King's Village for a light lunch. No special dumpling menu at lunch. I had the lamb sticks, steamed lamb dumplings and soupy buns. Soupy buns were just good but the two lamb dishes were very good. I enjoy that most of the steamed dumplings have lots of juices inside. Gf had some sort of pork and noodle dish as she is more of a plain eater. I see so many good looking entrees that I never get to try because I don't have a group. This would be a good place for a weekend lunch meeting.

What should I order at King's Village other than the lamb sticks? Are the soupy buns like soup dumplings?

I second Teitel Brothers. It is usually $5-6 per pound cheaper than anywhere else. Good quality also. Just beware, if you ask for a pound and a half, your piece will be 2 pounds and so forth. Also very good for other Italian basics, olives, everyday olive oil, canned tomatoes, etc.

Do you have any idea if the West Orange is of similiar quality? The old locations are mediocre and greasy in a bad way in my opinion.

I meant Thai, mispelled. The area has a wealth of decent Thai and Vietnamese places that were very happy to trade fresh fish for meals. I usually go to the one that is on the Clearwater side of the bridge to Madiera Beach, not far from Dave's. They do a great sweet and sour fillet, not gloppy and definitely sour, also steamed fish. Not sure if any of that is actually on the menu. We catch grouper, snapper, porgies and Amberjack. As for Crabby Bill's, I have only been to the branch in Madiera Beach and they had good smoked fish, but we also used to do business with them in providing fresh grouper and snapper. However I don't think that is legal anymore do to regulations.

Dockside Dave's is a divey place in Mad Beach. Good for a nice grouper sandwich and onion rings but not any sort of destination place. I would save it for lunch. Then again I usually just bring my fresh caught fish to a Htai place and have them cook for me.

Greenbrier is at least 60 miles away. Not sure about Tamarack but I wouldn't bet on it. Make sure you visit the New River Gorge. Once you go skiing and see that, you've exhausted the charms of the area.

The bar and grill at the Glade Springs Resort is quite good and about 30 minutes away.

Restaurants I have enjoyed in the area are Castaways, for fresh seafood in a casual setting, Barracuda Grill for more upscale seafood, Annette's Lobster House for the fried seafood platter, and Keys Fishery for fish sandwiches and the like.

Monte's in the Village might about fit the bill. Salads for 2 for $9, Spaghetti and Meatballs for $11.50 and Ravioli for $10. Probably a bout a dollar too much on each entree to truely qualify. Only annoying think is that owner is too much into kissing and hugging, even the male patrons. Rocco in the same neighborhood is in a similiar price range and quality.

Southern Inn, http://www.southerninn.com, or Cafe Michel, www.michelcafe.com, in Lexington, not too far from Natural Bridge. El Palenique. good relatively authentic Mexican, in Roanoke.