Rich Pawlak

Tiger Noodles in Princeton, on Nassau Street, across from Wild Oats supermarket; fresh, lively Sechuan cooking prepared simply but with great care and enthusiasm.

The newest branch of the chain, in Lawrenceville, NJ, does most of the classic Penang dishes quite well, with a much lighter touch than the Philly branch. I have also found the same lighter touch at the chain's Edison, NJ outpost, which does not share the industrial decor of the other Penangs, opting for a more kitchy, tropical grass hut look. I have eaten at a number of the Penangs, and these two Jersey locations seem, to me, to do the best job. However, beef Randang is beef Randang, always a wet, stewy dish. Never seen it served any other way.

Bummer.

Bistrot Du Coin on Connecticut Ave, a classic French bistro; Matchbox in Chinatown for the best pizza and mini-burgers in one place; San Marco in Adams Morgan for quirky and cheap Italian with a huge collection of grappa.

Tim left? Damn, Rx seemed like the perfect place for him!

They are located in a colorless, bland industrial park, but, yes, the brews have turned the corner and are top notch stuff these days.

I still can't understand why Philly Mag gives such short shrift to the local beer culture, easily some of the richest, highest quality and most diverse in the nation. Especially in the annaual BOP. Confounding.

yeah, if you saw wing bowl two years ago, you got a taste (so to speak) of what she can do. it's really really impressive. really. ← If the pizza is Delorenzo's of Hudson St., or that of Top Road Tavern in North Trenton, I can take the Black Widow.

My favorite Sunday afternoons as a Penn student were spent hanging out at Koch's, making the difficult choice of a sandwich, and spending time with the elder Kochs, mother and father, and Lou and Bobby. Mother Koch couldnt hand out enough munchies to snack on as we waited in line, and both Bobby's and Lou's corny jokes took all the pretense out of our college coolness and allowed us to be human beings again instead of affected student intellectuals. Koch's brought you back to earth, to when people were personable and kind, took an interest in your life and well-being, and understood the value of nourishing more than your belly. I've always believed that the Kochs understood that they were much more than a deli, and that they knew that the place was a touchstone, with an enormous emotional tug on most every Penn and Drexel and Pharmacy student that found their way there. I haven't been to Koch's in years, and now I feel a terrible emptiness. I doubt the remaining Koch brother, Barry, will maintain the place, let alone keep it open. R.I. P., Bobby Koch.

From today's Trenton Times Food section: Pizza Eating Contest! I betcha Tom Cassetta or any of us could take down the "Black Widow." I wonder whose pizza will be utilized....

And where is their Haddonfield location? I get over there on occasion. ← It's actually in Haddon Twp/Westmont, on Haddon Ave. From the middle of Haddonfield (intersection of Kings Hwy and Haddon Ave), take Haddon Ave toward Collingswood. PJ's is on the left, about a mile down the road. Their other south Jersey locations: Rt 70 in Cherry Hill, Lenola Rd in Maple Shade (across from the Moorestown Mall), Washington Twp (next to the hospital). PJ's wings are pretty good (I like the hot & honey), but the Jughandle Inn's wings are still the best. ← IMHO, The Jughandle in Pennsuaken, The Whistler's Inn in Cinnaminson and McMenamin's Tavern in Mt Airy serve the wings against which all others should be judged. They are far and away the top 3 in the area. None even come close. The garlic wings at Whistler's, studded with garlic, and the mild wings at McMenamin's, with an almost smoky flavor, are variations of the standard that should also be explored.

Alison in Blue Bell is pretty unpretentious, simple, clean plates of food. Great summer place to eat too. Another good place is the Blue Horse, at 73 and Blue Bell Pike, good solid American with enough flair to keep you interested, and damn good shrimp dishes, as I recall.

I would head to Alison in Blue Bell. She has a way with seafood, especially her signature skate wing and anything involving scallops.

My 3 cents: McMenamin's Tavern, 7170 German town Ave., the closest to the original Buffalo Wings in town; The Grey Lodge, 6235 Frankford Ave., nice and crispy with a heat that creeps up on you; Curran's Irish Inn, Old State Rd, two killer versions here, the standard hot wings, and a dry rubbed Cajun wing that is at once fiery and addictive.

Not a better beer list, but a good beer list, with many more American micros than Belgian ales.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and BBQ potato chips! and, well, BBQ , too......

Where's Isaac Newton's? ← Isaac Newton's is in Newtown, PA, and is one of the very best beer bars on the east coast.

Yeah, but not one BOP for anything beer related; and here we sit in the best beer city in America. How much longer are they gonna ignore The Grey Lodge? McMennamin's Tavern? Ten Stone anyone? Independence? Sly Fox? Isaac Newton's? McGillin's ferchrissakes??? Sheesh. Beer writer Lew Bryson said it best on his website HERE. Isn't it about time they do some decent beer writing at that magazine?

I am presently grooving on two killer summer beers that seem better than ever: Yards Saison (Philadelphia) and Flying Fish Farmhouse Summer Ale (Cherry Hill, NJ). Maybe it's been the excessive East Coast heat, but I found these beers to have a little more "oomph" this season; the FF Farmhouse now finishes with a sweet nutty snap that just puts an exclamation point on every sip; the Saison seems to have lightened the citrus in favor of a little more hop prescence, while still remaining seriously quaffable. So there's my two faves for the summer. Yours? And give us details.

Stopped into this new, 3-week old hot doggery the other day, on the northern end of the Morrisville Shopping Center, hard by the Calhoun Street bridge that leads into Trenton (Pennsylvania Ave and Old Trenton Rd., I believe). They are serving up those big Sabrett dogs, nicely grilled, on nice warm buns, with a respectable chili sauce, if you ask for yours "all the way". Two earnest hot dog -lovin fellas behind the counter, and some spiffy sleek tables on which to enjoy their wares. They also offer a Iowa-inspired "loose meat" sandwich. But this place is a keeper. Definitely worth the drive from Philly, South Jersey, even North Jersey.

But Andrew, it's Delorenzo's of Hudson St. It's the manna of the gods.

I LIKE it, and considering the current state of my affairs, VERY convenient.

Contes is very good pizza, second in the area to the Trenton Tomato Pie Trinity, i.e., Delornezo's of Hudson St., Delorenzo's of Hamilton Ave., and the surprisingly good Top Road Tavern on Brunswick Ave. in Norfth Trenton, just 2 blocks north of Olden Ave. What I like least about Contes is the oily crust, but the dough and sauce/cheese ratio is damn near perfect.

Damn you Katie and David. Now I'm hungry for pernil too. I'll bet there's a mess of pernil in and around the Chambersburg section of Trenton these days, too.

I'm not suprised he's closing. I never got the impression he built a good team/organization to enable longer-term success. I don't think he uses a PR person. I don't think he put together a good FOH and BOH. He does have great marketing and PR instincts, but he was the guy doing everything. The Watermelon Carving Board and other ideas were great PR stunts, but they were probably slightly misguided and better for Chinatown than the restaurant. I don't think that kind of restaurant serving food with that style of service and pricepoint can survive in Chinatown. Too many people will just lump the food together with what they're familar with based on their past experiences with Chinatowns here and elsewhere. Simultaneously, since he didn't put together a solid cooking staff and service staff, he wasn't able to have an appropriate 2-star restaurant elsewhere. But the man is a fabulous ambassador for Chinatown. My impression overall was that the only way he was able to keep the restaurant together was with bungee cords and chewing gum. ← You really should check your facts before posting something here, Herb. Joe Poon has had Irene Baker's Spotlight PR Co. as his PR firm for years and he certainly hasnt lacked for exposure locally and nationally. She is one of the best in the business.