FridaySaturdaySunday, Philadelphia, Pa.

For over 30 years FSS has been a staple within the Philly restaurant scene. The ownership and staff have mostly been there from day one. The other evening your intrepid food critic ventured back after a hiatus.

The restaurant is cozy, dark, and warm. Tables on the ground level are tight, there is a little more room upstairs. The menu has had a few changes over the years but for the most part it has remained the same and for good reason. Although i did not order it the other evening the Duck may be the best in the city. The salads are also wonderful. Our group shared the beet salad, which was nice but a little short on the beets. We also got the asparagus with chunky tomato vinaigrette which was lovely and plentiful.

For my entree I ordered the bone in thick cut pork chop which was awesome. Grilled and served with a funky light colored sauce that had a peanut taste to it.

One of my companions had the fillet steak in a great tasting brown sauce that was simply perfect, well grilled, rich in color and so soft and smooth. A delicious steak.

One of the nicest thing about the restaurant is there wine list and their promise that no bottle is sold for more than $10.00 cost... The bill was mild with most entrees in the mid $20.00 range. I can highly recommend this wonderful just behind center city restaurant.

Le Virtu, Philadelphia, Pa.

OK, let's start off quickly Le Virtu is the best Italian restaurant in Philadelphia.... Period... Located in south Philly on Passyunk Ave. this little gem is a must try.

Start your meal with an antipasti, tell Freddy, one of the owners to whip something up for you, he knows how to do it and most of the cured meats are freshly prepared in their basement meat locker. The salads are also wonderful they currently have 2 on the menu, the radicchio is ridiculous...

The poached house made pork sausage with lentil is amazing so warm and inviting please order this...

All the pasta dishes are off the hook wonderful.

Friends I could talk about this place for hours, I could review every dish because I have had ever dish, just go.

Le Virtu is the best Italian restaurant in a city that has made it's name from italian restaurants, Le Virtu is the Index...

Down home diner, Reading terminal, Philadelphia, Pa.

If you ever make a visit to The Reading Terminal in Philadelphia, Pa. stop by the done home diner for a bite to eat. They serve breakfast and lunch either sit down or you can do take out. I have always eaten in. The other day a friend and myself ventured over for lunch. My guest had the BLT sandwich on whole wheat toast. She loved the sandwich and said the extra large thick cut bacon delicious. I had the French Onion soup and I was amazed at how good it was. I have had Onion soup thousands of times but this variation was really good because of how much sherry that was used to make it. Rich and sweet and delicious. A must order if you like onion soup.

I also ordered the southern pulled pork unfortunately it was spicy, not what I was expecting. I like Kansas city sweet barbecue pulled pork. I will say this though the pork was very high quality.

On other occasions I have had the meatloaf, maybe best in the city and the fried chicken dinner which is also a big crowd pleaser.

The service is great, the prices are cheap, and the food comes out fast... Enjoy this little treasure.

Ventura's, Margate, NJ

Located next to the largest elephant in the world is the sprawling Ventura's greenhouse in Margate, NJ. For years this beach front restaurant with the massive deck was known to me as a nice burger and wings joint that served expensive drinks. It was a little oasis after a long day of sunning yourself. Popping in at 4:00 for a snack and cocktail made sense, going at 8:30 for fine dining did not.

Well a friend of mine told me I was wrong and I should check the place out. I have now made two stops into the restaurant and I am happy to report the food and the menu are nice. The inside dinner menu offers an array of veal dishes that we sampled and loved. Their meats, rack of lamb and steaks are also well prepared and nice cuts. The seafood choices for a restaurant on the beach are limited, a little disappointed. But they do offer some nice pasta dishes that incorporated some additional seafood that does even things out.

We found the service to be very professional and Ken the upstairs bartender is very versed in his wines. The prices were average. The wine selection is vast and they always have a few specials. In all Ventura's is a restaurant that I can recommend to others.

Charlie's, Somers Point, NJ.

Charlie's is a bar that has expanded over the years to accommodate the hungry masses of Southern NJ... They provide diners with a vast menu that caters to all diners.

The establishment is known mostly for their wings, which they say are world famous... The wings are good but frankly i have had good wings at many places and it annoys me that they charge extra for ranch dressing and celery.

On visit their the other day I started with the Manhattan clam chowder which was exceptionally good. A nice red broth with good clam taste and the soup was stocked with plenty of veggies and a nice heaping of clams. My guest ordered the house salad which was pleasing to the eyes but she said the dressing (balsamic) was not that good.

For my entree i ordered the crab cake sandwich which for the price was tasty and had plenty of crab meat packed inside. My guest got the Wes favorite which is a fillet Mignon sandwich she enjoyed her sandwich. I have eaten the sandwich on other occasions and agree it is good. A diner next to us ordered the pasta and seafood, she told me she gets it 4/5 times a year and loves it, it did look nice and hearty. Charlie's is a nice place to grab better than avg. bar food in Somers Point.

The Farm and Fisherman, Philadelphia, PA.

The buzz has been around now for a few months. Some respected foodies are calling it the best new resi in the whole damn city, time to find out... Myself and three other respected foodaphiles journeyed into the tony midtown space at 11th and pine st. only to find that out table was not quite ready, it was ok though because we were a few moments early. After a few minutes standing outside, I told you bitches the place is tiny... Mixto, is across the street, i recommend you pop in there for a cocktail while you wait...

OK, friends we're in, seated and bantering at the restaurant while our BYOB's are being inspected and opened. Yes people it is a BYOB...

The menu, which can change daily is broken into 3 stanza's.. For the first course our waiter Rob recommend that we try the infamous beet salad, which i must say was both interesting and yummy... They takes freshly sliced beats, pan fry them to a reduction add some caramelized onions and some field greens and a milky white sauce and you have the makings of a lovely first dish...

Section 2 a poached egg on top of a lima been and bacon broth, served thick like a stew was simple out of this world.. This to me was the finest dish.. Another guest ordered the NC wahoo which was cut into cubes and seared in a light sauce. My guest did not rave about the flavors like I did about my second course.

For my third course I decided to go with the hangar steak. I must admit things were going so well up to the steak. At $27 I thought the portion was rather small and amateur. The steak was sliced into little portions maybe 4/5 in total. There was some nice veggies with the steak that helped, and the flavor and presentation were good, but the portion especially combined with the other portions was a disappointment. Another guest order the pork loin, she commented that the temp. of the entree was luke warm at best. Along with the pork came some homemade sausage that she said was so so. May I add that this guest knows her sausage... There was also a small pork belly with her entree that she gave a thumbs up to.

All in all we give 2 1/2 stars tho this tiny and a little loud BYOB that does provide excellent service albeit from a slow kitchen...

The Continental, Atlantic City, NJ.

It was a foggy non beach day in Ocean City last Saturday so I ventured over to AC to place a few bets on the Belmont Stakes. I decided that I would hit up Caesars. After betting the race my sister who was with me played some roulette, she won and built up an appetite so I told her I would walk her through the Pier at Caesars so she could check the place out. We decided that we would have a late lunch at the ultra chic Continental. As we sat down at the bar we learned that this Steven Star establishment serves brunch on weekends.

Looking over the menu I decided to order a corona, I mean people I can see the ocean and beach from the bar. The menu was nice a few salad offerings, some burgers, chicken sandwiches, wraps, omelette's and what not. I decided to order the turkey club with the continental chopped salad with house dressing. I also ordered a side of breakfast potatoes. My sister got a fabulous looking tuna with risotto. My sandwich and salad for $11.00 was extremely good and the potatoes were yummy, the portions were large. My sister's plate was also delicious with rare tuna slices nicely red in color...

The atmosphere was also nice the restaurant is modern with little water streams like creeks running throughout the floor. The service was also good. Our experience was very positive, so if you are in the AC area on a weekend and are looking for a nice bite to eat I recommend The Continental...

Luke Palladino's , Northfield, NJ

My goodnish gracious this place is OFF THE CHARTS GOOD...Small, so tiny, small but crisp n clean and so lovely... This tony tony BYOB on RT. 9 in Northfield is such a treat I encourage all my S. Jersey friends to run to this wonderful Italain rest. before it is to late. The Chef/Owner Luke Palladino is opening a 200 seat AC restaurant in a Casino soon but this small strip mall property is his baby... We had an 8:30 rese. on Friday and they were quick to make sure we were coming as we were 8 mi. late. We were the last rese. of the nite children... But how good it was. My group of 3 other foodies were in heaven with me as the menu and service n atmosphere was off the mo fu hook... We began at this friendly BYOB with a few appes.. the cheese plate the dried cured meat plate were just at advertised as they sat exposed in the friendly open kitchen,the rosotto seafood ball sprinkled with nutmeg was so yum yum yummy that we all just sat after round one and smiled.... PASTA MOTHER FUCKIN DELICIOUS PASTA IS next and oy is it good. I had the pasta with seafood, the smallest tastiest clams ever, I could eat this daily. Another friend got the bolognese, a little spicy but we like that at our table... So far this place is coming up roses. For dinner I had grilled beef braciole, another fine choice, medium rare cooked to perfection in a lovely sauce. Another diner got the fish of the day and raved about it... Two other diners raved about there entrees that were on the specials list. All said, we loved Luke's and will be going back many more times this summer and fall...

Ye Olde Saylors inne ( old route 115) Saylorsburg, Pa.

Take a step back in time at the Olde Saylors inne. The place looks like the whitehouse and is over 200 years old. This is a family run restaurant and it shows the moment you walk in as a young family member is the host while his brother is the bartender. The main dining room is a classic old looking dining room from the 1950's. Very PA. Pocono's...

The menu is large and the prices are cheap, so are the cocktail's, it was unbelievable how cheap the food was. I started with the Manhattan clam chowder which was tasty but not spectacular.

When the waitress first came to our table she brought us a fresh loaf of bread and a big bowl of their famous and delicious coleslaw...

I ordered the down on the farm which was a ham steak and fried chicken. The ham steak was delicious one of the better ham steaks i have ever had, the fried chicken was tasty but I was disappointed because i was expecting a nice piece of fried chicken and i got 5 chicken wings that were fried. Another guest got the twin lobster tails and raved about them. A third person got the surf and turf and also said it was very good. The last member of our party got the crab cake and enjoyed that.

We ended our dinner with a hot fudge sundae with a chocolate brownie and that was tasty. The atmosphere was nice, the people were very nice, if you ever find yourself near this PA. mainstay stop inn and have a bite.

Barbuzzo ( 110 3. 13th st.) Philadelphia,Pa.

Barbuzzo opened in the fall of 2010 and the buzz about the place has been nonstop from day one. A weekend reservation is very difficult to book at the tony midtown hot spot. Last evening I was lucky enough to enjoy a meal at the restaurant.

We had a reservation for a group table but the 20 seat bar is first come first serve and we were lucky enough to get a few spots there. The bar is half a traditional bar and half the kitchen so we sat directly in front of the chef's. Some of the chefs were really friendly and joked around with us while other cooks were very locked into his profession.

Our dinner started with the goat cheese cheese board, good god this thing was awesome if you ever go get this for your group... next we moved onto the gnocchi that is pan seared with mushrooms and pancetta and onions, i think we started fighting over that dish. I could eat it every day... Next we had the bronzino and i think we fought over that too.

The restaurant is small, and not intimate it is also loud, but the food is spectacular the service is good. I highly recommend this destination.

The Bayleaf (9th and Hamilton) Allentown,PA.

The Bay leaf restaurant in the heart of downtown Allentown has been a staple since the early 1980's. Last evening I met some family members for another glorious dinner. This is my second visit in the past 2 months and both times we all walked away filled and happy.

For one the menu is large, there are a number of apps and entrees to choose from. I started my evening with the seafood bisque soup, a pink creamy soup with lovely texture and taste. This is a true bisque as you will find minimum seafood chunks mostly just delicious cream heavily flavored with seafood. Another diner got the blue cheese salad. For years the Bay leaf has been known for there gorgeous salads and last night was no different. The salad looked beautiful and tasted the same. Another guest ordered the mushroom soup and it was also pleasing.

For dinner I ordered the grilled veal chop which was excellent. A large chop cooked to order served with perfectly cooked veggies and a wonderful port wine reduction sauce. The fillet tips with oysters has been a mainstay on the menu from day one and for good reason. The chicken with lima beans and marsala was another order we tried and it also satisfied the table.

They have a full service bar, but it is not for sitting at. The wine list is basic not embarrassing but it will not rock your world. The prices for the quality of food are excellent and the service is very professional. TheY offer on street and off street parking behind the restaurant. Definitely worth the trip into downtown Allentown.

DMitri's ( 23rd and pine st.) Philadelphia, PA.

I will always have a warm spot in my heart for this little gem. Dmitri's is like your favorite pair of jeans oh so comfortable and basic.

The restaurant which has 3 branches in Philadelphia offers little plates and big plates. I usually stick with the little plates and they are so fresh and yummy. The shrimp pil pil and the shrimp scampi are fabulous, the hummus is amazing, the grilled veggies are
fabulous the octopus is great you just can't go wrong with this place and the prices are cheap.

Definitely go to Dmitri's the food is worth it.

Francoluigi's ( 13th and tasker ) Philadelphia, PA.

So a friend told me about this pizza shop/deli which has a dining room off to the side that is referred to as the highnote cafe. Good to know I'm in. So i hi tailed it down to south Philadelphia via the subway and met some friends for a nice mid week dinner. I arrived about 15 minutes early and decided to go right to the dining room and feel things out. I mentioned to the maitre'd that i could go for a cocktail so the waiter, i believe his name was Dominic came right over and got me a drink. Now in the dining room their is a family celebrating a child's birthday and me at another table it felt a little weird at first but then the small dining room saw another group arrive before my friends and before you know it the place is packed. The waiter worked the entire room and he was fabulous, he had a side kick to help him and they had the place covered.

It is called the highnote because most evenings they have entertainment and tonight was jazz night so a young man filled the dining room with piano sounds of jazz that was just lovely. I kept waiting for DeNiro or Sinatra to come into the place it just had that feel to it.

Well we decided to start our evening with an order of meatballs. Let me tell you something people they were the best meatballs i ever had and i know that sounds so trite but they were like silk. They used a couple of different meats and pork ground everything up so fine that the balls were just so smooth and silky what a texture i could not believe how good these things were. Everyone at our table just melted...

For my entree i had one of the evenings specialty which was pasta with shrimp and scallops in a creamy pink vodka sauce. Hello delicious it was so good and tasty. Another dish at our table was a chicken dish that i tried and it too was wonderful.

There are plenty of Italian places in south Philly that deserve respect francoliugi's is one of them. No attitude, very comfy atmosphere good food, good people, nice ambiance a real gem to check out.

Zahav (237 St. James) Philadelphia, PA.

Zahav opened in May of 2008 and has been getting rave reviews from fellow foodies and restaurant critcs. I decided it was time take the trek and decide for myself.

We had a reservation for 4 people. When we arrived at the restaurant it was packed. Both dining rooms and the bar were filled with people but we were able to make a little room at the bar and get a cocktail.

The restaurant was running behind schedule and other diners were not in a hurry to vacate so we did not get seated for almost an hour after our reservation which frankly annoyed me because it was visible that they had over booked the place. On the other hand the bartender did give us some free drinks and the manager came over to us a few times and apologized for the delay. They were gracious and nice.

Once seated we decided to order the chef's tasting menu for the table. This was a great way to try a number of dishes. The Mesibah or party as they call it staeted with their hummus and fresh baked bread was outstanding and frankly i good just eat that with some wine at the bar solo and be happy on any given evening. Next we got a mezze which had a number of different dishes/spreads which you would eat with the hummus and fresh bread/pita. Each one of the mezze's were delicious you can't go wrong with this dish. Soup then arrived at our table that was also just wonderful, the soup was a small portion but that was fine because food just kept coming out. Next we had the foie gras and let me tell ya it was wonderful, just wonderful...finally our main course of a whole roasted lamb shoulder arrived, and frankly we were stuffed but we ventured on the lamb was well prepared and moist but we thought it was missing something, maybe a nice dry rub or a different glaze than what they used. The rice that came with it was not up to my style.

I would go back but not on a weekend the place was just too crowded, the food was good the service was exceptional so there were a lot of good things about this place.

The Crab Trap ( somers point, nj )

The Crab Trap is one of the most well known restaurants in south jersey. The restaurant is huge and on a weekend night you may wait up til two hours for a table. The question is, is it worth the wait.



For the size of the restaurant it is amazing that they are able to produce so many quality dishes. They also have a rather large menu, seafood is their specialty as it should since they are located on the bay.

One appetizer that i usually order is the clams casino. They are large clams, they take the clam meat out of the shell and dice it with the other ingredients then bake. The dish is quite good and consistent. Another goodie is the lobster bites which we ate on our last visit and enjoyed.

The restaurant offers many whole fish entrees along with 4 shrimp entrees. They brag about their crab cakes but to be honest they are basic. The combination dishes are my favorite, the first mate, which is a chilled seafood platter is delicious, with a nice combination of fresh seafood served attractively. The veal Maryland is also a nice entree with jumbo crab meat.

If you require a meat entree the grilled pork chops are a good order.

So there you have it the crab trap does serve up quality food in a warehouse atmosphere, the place is not intimate although one of the dining rooms does offer a fireplace. You will eat a good meal but if you go be prepared to wait awhile for a table..

Tap and Table ( Emmaus,PA.)

I recently came across this small gem located in the outskirts of Emmaus, PA. The restaurant/bar is a gastropub. A gastropub is a bar which offers it's customer's better quality bar food along with some interesting and tasty beers crafted around the world.
The restaurant/bar is attractive with a high ceiling and a large bar which sits to the right of the establishment. There are a number of private tables in the building along with a large community table that may entertain a large number of diners. The restaurant is very dark, with most of the lighting coming from the many candles which populate the place. I did notice that the restaurant does offer small flashlights so that there guests can read the menus.

My dinner guest and I started the evening sharing an appetizer of house made brat with a homemade soft pretzel along with a dipping mustard. The pretzel was delicious, warm and soft and it was not overly salted. The brat was good but nothing special, I was really looking forward to the brat being special.

My guest had the grilled salmon BLT which she said was wonderful. The sandwich was served on very nice looking homemade bread.

I had the amazing coffee rubbed pork chop. It was one of the best chops I have ever had. Very moist, with a nice texture.

I would highly recommend the Tap and Table to anyone...