Posts by: Mark Feffer

Soup and seafood in Doylestown

By On March 8, 2009 · 1 Comment

The Pennsylvania Soup and Seafood House is an unlikely name for a restaurant knitted into the miniature and upscale mall that is the Main Street Market Place at 22 South Main Street. That, at least, was my wrongheaded knee-jerk reaction when Lynne suggested we try it on a bitterly cold Monday lunchtime. Truth is, [...]

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Suppers at the Summer Kitchen

By On February 22, 2009 · 3 Comments

We had a wonderful dinner the other night at the Summer Kitchen in Penn’s Park , taking advantage of its mid-week suppers, which allow you to enjoy chef Mario Korenstein’s creativity without going overboard on your dining budget. This isn’t an overpriced restaurant by any stretch, but the suppers make it a nice mid-week [...]

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Basilleaf’s Delight

By On February 22, 2009 · Leave a Comment

When thinking about our dinner at Basilleaf, a BYOB Vietnamese restaurant at 2808 South Eagle Road in Newtown, I keep coming back to the word “delightful.” First off, it’s a friendly place, with everyone from the wait staff to the kitchen staff showing up at your table to make sure your service is good. [...]

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Two places, worth visiting

By On February 22, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Driving around one weekend, Lynne and I visited two great places a little off the beaten tracks on both sides of the river.

The first was Brig O’Doon at 239 Durham Road in Ottsville, a charming coffee house we stopped in on after our friend Stephanie recommended it. It offers lattes, capuccinos, espresso, plus [...]

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Things I Didn't Know About Chocolate

By On February 15, 2009 · 1 Comment

Here’s something I learned about chocolate yesterday: Never bite it, chew it and swallow it. Instead, let it melt on your tongue, then press it against the roof of your mouth. In a few seconds you’ll experience a wave of flavor – spices, herbs, whatever the chocolatiers have seen fit to include in their [...]

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Cross-River Eating

By On January 15, 2009 · Leave a Comment

The Lambertville-New Hope Winter Festival runs January 21 – 25 at venues on both sides of the Delaware, and like any respectable local celebration it features a variety of events intended to show off the skills of local chefs. They include:

A Twin Town Tasting on Thursday, Jan. 22, where you can sample food, [...]

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Rouget gets a shout out

By On December 28, 2008 · Leave a Comment

In today’s Philadelphia Inquirer, Craig LaBan lists Newtown’s Rouget as one of the excellent new restaurants in the area, calling it “quite possibly the best restaurant in Bucks County.” Here’s his full review, published in June.

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True Life Kitchen Adventures: The Broiler

By On December 23, 2008 · 4 Comments

Sunday was one of those nights: Too cold and windy to go out, and two weeks of avoiding grocery shopping had caught up with us. So it was going to be a simple supper, pulled together from whatever we happened to have around. Although that included beef – a New York strip in the refrigerator, a [...]

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Yes, You Can Eat Out on Christmas Eve

By On December 17, 2008 · Leave a Comment

I liked this feature in the Intelligencer letting us know what restaurants are open on Christmas Eve. It’s by no means comprehensive, but for those of us not visiting families (to celebrate the holiday) or eating Chinese food (because our holiday starts a few days earlier), it’s nice to know there are options.

Notable [...]

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Winter Spice (in the Meatloaf)

By On December 12, 2008 · Leave a Comment

So, times aren’t great right now, but to avoid getting anyone depressed I’ll skip the litany of challenges going on in the economy. While the sad truth is the macro picture is beyond the control of any one of us, there’s much we can do to make ourselves feel better.

Two words: “Comfort cooking.”

Jill [...]

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Smokin' Lil's on a Cold Night

By On December 7, 2008 · Leave a Comment

In Bucks County, good barbecue is hard to come by. It seems like every restaurant around advertises its awesome ribs but, truth be told, most of the racks we’ve tasted are more about boiled pork and bottled sauce than real barbecue. So, the places that make a real effort are worth paying attention to: The [...]

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An Old Friend Comes Back

By On November 27, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Driving down Swamp Road in Doylestown yesterday, we saw the Cross Keys Diner is open again. This is good news.

Until it closed suddenly early this summer, the Cross Keys was one of our favorite places. The food was good, the waitresses got to know you quickly, the crowd of regulars was cordial, and we [...]

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Deer, Dogs and Turkeys

By On November 16, 2008 · Leave a Comment

I’m still new enough to Wycombe that discovering a nest of deer bedded down in the hedge is a thrill. My neighbors, who are careful gardeners, are less thrilled, as is Cody, whose only thought is to get the intruders out of his territory. Two of the does scampered off as soon as we wandered [...]

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Good food cheap

By On November 11, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Shoppers are cutting out luxuries, scaling back on dinners out, and cooking at home again. Fortunately, there’s a silver lining in the timing of this recent market meltdown:It coincides with the start of soup season. Keith Blalock, the chef and co-owner of Pennsylvania Soup & Seafood House in Doylestown, takes the Courier-Times’ Betty Cichy shopping [...]

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