Address:

451 Wilmington-West Chester Pike
Glen Mills, PA

The Meal:

Hummus
Mandarin Orange Chicken Stir-Fry
Bread Pudding
Iced Tea

Total:  about $27  (without gratuity)

The Review:

Good food, good service, nice atmosphere — on the restaurant half.

Service

I have to start by saying that I went to McKenzie’s with a group — nine people in all — and we got a waitress-in-training paired up with a veteran.  She performed admirably though, and didn’t need much help from her mentor that I could see.  Drinks were never dry, she volunteered to give us separate checks, and everything was correct on the first try:  drinks in front of the right people, orders from this picky bunch were correct, and she was very flexible with us ordering out of sequence.  I was impressed, and told them so after dinner was done.

Food

When I ordered the hummus appetizer, I ordered it sans minced jalepeno — I hate the taste, and I’m not a fan of overly-spicy food.  Despite the omission, this chickpea concoction had a kick!  Not in a bad way, but it was unexpected.  I thought for a moment that they had garnished and then scooped it off, but the flavor was consistent all the way through.  They skimped a little on the pita, or perhaps over-served on the hummus, but it was good enough to warrant finishing with a fork.

The main course, Mandarin Orange Chicken Stir-Fry, was served with chop sticks.  This pleased me to no end, because I like the practice, but the rice was simply too soft and creamy to eat that way.  Still, the medley of chicken tenderloins and red and yellow peppers was delicious with the tangy orange/soy sauce, and the rice soaked in the aftermath rounded out the dish nicely.  The only thing that would have made this better would have been the addition of actual mandarin oranges in the glaze.

The dessert was, I’m sorry to say, underwhelming.  I had the bread pudding a la mode, and what came out looked (and tasted) more like a bran muffin than bread pudding.  It was very dense; not soft and fluffy as I’ve come to expect bread pudding to be, made chewy only by the copious amount of raisins.  The vanilla ice cream on the side could easily have been a store brand.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is what you’d expect from a brew house — wood floors and earth tones with copper accents and an open-air feel.  The restaurant half was well insulated from the louder bar half, and dinner conversation didn’t require raised voices.  My only complaint here is that the bar half allowed smoking, and you have to pass through it to get to the rest rooms.  (The rest rooms had those creepy no-water urinals, but I can’t hold that against them I guess.)

Overall Rating:  A

Some of the menu items can get pricey, but there is a fair selection of resonably-priced, well-prepared meals to be had, and good people to serve it.

Address:

379 W. Uwchlan Ave (Rte.113)
Downingtown, PA

The Meal:

Saganaki
Moussaka
Iced Tea
Galactoboureko

Total:  about $32

The Review:

Decent Greek with good service and a nice atmosphere; a little far to travel, but it was worth it.

Service

I got in just before the dinner rush on a Saturday night.  After I got my appetizer, things started to pick up.  Still, I never felt neglected, the waitress was thorough and well-versed in the proper pronunciation of the menu items, and aside from a minor snafu with dessert, everything was prompt – including drink refills.

Food

I should preface this review by saying that my previous experiences with Greek food come from, hands down, one of the best restaurants I’ve ever had the pleasure of dining in: Santorini’s in Indianapolis, IN.  The owners were very friendly, and they ran the place together: the wife was maitre’d and the husband was the chef.  Between them, they set very high standards for both Greek food and restaurants in general.  The Olive Tree, while a decent restaurant, was just okay in comparison.

The Saganaki, served in many Greek restaurants as a flaming cheese appetizer, was barely warm and devoid of the brandy flavor that gives the dish its bite.  It was good, but underwhelming.  The Moussaka was just bland.  Typically, this dish is a spiced ground beef, covered with a layer of eggplant, then covered with bechamel.  It had a nice texture, but the eggplant was a bit rubbery and the beef was lacking in flavor.  It was served with pita — no veggies or other sides — which just added to the lack of flavor.  I was once told that one should eat around one’s plate — so the palate gets a kind of kick in the pants with each bite.  If this is the case, this dish might do well to incorporate a side of something green.  Finally, the Galactoboureko (on whose pronunciation I received a short but unforgettable lesson) was delicious, though the sauce hardened very quickly.  The snafu I referred to earlier was simply that the kitchen went to retrieve my dessert from the oven, only to find that they’d forgotten to turn the oven on first — which delayed its delivery.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere at Olive Tree was very nice.  The tables of real stone were beautiful, there were murals of Greek countryside, and everything was comfortable temperature- and seating-wise.  The music was interesting too — in Greek, of course.

Overall Rating:  B

I’m consistently disappointed with the total lack of international cuisine in Delaware.  Aside from a plethora of Indian choices, it’s pretty much seafood and Italian.  It’s nice to know that, despite the somewhat lengthy drive, decent Greek food is within reach.

Address:

814 S 47th St
Philadelphia, PA

The Meal:

Cha Gio  (Crispy Spring Rolls)
Nem Nuong  (Grilled Meatball Appetizer)
Heo Kho To  (Pork Claypot)
Water

Total:  about $28

The Review:

I’ve had Vietnamese food before in another state, but this puts everything I’ve had before to shame.

Service

I visited Vietnam Café on a weekday for lunch with a colleague of mine, and we went on his suggestion.  He told me that he and his wife had started going to this restaurant and its sister store Vietnam Restaurant, and that it was at the sister store that he’d proposed to his then-fiancé.  I was impressed and honored that he’d chosen this place, and I was equally impressed with the service.  I thought perhaps it was his familiarity with the wait staff that got us such fantastic service, but as I looked around and watched the other people being served, I realized that this was just status quo.  My glass was never anywhere near empty, the waiter set our expectations appropriately (because my Clay Pot takes a while to prepare), and everything was delivered exactly as requested.  Precision with a smile always makes me happy.

Food

My dining companion chose to order a variety of appetizers as his meal, and he was gracious enough to share some of them.  Okay, I’ll be honest:  he offered me samples of all of them, but there was at least one that looked a little too raw for my tastes.  I don’t mean to say it was undercooked, because it was intentionally raw, but my adventuresome spirit has limits.

That being said, the appetizers I tried were amazing.  The spring rolls were what you’d expect, but with a light, crispy batter on the outside that took them from ‘Chinese buffet’ to ‘Fine Dining.’  The Meatballs were also excellent, especially dipped in the various sauces delivered along with it.  After having a few of these, I saw why my companion ordered as he did.    The Claypot was the crown of this meal though, served with rice and simmered to perfection.  The pork was tender, the sauce succulent.

Atmosphere

Vietnam Café is true to its name – it’s a small, almost shotgun-style shop, but it’s elegantly appointed in dark wood.   The half-booths, half-tables line the side walls, which suited me just fine, and though the tables are close to one another, it didn’t feel cramped, and I never felt like the waiter was trying to make a pass at me while he was serving adjacent tables (which, if you’ve ever experienced, is not conducive to a good dining experience).

Overall Rating:  A

Small enough to be intimate but not cramped, food good enough to make you want to keep the find to yourself, and prices that don’t break the bank.  All around, a great place.

Address:

3401 Concord Pike
Wilmington, DE

The Meal:

Southern Comfort Dog
Mac & Cheese
Iced Tea Fanta Orange

Total:  about $8

The Review:

Other locations may be better, but this location just isn’t worth the trip.

Service

Strictly speaking, this is a fast food joint and not a sit-down restaurant like I usually review.  It came highly recommended however, so I stopped in last night.  It was busy — vans with entire families arriving in shifts, six to eight people at a time.  Even with that volume however, the service was relatively quick.  I had an experience that really turned me off however.  While I was waiting for my food, I watched the kitchen crew in their endless dance around each other in the crowded space.  I watched them portion out and seal a couple of Mac & Cheese sides.  I watched them give the sides to a customer.  I watched the same customer return with them moments later and declare that he was supposed to have gotten onion rings instead.  Then I watched the kitchen staff sit the Mac & Cheese sides on the warming table and give him his onion rings.  Then I watched them place the same Mac & Cheese sides on my tray along with the rest of my order.  Holy health code violations, Batman! (Delaware Food Code, sections 3-306.14, paragraph A, and 3-701.11, paragraphs A and D)  I protested, obviously, and was given a fresh order.  The manager, standing at the register, said absolutely nothing.  I was dumbfounded.

Food

Once I sat down (and calmed down), the food was actually quite good, but overpriced for the portion size.  The Southern Comfort Dog has chili and coleslaw on it, and the coleslaw was the finely-chopped, sweet variety which went very well with the fine, meaty chili.  The Mac & Cheese was institutional-looking, but was salted appropriately to give it a detectable flavor.  The unsweetened iced tea was out, but after my experience, I wasn’t in the mood to go back and complain, so I got orange soda instead.

Atmosphere

Cramped is the word du jour.  This location was renovated from a previous structure, an auto garage, I think, and the space inside is designed to be pack-and-go, not sit-down.  Pictures in black and white line the traffic-cone orange walls, and depict people serving and eating hot dogs through the past few decades.  The serving area lacks flow, making it confusing to move through, especially since the serving area also doubles as a dining room.

Overall Rating:  F

An utter disappointment.  Cramped quarters from the moment you walk in, poor portion-to-price ratio, health code violations, and apathetic management give the chain a bad name.

Address:

2671 Kirkwood Highway
Newark, DE

The Meal:

Vegetable Platter
Paneer Tikka Masala
Paneer Naan
Iced Tea

Total:  about $18 (without gratuity)

The Review:

Off my usual beaten path, Himalaya Restaurant could use a good Sherpa of its own.

Service

I have to preface this by saying that I don’t know how long this place has been in business.  The waiters (of which there were two) were very friendly and attentive, but not very knowledgeable.  I never ran out of anything, and the wait for my food was what I’d expect, but two things stuck out about this experience. First, after I ordered, I remembered that I hadn’t requested Naan (sometimes called Kulcha depending on the restaurant), and when I asked for it later, I got an enigmatic “Well, if you’ve seen it at other Indian restaurants, I’m sure they can make it.”  I’m not sure she knew what it was, let alone how much it cost or how long it would take to make.  Frankly, it didn’t inspire confidence at the time, but the bread did come out as expected.  Second, and this is probably just the writer in me picking nits, but the same waitress didn’t even spell the names of the dishes correctly on the ticket.  I don’t recall ordering “Panner tikka masal” — it just struck me more as funny than anything else, but it does support my new staff/new restaurant theory.  Despite these anomolies, the service was more than adequate.  This just may not be the place for someone who’s never eaten Indian food before.

Food

The Vegetable Platter goes by different names depending on where you go, but suffice to say that it’s assorted deep fried balls, cubes, and pyramids of chopped veggies and batter.  It’s usually served with a variety of sauces, but I only have eyes for the dark brown Tamarind sauce.  Here the sauce had a strong apple flavor to it initially, but after a few bites, I stopped caring — it was still plenty tasty.  The Paneer Tikka Masala amounts to cubes of a firm, mild cheese in a signature Indian tomato sauce (optionally) over rice.  The cheese itself has a very mild, unassuming flavor on its own, but does a good job of enhancing the flavors of foods around it.  The masala sauce in this case was very good.  The Paneer Naan was also fresh and soft, which was great for sopping the remaining masala sauce.  The tea was, sadly, fountain or bottle again, but especially if the place is new, I’ll forgive them forgoing the additional expense of a dedicated tea machine… this time.

Atmosphere

The interior of the restaurant was well lit and was decorated with classic Indian paintings and portraits, heavy red curtains, and mostly uncomfortable booths.  I asked for a table when we were sat, but the tables appeared to be serving as trays for water pitchers and dishes, which took away from the otherwise clean, comfortable look of the place.  Still, I was fascinated by the painting about our table, depicting some ancient Indian story most likely, and the tables/serving stations weren’t too much of a distraction.  My favorite part of the place, even though I didn’t try sitting in it, was a richly decorated swing for two in the waiting area — plush red cushions with gold or silver trim, and support poles painted in silver and gold patterns.  It looked so inviting I almost asked to eat my meal there.

Overall Rating: C+

Good food, adequate service, and a mostly comfortable atmosphere.  I’m confident that when it grows up, Himalaya Restaurant will make a fine Indian venue, but for now, a little polishing is in order.

Address:

4435 Concord Pike
Wilmington, DE

The Meal:

Steamed Dumplings
General Tso’s Tofu
Hot Tea

Total:  about $22 (without gratuity)

The Review:

A new place in town, Yi Palace is off to a good start.  Don’t let the name fool you into thinking this is ‘just another Chinese restaurant’ though — they bill themselves as a Eurasian Bar and Grille.

Service

After a long day of traveling, I decided to stop in here and try out the new place in town.  I was seated in a truly comfortable booth (you can imagine my surprise).  The service was friendly, up-front, and prompt.

Food

The steamed pork dumplings were great.  I could easily see them as being a great main course item, but they made a wonderful appetizer too.  For the main course, I chose General Tso’s Tofu because A) I like tofu, B) I like the General Tso sauce, and C) I’d never seen the two done together as a standard menu item.  It was a great combination, though a little spicier than I’m used to, and the portion was enormous.  If you’ve been keeping track, this is one of the more expensive meals I’ve eaten, but the entree price was well justified in both size and quality.  The hot tea was nice too, plentiful, and apparently a wise choice:  there are no free refills on fountain drinks.  And though I didn’t imbibe this time, their specialty drink menu has some delicious-sounding concoctions I’d love to go back and try — things like “Blushing Geisha” and “Asian Persuasion” come to mind.

Atmosphere

The interior of Yi Palace is elegant — I almost felt under dressed.  Some tables have personal rheostats for the overhead lighting, others have delicately beautiful white diffusers with lavender trim.  Browns, a deep red carpet, and excellent mood lighting make this a good choice for a romantic dinner.  That said, there is a genuine bar with big screen TV for sports as well.

Overall Rating: A

Elegant surroundings, good service, and good price-to-portion ratios make this a good choice for a special evening out, but perhaps not your every-day Asian choice for the cash-conscious.

Address:

4003 Concord Pike
Wilmington, DR

The Meal:

Eggs, Pancakes and Meat Combo
Coffee

Total:  about $10 (without gratuity)

The Review:

Just because it’s an institution, doesn’t mean the food has to be institutional.  And here, it’s not.

Service

It was a busy Saturday morning and the place was packed.  Still, I was seated right away at a table with comfortable chairs in red that might have come straight from my Grandmother’s breakfast nook.  The waitress walked up in her “I’ll be right with ya, sweetheart” shirt and got straight work.  She was pleasant and yet quite serious about her work.  Her no-nonsense demeanor told me immediately that I wouldn’t be running out of anything, and she performed admirably.

Food

Breakfast food is hard to screw up.  I’ll give you that.  But there are ways to make breakfast food excellent, and Lucky’s has them down pat.  The bacon was crisp without being too greasy or burnt, the eggs were clearly real, and not from a Sysco box, and the toast was really buttered.  There’s a comic strip I read periodically where some of the characters are owners of a diner.  Once, there was a strip in which one of them was explaining to the waitress that all you really had to do was whisper “butter” over the toast to do the job adequately.  I strongly disagree, and Lucky’s is on my side.  It wasn’t sopping either — it was just right.  Finally the pancakes: or as I found this morning, whole-pan cakes.  The dinner plate was barely able contain them, and I struggled to finish them.  They were worth every gut-stretching bite, though.

Atmosphere

This place has a fun 50′s-ish feel about it,  with Sputnik chandeliers, a disco ball in the restroom hall, and comfortable vinyl-and-formica tables throughout.  A very Austin Powers egg chair in the waiting area begs for a hippie in huge earphones to go for a spin.  And the best part of all?  It’s super clean.

Overall Rating: A

Great food, great service, and a great decorating job make this a clear pick for top breakfast spot on my list.

Address:

208 S 40th St # 2
Philadelphia, PA

The Meal:

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich
Fries
Cole Slaw
Iced Tea

Total:  about $9 (without gratuity)

The Review:

Despite the self-indulgent hype printed on nearly everthing, Smokey Joe’s was a culinary disappointment.  I can only hope it makes a better bar than it does a restaurant.

Service

Despite it being noon-ish, the place was devoid of a lunch crowd — save for two tables.  Walking in, there were no signs indicating if I should wait to be seated, seat myself, or send up flares.  The bartender just looked at me with a bland expression when I stared at him.  Eventually, the lone waiter came out to seat me in a booth with a wobbly table.  All through the meal I felt like an inconvenience to him.  Oh, he stopped and chatted about sports or drinking or something with one of the other two tables, but not with me.  I got a distinct “just eat and go” vibe — particularly from the waiter’s clear ‘no-refill’ policy.

Food

Pub food is either really good or really lousy in my experience, and sadly this track record is in no danger of being broken.  The BBQ Pulled Pork was bland and not very ‘BBQ’ at all.  The Fries that came with it were actually quite good — your standard medium thickness, all white cut — but dipped in some kind of thin batter and fried.  They were the best part of the meal.  The cole slaw reeked of onion, despite having no actual onions in it.  This is usually because someone in the kitchen knows nothing about flavor/odor transferal, or because the walk-in cooler is in desperate need of a mop and scrub brush.  Finally, the tea was Nestea, from a can or fountain — I’m not sure which.

Atmosphere

The only redeeming quality of Smokey Joe’s is its atmosphere.  The walls are lined with photos of past visitors, UPenn sports legends, and various memorobilia.  Its dark wood and collegiate theme gave it a very movie-like quality — like you’d expect to see Robin Williams and the cast of Dead Poets Society walk through the door at any moment.  Too bad it was ruined by lousy service and bland food.

Overall Rating: D

A comfortable atmosphere can’t make up for bad service and bland food.  Unless you’re planning to drink yourself into not caring about the food or service, stay away.

Superfluous Aside

I can hear someone asking “DD, what does it take to fail your review?”  This place came close, but a couple of things saved it.  First, I did like the atmosphere of the place, but in my opinion, decor has the least impact on the dining experience.  If the food is fantastic and the service excellent, sitting in an undecorated beige four-walled box is easily tolerable.  On the other hand, exquisite accoutrement can’t make up for food you can barely stomach served by Roseanne Barr on her period.

Second, I recognize that the perceptions of the service might have been my own.  The waiter was never outwardly rude, just disinterested and inattentive.

Finally, the food I received was the food I expected.  Nothing gets a meal off on the wrong foot like a sloppy kitchen that doesn’t read tickets for special requests.  I didn’t make any this time, but in light of everything else, that was probably for the best.

Address:

1101 N. DuPont Highway
New Castle, DE

The Meal:

Mozzarella Sticks
Hungry Man Breakfast
Iced Tea
Chocolate Ice Cream with Wet Walnuts

Total:  about $16 (without gratuity)

The Review:

Golden Dove is a not-at-all-greasy spoon in New Castle.  I stopped there after sitting for hours at the DMV, and I’m happy to say it ended an otherwise frustrating evening on a high note.

Service

The waiter was very… formal; he was respectful in the extreme.  Perhaps it smacked of false sincerity, but as he maintained it with a smile throughout the whole visit, I can’t really hold it against him.  Besides, he was a darn good waiter.  I never reached empty, I never had to beg for lemons, and he was very patient with my indecision.

Food

The menu looked very familiar — another Jack of All Trades job, with something for everyone.  I can’t complain though; what I got was hot, tasty, and correct on the first visit.

To start, the cheese sticks were probably the best I’d had in a very long time.  They were big to start with — very thick, lightly breaded and golden brown.  The marinara dipping sauce was also very good.  Most of the time you get decent cheese sticks and something out of a jar to dip in.  This was either a much better jar or homemade — not sure which.  Kudos.

Breakfast was good too.  Pancakes, three eggs, bacon, sausage links, and home fried potatoes.  The sausage and bacon weren’t greasy, the eggs were fluffy and done all the way through (the way I like), and there was a complimentary sundae at the end I wasn’t expecting.  The ice cream with wet walnuts was good, but unremarkable.

Atmosphere

This is your typical Sunday-after-Church restaurant.  The decor appears to be under renovation at the moment, so I won’t pass judgment too harshly in this area.

Overall Rating: B+

Good food, good (if suspicious) service, but bland atmosphere.  Nothing here makes it a memorable place, but it’s a safe bet if you’re in the neighborhood.

Address:

2038 Foulk Road
Wilmington, DE

The Meal:

Tater Tots
Buffalo Burger, BBQ Style
Old Bay and Cheese Fries
Iced Tea

Total:  about $20 (without gratuity)

The Review:

Stanley’s Tavern is a busy place — and they take Monday Night Football very seriously.  Food and drink specials, prize giveaways and contests have been a Monday night tradition for many years.  Oh, and they’re a pretty decent restaurant too!

Service

Despite being busy, the wait wasn’t bad for a Friday night — about 10 minutes.  I got stuck with a booth instead of a table, but it wasn’t that bad.  Once we were seated, our waitress was quick, efficient, and thorough, and did a great job keeping me in tea and lemon slices.

Superfluous Aside

I dislike booths in most places because I’m convinced there’s a design firm in New York called “Anemic Japanese Women’s Restaurant Supply” with a monopoly on booths.  Their features include no low back support, about 6 inches clearance front-to-back, and springs in the seat so flimsy a 50 lb. child sinks a foot when seated.  Whoever they are, they clearly haven’t heard that Americans are overweight — or maybe they’re trying to keep the fat people from eating at restaurants… I can’t decide.  I, however, won’t be thwarted.

Food

Intellectually, I know the markup on this has to be in the hundreds-percent range, but I can’t help it.  Stanley’s Tater Tots are the very definition of comfort food in my book.  Your standard tater tots, covered in melted Brie cheese and bacon bits.  If you’ve ever thought of marrying a food item, put off the engagement until you’ve tried these.

The Buffalo Burger was also a major hit.  Now if you’ve been keeping up, you’ll know I’m a fan of modular foods.  Stanley’s apparently likes the idea too — burgers are plain until you choose one of their ‘Specialty’ or ‘Gourmet’ styles.  I chose BBQ, which included onion straws, your choice of a sweet or spicy BBQ sauce, and cheddar cheese.  It was excellent.

Normally, the burgers come with chips, but I decided to go the extra mile (read: extra $4) and get the Old Bay and Cheese fries on the side.  Stanley’s serves steak fries, and guess what!  They’re modular too: plain, Old Bay, cheese, or the works.

Atmosphere

Stanley’s Tavern is a sports fan paradise.  Memorabilia and TVs line the walls, there are two seperate bars, and on nights when there isn’t a game on, you can sign up to play the on-screen pop-culture trivia games to earn points for prizes.   A fun, relaxed, occasionally loud crowd comes standard.

Overall Rating: A

Excellent food, great service, comfortable atmosphere and booths I can tolerate.  What more could I ask for?