Food fun in Philly exburbs

[hungry100]

My friend bought a new car, and we want to take a road trip with the destination being lunch. We're looking for something more interesting than sandwiches, be it ethnic, on the water, interesting locale...can be a dinner, drive-in or dive within an hour or so of Philly. Not that we don't want sandwiches, but maybe something with some edge. We're open to east, west, north and/or south. Thanks

[THEBIRDMAN]

Syrenka Luncheonette is REALLY good polish food for lunch (3173 Richmond St
Philadelphia, PA 19134) . only open till around 5pm.
Sweet Lucy's BBQ is real good on State street (NE philly).

[hungry100]

Ended up at Booth's Corner for cajun, and to see what Booth's Corner is all about. I'm glad to say I don't have to do that again. But we had good catfish and smoked brisket po' boys. The bananas foster bread pudding looked amazing. I'm not a sausage person, so the gumbo and jumbalya would have been lost on me. The best part was finding a stall with two lovely Greek women who hooked me up with a plater of spanikopita for a party that night. My coworker built BC up as if it were a farmer's market. Seemed more like a flea market to me. Oh well. It was a nice day for a drive.

[Buckethead]

The bread pudding is pretty great there, so is the fried mac and cheese. You are quite right about the market itself, it doesn't meet the definition of a farmer's market as most people understand it. Cajun Kate's is definitely the best reason to go there. The donut stand is decent too.

[hungry100]

There did seem to be some fine looking dessert items. My coworker goes for kielbasa, scraple, that sort of things. Oh, and apparently some awesome sticky buns.

[bluehensfan]

How about that Birchrunville place? I forgot about that one.

Also (even though I have not been yet) there is this William and Merry place in Hockessin, DE that gets excellent reviews.

Of course, if you are lucky enough you can snag a place at Talulah's Table in Kennett Square for dinner.

[CindyJ]

If the goal is lunch, Birchrunville won't work.

[bluehensfan]

Oh sorry. I thought they said dinner. Or did they mean a diner? Who knows :)

[hungry100]

Then there's always White House in AC.

[arepo]

Highly recommend Luke Palladino's in Northfield NJ (right outside Atlantic City) I do not mean the one at the casino on the Boardwalk. It is a wonderful Italian restaurant (always full) and a BYOB. The place is very small as you will see below. That is the entire amount of tables. (and then you can continue on to AC and gamble your hearts away!) http://www.lukepalladino.com/about.html

[hungry100]

Lots of good ideas. Anything near a shore point?

[sockii]

Crabby's in May's Landing is a fun experience if you want to dig into some AYCE crabs in a real hole-in-the-wall atmosphere.

The sweetie and I pretty much have a routine of hitting the Maplewood II on the Black Horse Pike any time we're heading to Atlantic City...it's one of the few real old school "red gravy" restaurants I really enjoy (in Jersey OR Philly).

[JanR]

Chef Vola if you can get it. I recall someone (Mike Klein?) publishing their phone number. Unfortunately, I didn't note it.

[cwdonald]

With regard to Doylestown, Honey is not open for lunch, so plan accordingly. I highly recommend it for dinner. In addition, Slate Bleu in the Agriculture Works is a nice place for french bistro food, Il Melogranno is a good italian restaurant, and Villa Barrolo is a good italian restaurant, especially for their whole fish served table side. MOMs is a decent place for Cajun though I strongly prefer Cajun Kates at Booth Corners.

If you go further up, you have all of New Hope to consider. I feel one of the more under rated places is across in NJ in Sergeantsville Inn. I like it better than all places in New Hope and Lambertville.

Let us know where you end up.

[arepo]

I totally agree with bluehensfan: Sovana Bistro and Longwood Gardens -- what a great combination. Princeton-wise: Blue Point Grill -- noisy but good "from the sea" stuff. And you have the added fun of window shopping some really neat boutiques.
Extra added plus: The Bent Spoon for decadent ice cream afterwards. I kid you not.

[Bob Loblaw]

is that place in St. Peter's still around? Beautiful setting, would be fun roads to drive on.

[RC51Mike]

The inn is there and last time I went by was open but I haven't visited.

Next door however, is St. Peters Bakery whose baguettes I love. In addition to great bread and other baked things they do sandwiches and light fare. Pleasant dining room and deck overlook the boulder strewn creek below.

[bucksguy14]

+1 on St. Peter's Bakery. Go in the summer, have a nice lunch on the deck, then walk across the street and watch the kids jump into the former quarry!

[raclette]

Edit to my post: I might wait for that until the Spring when Michocana opens again for ice cream!

[raclette]

Or, in the same direction as Longwood Gardens, the Brandywine River Museum and Taqueria Moroleon. Perfect day!

[Buckethead]

Head to the Booth's Corner Farmer's Market and have lunch at Cajun Kate's. They're only open Friday and Saturday though.

[hungry100]

That sounds like fun. Anything of note in Doylestown?

[Buckethead]

The only place I know of is Honey but I'm far from an expert on the burbs. Honey is good but if you live in the city it's not going to impress you. Cajun Kate's will, partly because we don't have much Cajun in the city and partly because it's really very good (much better than Beck's in the RTM).

[bluehensfan]

What's that sushi place in NJ that everyone raves about?

[sockii]

There's Sagami in Collingswood (well worth the trip if you want classic sushi and sashimi prepared to perfection) and Fuji in Haddonfield (haven't been but I know it gets raves).

[barryg]

If in Doylestown consider going to the Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle. Really cool places.

[bluehensfan]

You could visit Longwood Gardens and have lunch at Sovana Bistro?

I honestly can't think of any "destination restaurants" to the south of Philly that are all that exciting off the top of my head.

[hungry100]

One thought I had was the Whip Tavern...

[sal_acid]

Whip is a nice idea.

[CindyJ]

Or, visit Longwood Gardens and have lunch at Talula's Table. If you're cheese lovers, they'll assemble a wonderful cheese platter for two, including accompaniments. Bring along a bottle of wine and they'll pair the cheeses for you.