Nathan R.'s Profile

I had a T-bone steak and my wife had shrimp Sandorini (shrimp sauted with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and feta cheese over rice). The steak was so-so -- I asked for it rare and it was medium, but oh well. The shrimp was remarkably good, though, considering what kind of place this was. Probably made with frozen shrimp, but otherwise good ingredients, well prepared, and tasty. Fast, friendly service. Not fazed by small, impatient children.

Just went there for lunch again, and had another special -- this one was chorizo and "chunky chili sauce" with jack cheese on a long roll ($5.50). Amazing. Very messy, spicy, hearty, and filling. This dude definitely knows what he's doing when it comes to sandwiches. Check it out and support the guy. Also, I sat there talking to a friend for several hours over a cup of coffee, and it didn't seem to bother anyone. My one and only complaint so far is: I hope they switch to homemade lemonade sometime instead of the mix they were selling today.

Every once in a while, as a former big-city dweller, I get a craving for cheap, greasy Chinese take-out. You know -- big battered nuggets of chicken in unidentifiable pink syrup, pan-fried dumplings, and mysteriously salty egg rolls. Maybe I'm alone in this, I don't know. Anyhow, though, my one experience with New Golden Buffet has convinced me that this is not the place to satisfy those cravings. For about thirty bucks, I got a take-out meal consisting of Moo Shu Vegetables, a slightly spicy dish called Ma Pu Tofu, General Tso's Chicken, along with dumplings, pork fried rice, and an egg roll. The dumplings were fine, and the Moo Shu vegetables weren't too bad, but everything else was, frankly, terrible, and as you can see from my other reviews, my standards aren't exactly high. The chicken was almost too hard to chew; the egg roll tasted like it hadn't been completely defrosted before they heated it up, and the tofu dish consisted only of chunks of mushy, flavorless tofu floating in copious amounts of gloppy "sauce" (which appeared to be soy sauce thickened with cornstarch, plus sweetener and hot sauce). The dumplings tasted identical to the dumplings I've eaten in hole-in-the-wall Chinese take-outs around the United States, so they were fine. The Moo Shu vegetables were reasonably good; they tasted fresh, and the flavorings weren't too salty or sweet.

Now, most folks go there for the buffet, and there was a bit of a crowd there, so maybe the buffet offerings are better. But for thirty bucks I expected something a little better than this. To top it off, the service was incredibly slow.

I'm still looking for that cheap Chinese fix.

Website (which features a take-out menu, as well as -- oddly enough -- a list of current quotes from financial markets): http://newgoldenbuffet...

I ate dinner here once while passing through Meadville for a conference. The food is plentiful, tasty, fresh, and surprisingly authentic. My dinner consisted of six seafood enchiladas with green pico de gallo, with a side order of rice and salad. The filling was rich and flavorful; the enchiladas were made with corn tortillas and lots of queso fresco, and the pico de gallo was really good -- hot, with lots of onions and vinegar. Our waiter, who had a number of what looked like prison tattoos, addressed us several times in Spanish, which charmed my dining companions. Lots of Corona posters and colorful margarita drinks. Dinner for three was less than forty dollars, with tip, for a massive amount of food (no alcohol).

I have only eaten here once and I don't have that much to add to what previous reviewers have already said. The experience was good but not all that memorable. Service seemed a little bewildered -- they had a full house on a Friday night and appeared overwhelmed, but they were attentive and helpful. I had the lamb shank "Bhuna" and the calamari appetizer. The lamb was tasty but not a standout. The calamari, however, really blew me away, and if I ever have occasion to eat there again, I'll stick to seafood. The squid was fresh, perfectly cooked, and served in a remarkable, subtle, salsa-like mixture of tomatoes, onions, and masala-like spices, with a pronounced smoky flavor. It was really amazing. It seemed pricey to me, but I'm not used to the D.C. market so I don't really have a basis for comparison. On the topic of accessibility, the downstairs seating looked pretty unappealing to me, and the upstairs, which is much nicer, did not appear to be wheelchair accessible, though I could be wrong about that.

Very nice place. I visited on the last day of their Christmas exhibit with my family (two kids, one and three, and two adults). The big attraction was the model train exhibit. If you have a young child who's into trains, this is not to be missed. It's in a big, dimly-lit room on the second floor, maybe 40'x25' or so, with a massive, complex track that fills up most of the space. It's full of unbelievable details but still, I think, completely hand-built by hobbyists. (Someone even made a miniature drive-in theater using the screen from a portable DVD player.) And yes, they have Thomas the Tank Engine, not to mention Mavis, Gordon, Toby, Percy, and (I think) James. (That's right, my son loves Thomas.)

There's a fair amount of other stuff that's appropriate for young children. Some of the Wyeth collection, which is truly spectacular and gives you a sense of the range of the family's work over the generations, can actually be appreciated by little kids (there are some full-face portraits of young people and plenty of images of animals). There are also some engaging craft exhibits. The other seasonal display is a massive Victorian dollhouse and a large winter diorama made up of old dolls. Other kids might have loved this stuff but my son only had eyes for the trains. If you are bringing a kid to see the trains and you want to see anything else too, look at the other stuff first.

The setting, the building, and the grounds are gorgeous. Save a little time for a stroll around the parkway.

$8 for adults, free for kids under six. Easy to get to from Rte. 1.

I have to admit, I didn't actually expect to like this, but I did. I spent a couple of years living in Germany and loved the Weinachtsmarkt (no one in the Protestant part of Germany that I'm familiar with would ever use the expression "Christkindlmarkt," which sounds very Catholic and almost Swiss). I liked the traditional Bregenwurst (brain sausage) and kale dishes, I liked the Gluehwein, and I liked the sense of community.

Now, given that you won't find Bregenwurst in Bethlehem -- nor will you exactly find community feeling -- it's pretty fun. I did buy a cup of syrupy Gluehwein for five bucks. It costs ten bucks for an adult to get in, free for kids under twelve. Once you're inside the gigantic tent, you can wander through an enormous maze of vendors selling handicrafts of all kinds, from Moravian-themed Pennsylvania folk art to German fairy-tale kitsch (Kaethe Wohlfahrt is a big presence, and that stuff is a ripoff even if you're in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, if you ask me) to expensive, fancy objets d'art in wood and glass. You can also marvel at the rows of ice sculptures. Most interesting for me, though, was the food. You can get truly impressive, authentic fruit strudel; very good German-style potato salad; sausage platters of various kinds; plus the usual festival fare -- funnel cakes, pizzas, cheese steaks, etc.

The other big attraction (at least in 2007) was the light show (or "liquid fireworks"). In a little tent off to the side they had a fifteen-minute-long show using intricately choreographed sprays from mechanized fountains lit with changing colored stagelights. The whole thing was synchronized with music -- some classical, some Christmas-themed, some vaguely disco-ish. The effect was quaint but actually surprisingly beautiful. My three-year-old son was absolutely in awe, which impressed me.

The whole thing has a whiff of the tourist trap about it, but there's more to it than that. I found it was oddly heartwarming and worth the almost one-hour drive. Plus my wife and I snagged a great, folksy-looking punched-metal star-shaped lamp for our front porch for only eighty bucks.

Open in season only. Check the websites for special events and discount coupons (http://christmascity.org).

As far as I have been able to figure out, this is just a couple working out of their home and selling at a few local venues: Phoenixville Farmer's Market (http://www.phxsg.org/m...) plus one or two others. I don't know where else to buy the bread. However, I intend to find out, as this is probably the best bread I have ever tasted in my life. And I've eaten a lot of bread, homemade and commercial, both in the U.S. and in Europe. I like bread. This is mind-bendingly, impossibly good -- you won't believe your taste buds. It's got the most subtle flavors and the most perfect texture I've ever experienced. But enough rhapsodizing. You need to get busy trying to get hold of a loaf. About $4 for a 16-oz. loaf, which isn't that bad, except for the fact that you are likely to consume most of a loaf the first time you taste it simply because you won't be able to think of anything else you'd rather eat.

Update: you can buy their bread at Kimberton Whole Foods (http://www.kimbertonwh..., 610-935-1444); other outlets to come.

A nice little neighborhood joint, open in-season only. They sell Bassett's ice cream (i.e., not made in-house) at reasonable prices. I have to admit that when this place opened I was hoping for something a little more funky and unique. The ice cream really is excellent in quality though, and it's a cozy place to sit. Very family-friendly.

During the school year, "The Trappe" really has the feel of a college bar (it's about a mile and a half down the road from Ursinus College). Decent selection of draft beers, standard bar fare (burgers, etc.), semi-nasty happy hour buffet. Lots of TVs, pool tables upstairs, some good stuff on the jukebox, and there's usually a band or DJ at night. It's also not a bad place to hit for a quick lunch. Nothing spectacular, though.