Reader mail

First, if you're interested in Phily dining, check out my story today on a few new restaurants worth visiting.
Friday is Q&A day and the mailbag is overflowing. Someone asked sent me a query about softshell crabs and there was another letter about romantic dining spots that aren't yet posted. Hang on- I'm working on those answers, and a few others, and will try to post today or Monday. Here's what's on your minds so far:





QUESTION: Hello. Your reply to Mary Kumar on a choice of an Indian restaurant in Wednesday’s News Journal was surprising. We have eaten at all the area Indian places, including the one on Kirkwood Highway that you recommended and we keep coming back to India Palace on Maryland Avenue. We have eaten there for over 10 years and the quality is unwavering, the service is excellent, they have a backroom for parties. They may not have the atmosphere that the Kirkwood place does, but we found the prices to be quite reasonable.So, if the one you are recommending is the one next to Blockbuster we were very disappointed in it from the service to the prices (overpriced) and the lackluster food….they should try it out before they do a big party to see if it is to their taste. The only thing it had going for it was the atmosphere and the big windows but that doesn’t make up for inferior food!If I have the wrong one I am sorry, but I believe the India Palace is the best one around.Thanks, Kathleen


ANSWER: Thanks Kathleen. It's good to get feedback. I haven't been to the Maryland Avenue restaurant in years. I will give it a try. But I must say I haven't had the same experiences you had at Palace of Asia on Kirkwood Highway. My last visit was about a month ago and maybe things have changed since then.


QUESTION: Was just curious what happened to Cafe Bellissimo? I really enjoyed the restaurant. Will they reopen somewhere?


ANSWER: Cafe Bellissimo is gone for good. Business was already sagging when Paul Owens and his wife Maribel bought the Italian restaurant at 3421 Kirkwood Highway in 2002. They sold bought the 8,000-square-foot restaurant and it's now Palace of Asia. According to a News Journal story from Aug. 2006, Lora Johnson, chairwoman of Delaware Tech's new entrepreneurship program, was a former co-owner of Cafe Bellissimo restaurants on Kirkwood Highway in Prices Corner and in Springfield, Pa. She now co-owns Roux 3, a Mediterranean restaurant in Newtown Square, Pa.


QUESTION: Hello, The News Journal ran news of a new restaurant to open in Kennett run by the former owner of Django. Could you possibly direct me to a resource for that restaurant? Thanks very much. Betsy West


ANSWER: Hi Betsy. Aimee Olexy and Bryan Sikora are now running Talula’s Table, 102 W. State St., Kennett Square, Pa.; (610) 444-8255. The couple used to run Philadelphia’s outstanding Django restaurant but stepped away from city living and the around the clock hours of the restaurant industry after their daughter Annalee was born. Now, they run Talula’s Table in Kennett Square, a take-out gourmet shop -not a restaurant. (Great selection of cheeses!) However, in the middle of the store is a large, wooden table that seats 8 to 10 people. The couple book the table out for private parties - and guests bring their own wine. Bryan makes an 8-course meal and the cost is $85 per person. Keep an eye out for an upcoming Sunday story on Aimee and Bryan in July. I'll let readers know when it's running.

QUESTION: My son went to Joe's today on Kirkwood Highway - they are closed. Will they find another location? Miss that fried mac and cheese. Sharon


ANSWER: This question came up back in March 15. (See archives or click on Reader Mail label below.) But here's the answer again: According to Joe's owner Pat Nilon. "Customers loved it, there was just not enough of them. " Check out Nilson's other eatery Cromwell's Tavern in Greenville. Pat said he wasn't sure if he was going to make the fried mac and cheese at Cromwell's, but you could always ask on your next visit.


QUESTION: We've never been bothered by noise at Harry's Seafood Grill, perhaps because we were in the dining room. The noisiest places we/ve encountered are Il Gelato, Iron Hill - Wilmington, and Deep Blue. Never again.
Suzanne & Peter Franck


ANSWER: Just goes to show that everyone's dining experience is different.