By Mark McNease

Where: Sergeantsville Inn
601 Rosemont Ringoes Rd.,
Sergeantsville, NJ 08559
Tel: 609.397.3700
Cost: $$$$
Food: 4+, service 5

Since opening under new ownership just months ago, Sergeantsville Inn has reestablished itself as a dining destination. We hadn’t been there for several years, and we wanted to return after the Inn’s reopening following a fire in 2015 that destroyed the interior. We liked the food before, and this time it was nothing short of spectacular.

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Located at the corner of Route 523 and Rosemont Ringoes Road in Sergeantsville, NJ, the Inn has been around for generations. It has one of those original stone facades you find in structures built in the 1800s and earlier. First named for the Sergeant family, the Inn has been a private residence, a feed store, and a local fixture in the community since its founding.

By Mark McNease

Plumsteadville Inn
5902 Easton Road Pipersville, PA
Tel: 215-766-7500
$$ – $$$ (depending on what you order)
4 Overall Yums (3.5 food, 4.5 service)

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Yes, the restaurant reviews are back. In my early blogging days I sometimes got responses from restaurants I reviewed, but that’s not why I’m doing it. I love to eat, and I love to write, it’s that simple

I realized that some of our favorite places to eat are not the sort of fine-dining, 5 Yum establishments I sometimes have the good fortune to rave about. Sometimes they’re just diners, or casual establishments, and I can’t fairly compare them to a $200 meal, excluding tip, that was worth every penny. In the case of Plumsteadville Inn, where we went for the second time last night, they’re just very inviting, popular, often crowded and crowd-pleasing places where you can get good comfort food and great service.

By Mark McNease

Restaurant reviews are based on a 5 Yum scale, 5 meaning put it on your must list, 1 meaning eat at your peril. 

Ferry + Main
10 W. Ferry Street
New Hope, PA 18939
Website: www.loganinn.com/
Tel: (215) 862-2300
Spend Meter: $$$$
Yums: 5+ (food and service)

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Some food is so good it’s criminal, and that’s what you’ll be treated to at Ferry + Main, the restaurant inside New Hope’s renovated Logan Inn. The Inn was undergoing upgrades for several years as it was transformed from a well-known local inn to a luxury establishment where everything is meant to impress, and does. The decor, the staff, the atmosphere, and, yes, the prices: the Logan Inn is one of those places where you get what you pay for, in the best ways.

The restaurant is all wood and brick, with arched ceilings and a large working fireplace in one of the two main seating areas. The first time we went there, for Thanksgiving, the place was packed and we were seated in a raised area away from the thick of things. That was better for us, since the acoustics in this restaurant amplify the noise. There’s nothing to absorb sound, so if you’re seated near the kitchen and fireplace, be prepared for the echo of voices bouncing off the ceiling and walls. There’s also a popular bar in the space, which adds to the volume as well as to the ambience. Is that a criticism? Not really. Having lived in New York City for twenty-five years, I’m familiar with loud restaurants. But if they’re offering tables away from the main activity, take one.

By Mark McNease

Restaurant reviews are based on a 5 Yum scale, 5 meaning put it on your must list, 1 meaning avoid at all costs. 

Talula’s Garden
210 West Washington Square
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 592-7787
Website: talulasgarde.com
Spend Meter: $$$$
Service: Excellent

Imagine finding a new favorite boutique hotel in Philadelphia’s Center City. Then imagine discovering one of the city’s best restaurants barely a block away. It sounds improbable, but that’s exactly the situation we found ourselves in, waking up in that very hotel, having enjoyed what my husband Frank calls “the best meal of 2021.”

The Morris House Hotel is a true gem nestled in the heart of the historic district. Its designation as a historical site means this beautiful, 18th century structure can’t be torn down. It sits like a jewel from another era amid hospital and office buildings, and there’s a quiet defiance to it: I’m old, I’m elegant, I’m not going away. Note: if a modern aesthetic and a streaming vibe are more to your liking, this hotel may not be for you. But if you enjoy a bit of a staid colonial feel decorated to suit the times it was built in, this is a must-try. You can see my full review and slideshow from our last trip HERE.