Craig LaBan finds a winner in Bucks County’s Rouget, an ambitious French BYOB.

Few young cooks hold on to and evolve the canon of culinary school classics with quite as much fervor as Held, who recasts them with a light but artful touch. His beef “a la mode” is a rarely seen paragon of throwback bistro goodness. The thick slice of French pot roast made from flatiron steak is braised to a melting softness, dabbed with horseradish, scattered with asparagus tips, and set beside a creamy gratin stack of shaved root vegetables.

3 Bells – Excellent

Rouget [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Craig LaBan tastes Honey in Doylestown. Not surprisingly honey plays a major role in the dishes, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad.

Whether McAtee scores or stumbles, he does it with exuberance. It’s a likable enthusiasm that infuses every aspect of Honey, including its friendly and generally well-prepared servers, who were charming even when they didn’t have all the answers about the small American wine list.

Two Bells – Very Good

Honey [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Honey [Official Site]

A few weeks back there were reports of McDonalds going upscale, aiming for more of a Starbucks type atmosphere for their fast food restaurants.Well the first of these upscale McDonalds in the area will of course be in Bristol.

McDonald’s to build upscale restaurant on Bristol Pike [Bucks County Courier Times] via Philadelphia Will Do
Photo via deseretnews.com

Blogalicious headed out to opening night at Park Grille, the high-end restaurant at Philadelphia Park, Bensalem’s racetrack and slots megaplex.

So what does Blogalicious find after combining the dining nadirs of Northeast Philadelphia dining and racetrack dining?

That’s why Park Grille was such a pleasant surprise–a shock even. Not only was the quality high, the food even shows upscale ambitions and flourishes of creativity (a steakhouse no-no).

Park Grille actually feels like a restaurant–a pretty good one–rather than a cattle-call for high rollers getting comped on mediocre grub.

High Steaks in the Great Northeast [Blogalicious]

Philadelphia Park Casino and Racetrack [Official Site]

Newtown is hosting its first annual beer tasting tomorrow from 2-6 PM. More than thirty breweries, brewpubs, and beer importers will be present.

Newtown Brewfest [Official Site]