Beth D’Addono

Good food without good service can sometimes be tolerated. Good food with abysmal service is a recipe for indigestion.   On a weekend trip to Greenpoint in Brooklyn - a.k.a. Little Poland, a neighborhood where English speakers are a rarity, we had the worst service experience at Damis (931 Manhattan Avenue Brooklyn, 718-349-7501), a non descript little Polish restaurant on the main drag. In a setting that can only be called "early Tarzan" — fake palm trees, a stuffed gorilla, a stuffed bear (do bears live in the jungle? Is there a jungle in Poland?) our party of 6 ordered Polish specialties like pierogis, kielbasa and pork cutlet with mushroom sauce.  Four of us got our food - and despite repeated attempts to get the attention of a server, it took at least 15 minutes for the owner's wife to realize our order hadn't been put in. Forty-five minutes later, the other two parties were served - and when we got the bill, we were overcharged by almost $100. The owner finally came to our table - and not only did he not apologize or try to make amends, he told us "you always have to wait for food at a good restaurant." When we informed him that we weren't leaving a tip, he actually started yelling at us. I guess this particular restaurateur hasn't figured out that, here in America, the customer is supposed to always be right.  Save yourself the heartburn and go anywhere else BUT Damis in Greenpoint.

If you haven't discovered it already - run, (don't walk) to Cafe Roberto, an authentic Italian trattoria located at 2108 South St. (215-545-0793). The charmingly rustic cafe was opened recently by brothers Roberto and Fernando Vincenti, who, along with chef, Isidro "Ciro" Ramos last worked at Radicchio. Clearly a labor of love, the cuisine will remind you that it's been too long since you were in Italy. Dishes like insalata scoglio, fresh seafood simply dressed with lemon and olive oil, a deeply satisfying penne Amatriciana, spiked with briny pancetta and veal saltimbocca that literally does jump in your mouth, are just a few reasons to check this place out. The warm Italian welcome is another. Mangia! 

The road seemed to go on forever… climbing up the mountain high above Balsam, North Carolina, just 45 minutes outside of Asheville. At the top, the Galvladi Mountain Inn welcomed us, a beautiful log and stone structure that represents the realized dreams of transplanted Chicagoans Dave Stubbs and Terry Matre, whose "retirement" in the mountains of Western Carolina has turned into anything but. At 4000 feet up the mountain, on 250 acres, this retreat delivers breathtaking views, local wildlife and birds, (and Max and Tinker, the family dogs)  gourmet cuisine prepared by Terry in her professional kitchen, and the kind of kick-back relief from the hectic working world that is sure to recharge your batteries. 

I was just in Phoenix researching a story for Physician's Travel & Meeting Guide and found Sol y Sombra, a fabulous restaurant that will appeal to fans of chef Jose Garces' restaurant Amada, in my home city of Philadelphia. Turns out the two chefs, Aaron May from Sol y Sombra and Jose know each other - they both worked under Douglas Rodriguez, and Aaron was at the opening of Amada in Philly. Located in the DC Ranch shopping district, Sol y Sombra means sun and shadow - referring to the two ticket options for the bullfighting ring - pay more to sit in the shade, sit in the sun, you get a bargain. Aaron's menu borrows from the Catalonia table, featuring traditional tapas, like tortilla espanola and Serrano ham with Manchego cheese, along with updated classics like air dried chorizo stewed in hard cider and skewered lamb served with honey, quince and red chile sauce. A sangria bar includes seven house-made concoctions and the all-Spanish wine list is top shelf.

You haven't tasted peaches until you've eaten South Carolina peaches from the Old 96 District, an area in the north western part of the state that includes Greenwood, Edgefield, Abbeville and Laurens. Peach producers like Titan Farms take great pride in their peach crop - making South Carolina the number two producer of peaches in the country. (Behind California, but ahead of Georgia!) I was one of the judges in this year's Old 96 Peach Off, tasting the best of the best locally made peach cobblers, pies and cakes. My favorite was Phillip Trotter's Peach Pound Cake, a densely satisfying treatment of this wonderful fruit.