Table Talk: Black Bass Hotel reopens after a revamp

There's a new driving force behind the restoration of the Black Bass Hotel, a rustic, circa-1745 landmark along the Delaware River north of New Hope (3774 River Rd., Lumberville, 215-297-9260).

It's Doylestown auto dealer Jack Thompson, who bought the shuttered eight-room inn/restaurant in March 2008 and ordered a top-to-bottom renovation.

The hotel - now air-conditioned - reopened last week under chef John Barrett (who worked there previously), serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. Breakfast is $24.95 per person, gratis for hotel guests. Lunch is under $15. There's a tavern menu served most days from midafternoon through dinnertime.

Entrees on the dinner menu run from $20.95 (red-beet ravioli with wild mushroom cream sauce) to $39.95 for a grilled dry-aged New York strip steak.

Thompson also owns the Lumberville General Store across the street, which serves as a cafe and bakery.

What's new

The Righi family, which owns Mama Yolanda's in South Philly, has ventured across the street with Righi's Café, a 50-seater at 743 S. Eighth St. (215-238-5755). Kim Righi-Spina and daughter Ashley are running the cafe, open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, dispensing breakfast fare (omelets, pancakes) and lunch stuff (wraps, cheesesteaks, pork sandwiches). Kim Righi-Spina still helps her mother, Delores, at Mama Yolanda's.