Chicken Fingers

Used to be the most popular item on children's menus was the Texas Tommy, maybe grilled cheese, or spaghetti with one meatball. But today the clear winner for hungry little diners-out are chicken fingers. Kids don't even need to consult the menu. Some like to dip the nuggetlike strips in ketchup or mustard, but most just eat 'em plain. At Salumeria in the Reading Terminal Market, chef Laura Arena thinks kids might enjoy a jazzed-up version of chicken fingers that they could take to school for lunch.

They kept the cloth napkins on their laps, more or less. But using quiet restaurant voices was a bit of a stretch for 20 first graders dining out. Nevertheless, the youngsters from Cheltenham Elementary School who "did lunch" with the business crowd Monday at Stazi Milano restaurant in Jenkintown should be well-prepared to use good manners at Thanksgiving dinner. And now that they have helped take orders, serve meals and clear tables, the children - whose sneakers could barely tap the floor from their adult-size chairs - also have more of an appreciation for the work it takes to feed a crowd.

On the first warm night of the year, Cheap Eats headed for South Street, even though it's become the place where all the hippies with extremely loud car stereos meet. Down in the 200 block, Jeffrey Brandeis was leaning out the takeout window of a place called Fingers, Wings and Other Things, trying to drum up business. "Come on in," went the pitch. "The food's great. You'll love it. Money- back guarantee. " What chutzpah! Who could resist such a deal? Cheap Eats took one of the 8 stools, sat at a narrow counter and admired the wall-mounted autographed photos of Patti LaBelle and Stella, who recently departed KYW-TV's "Saturday Night Dead.

When a restaurant closes suddenly and then just as suddenly is sporting a new name, it's hard to know if the old concept got tired, or if the place is really a new incarnation. In the case of Smuggler's 73, formerly Fat Jack's, on Route 73 in Berlin, the restaurant and sports bar is now under the capable guidance of Steve and Esther Anderson, who've given the place a thorough scrubbing, some menu diversification and an undeniable personal touch that makes guests want to come back.

Although low-key, Avalon Cafe offers delightful cuisine at moderate price. But hurry, for the summer season is nearly over. The laid-back but substantive restaurant is next door to the splendid Cafe Loren, now in its 10th year. Although overshadowed by its better-known competitor, Avalon Cafe is eminently worthy of attention. The menu offers an eclectic assortment of mouth-watering dishes, half seafood and half chicken or Italian pasta. More interestingly, the restaurant offers several Caribbean delights, joining the Sugar Reef in Cape May as the only two shore places I know of offering this exotic cuisine.

The more things change, the more they are the same at the old Scotto's Pizza place in Maple Shade. Scotto's was an old-line pizza parlor until it was transformed into a beautiful contemporary restaurant and reopened in March 1990 as Caffe Bravo, a splendid little place with marvelous Southern Italian cuisine. Alas, Bravo didn't last. It was succeeded 21 months later by Traviata Ristorante, an equally delightful Italian restaurant with Bravo's formula for success - generous portions of good food at moderate prices.

With its bird's-eye view of the Cherry Hill Mall's renovated Center Court, the Terrace Restaurant offers welcome respite for tired holiday shoppers. The restaurant on Strawbridge & Clothier's second floor is a bright, pleasant place with floor-to-ceiling picture windows that overlook the mall's big colorful balloons, 30-foot potted palms and enormous art deco lighting fixtures. The cuisine is modest and uncomplicated, and, while it won't set any culinary records, it is perfectly acceptable.

This week I reached out for a Chicken, Bacon and Swiss Sandwich at Arby's. Chicken? Hey, I'm all for diversity - in the workplace. But what's a chicken sandwich doing at Arby's, which specializes in roast beef sandwiches? Even the restaurant's name says it: Roast beef. R-B. Ar-by. If this Chicken, Bacon and Swiss thing takes off, Arby's will have to change its name to C-B-S, and that will only confuse Dan Rather even more. Here's the blueprint: a breaded fried chicken breast, Swiss cheese, slices of thick, peppered bacon and creamy honey mustard on a plain hamburger bun. Total calories: 595. Fat grams: 29. I loved this sandwich.

The 'Skins are in town today. Last year, the Eagles' postseason aspirations almost cratered the second time these teams met when the Birds went to Washington and played terribly in a loss. The Cowboys smacked the Raiders the other night to remain in first in the NFC East. What happens with the Birds today? Do they win and stay close to Dallas or slip and fall against the 'Skins like last year? Well, if you direct your attention to Page 1, which I like to refer to as the "grown-ups' table" of the sports section, you'll will find a clever, detailed analysis of this situation.

WHY do I never drive a minivan at home if it's my first rental-car choice every August? Every small town in America seems to have a Christian Science Reading Room on prime real estate, and yet I don't know any Christian Scientists. I need a new approach to the appreciation speech because our kids are tired of hearing that "most kids don't get to do this. " Sometimes the National Enquirer gets it right. I wonder if Wachovia would have called to verify my credit-card purchases if they'd been made at a store other than Under Armour, or were they profiling?

The 'Skins are in town today. Last year, the Eagles' postseason aspirations almost cratered the second time these teams met when the Birds went to Washington and played terribly in a loss. The Cowboys smacked the Raiders the other night to remain in first in the NFC East. What happens with the Birds today? Do they win and stay close to Dallas or slip and fall against the 'Skins like last year? Well, if you direct your attention to Page 1, which I like to refer to as the "grown-ups' table" of the sports section, you'll will find a clever, detailed analysis of this situation.

WHY do I never drive a minivan at home if it's my first rental-car choice every August? Every small town in America seems to have a Christian Science Reading Room on prime real estate, and yet I don't know any Christian Scientists. I need a new approach to the appreciation speech because our kids are tired of hearing that "most kids don't get to do this. " Sometimes the National Enquirer gets it right. I wonder if Wachovia would have called to verify my credit-card purchases if they'd been made at a store other than Under Armour, or were they profiling?

My family likes to dine with close friends after church or a movie or a game. But "party of seven" evokes dismay rather than glee from many restaurant hostesses, particularly at smaller places and especially when potentially restless boys are in tow. A spot that takes our group's size and camaraderie in stride is a real find. On a recent rainy Sunday, we took the troops to the cozy White House, a neighborhood favorite in the Lenola section of Moorestown. The parking lot is typically jammed with diners eager for a spot at the counter or in a red Naugahyde booth.

SINCE McCormick and Schmick's opened on Broad Street six years ago, it's been one of the city's most consistent spots for fresh seafood - ideal for business meals, celebratory dinners and visiting friends and relatives. But until this week we never thought of it as a place for kids. The Chain Gang, however, putting the Macaroni Grill on hold until next time, traipsed over to McCormick's Monday night with three adults and three children, ages 4 to 9. If your kids are well-behaved, the big, light, airy dining room is fine, but if you've got a rambunctious bunch call ahead and try to reserve one of the upstairs snugs that overlooks the dining room, where your children can color the restaurant's children's menu (the restaurant even supplies a bag of crayons)

At 12, Jay Schaeffer of Gladwyn is on the circuit - so he has the ear of the top chefs at Philadelphia's Four Seasons hotel. Every weekend since September, Jay has attended a formal luncheon or dinner celebrating a bar or bat mitzvah - a Jewish coming-of-age ceremony - and he knows what kids his age want to eat at parties where parents are plunking down upward of $25,000: Filet mignon. He'll make do with skewered shrimp or a build-your-own quesadilla station, but please, no more chicken fingers.

Used to be the most popular item on children's menus was the Texas Tommy, maybe grilled cheese, or spaghetti with one meatball. But today the clear winner for hungry little diners-out are chicken fingers. Kids don't even need to consult the menu. Some like to dip the nuggetlike strips in ketchup or mustard, but most just eat 'em plain. At Salumeria in the Reading Terminal Market, chef Laura Arena thinks kids might enjoy a jazzed-up version of chicken fingers that they could take to school for lunch.

Ahhh, brunch. The oh-so civilized ritual that frees us from kitchen duty, gets us out of the house while the day is still relatively young and coaxes us into spending a relaxing few hours with family and friends. Usually on a lazy Sunday. Did I mention food? Social niceties aside, brunch is really just an excuse to eat. A lot. Mostly stuff you don't want to cook yourself. Kind of breakfast, sort of lunch, heavy on proteins, loaded with carbos, usually served from 11 to 2, it is not something in which you want to indulge every weekend.

It used to be the Silver Lake Inn, but that was almost five years ago. After some 70 years of white table cloths, candles and soft music, the popular Clementon restaurant became Barons Steakhouse. This was a prudent move, as someone back then told me business had become so sparse you could fire a canon through the dining room on a Saturday night without fear of hitting anyone. It seemed that just about everyone - defying the health-conscious dictates of the day - was out enjoying a thick, beefy steak.

When a restaurant closes suddenly and then just as suddenly is sporting a new name, it's hard to know if the old concept got tired, or if the place is really a new incarnation. In the case of Smuggler's 73, formerly Fat Jack's, on Route 73 in Berlin, the restaurant and sports bar is now under the capable guidance of Steve and Esther Anderson, who've given the place a thorough scrubbing, some menu diversification and an undeniable personal touch that makes guests want to come back.

This week I reached out for a Chicken, Bacon and Swiss Sandwich at Arby's. Chicken? Hey, I'm all for diversity - in the workplace. But what's a chicken sandwich doing at Arby's, which specializes in roast beef sandwiches? Even the restaurant's name says it: Roast beef. R-B. Ar-by. If this Chicken, Bacon and Swiss thing takes off, Arby's will have to change its name to C-B-S, and that will only confuse Dan Rather even more. Here's the blueprint: a breaded fried chicken breast, Swiss cheese, slices of thick, peppered bacon and creamy honey mustard on a plain hamburger bun. Total calories: 595. Fat grams: 29. I loved this sandwich.