<p>Looking for restaurant ideas and/or advice on whether this get-together plan can possibly work. Dh and I are picking d3 up at the Philadelphia airport late Friday afternoon. D2 will be in the Lancaster area (Cochranville?) for a weekend wedding and suggested trying to meet up for dinner. She hasn’t seen dh since Christmas and is willing to drive to make this happen. Is it at all practical?</p>
<p>D3 is arriving home from a study abroad program and will be tired and hungry; dh and I will have to drive 4 hours to pick her up and, of course, another 4 hours home. If we could walk into a pleasant restaurant for a nice, efficient dinner it would be lovely, but we don’t know our way around the area, it’s a Friday afternoon/evening, and things like this usually don’t work out seamlessly for us. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>If you know the area, what do you suggest? Should d2 meet us at/near the airport and hope we can find a restaurant nearby? Does it make sense to meet her in the King of Prussia area, which is somewhat on our return route and only about an hour from where she’s staying? Any restaurants you particularly like/recommend? Many thanks for any advice you may have.</p>
<p>There are no really worthwhile restaurants in the vicinity of the airport. Given the logistics you describe, King of Prussia would make a lot of sense. There are several nice restaurants at the King of Prussia Mall ranging from seafood to Italian. Go to the mall website for a listing.</p>
<p>Thanks, qdogpa. Our route back will take us from the airport up 476 north to 81. Can you tell me if the area around King of Prussia is relatively straightforward for getting on/orr the highway? It doesn’t look it on googlemaps but maybe they designed it well to accommodate all the traffic congestion…</p>
<p>Also thinking about getting off on route 63 in Lansdale, where there are fewer options but maybe less congestion?</p>
<p>It can be a little confusing making sure you’re in the right spot to get into the mall parking lot but the mall is right there (and huge!) so you won’t miss it. The traffic from the airport to KOP at that time on a Friday is likely to be very heavy so keep that in mind to avoid frustration. If D2 is driving there from Lancaster, just make sure you have a set meeting place inside the mall, as I said it’s huge and then maybe you can connect via cell phone once you’re close.</p>
<p>Lots of choices. And it won’t be far for you to get back to the Northeast Extension from there to continue your drive home. If you’re unfamiliar with 476, make sure you have change for the tolls. The last time I took that route, the tollbooths were exact change only. I have no idea what people do who don’t have change!</p>
<p>Very straightfoward…if you are taking 476 to Pa Turnpike to 81? Then you can easily meet at KOP Mall…there are many upscale chain resturants there…access is easy,minutes off Pa Turnpike</p>
<p>Blackfish is excellent,but not if you are a meat and potatoes type diner…Have been there several times,loved it…took a friend and he couldn’t find much to his liking…he settled on free range chicken</p>
<p>Thanks for the excellent ideas, everyone! Blackfish looks great but I don’t know what to do about reservations, since much will depend on how long it takes d3 to get through customs and then for all of us to get out of the airport and meet d2. It looks like a place for a very nice dinner, which might be a bit more leisurely than dh would like. He is goal oriented and will want to feel as if he’s moving toward the goal (i.e., home).</p>
<p>King of Prussia Mall has an insane number of restaurants! We live near a wannabe supermall that has been dragging construction out for 2 decades - that mall WISHES it could ever get what King of Prussia has now.</p>
<p>To get to KOP you take 476 to 76 (Schulykill Expwy) and go West on the Surekill to KOP. You’ll see signs. I agree- there is one decent diner near the PHL airport, but not much else. If your D is starving, there are casual but good restaurants near the Rte. 3 (Broomall) exit of 476 and also off of the Rte. 30 (Main Line) exit.</p>
<p>None other! Or I hope there’s none other. What a tale of woe.</p>
<p>It bugs me to live somewhere that’s just gotten a Chipotle and a 5 Guys in the past 2 years. :rolleyes: KOP has 5-6 nice upscale restaurants that would be perfect for our meet-up. If Carousel landed a Maggiano’s, Cheesecake Factory, or P.F. Chang’s, there would be celebrating for weeks.</p>
<p>We live just outside of KofP. The mall area has a boatload of the chains. One of the newer ones that we like is Seasons 52. Reasonably sized portions, nice atmosphere, and we’ve had several good meals there. btw, since this place is still relatively new, reservations are usually necessary. </p>
<p>You probably dont want more options (ha), but at the junction of 76 and 476 is the Plymouth Meeting mall. There’s a restaurant there we liked called Redstone American Grill. Kinda pricey, but good. That would be an extra 10-15 for your daughter out in Lancaster, but maybe a little more straightforward for you coming up 476. And if you’re a PF Changs fan, there’s one of those right next to Redstone.</p>
<p>I’m not a native or resident of the area, but Google Maps says from the airport it’s faster to take 95 south to 476 north, skirting around the western suburbs, than to take the Schuylkill Expressway through the city. And it’s a matter of personal taste, but I find malls like KoP kind of depressing, and the restaurants very predictable and chain-y.</p>
<p>An alternative just off 476 would be Bryn Mawr. I drove out to PA to pick up my daughter at Haverford in May. We ate at Yangming, a lovely and charming Chinese restaurant in Bryn Mawr. The food was excellent, subtle and complex in flavor and lighter than a lot of Chinese food, with not as much heavy oil. Wins all sorts of awards–named “best Chinese restaurant in America” by an industry magazine, one of “ten great places to dine on fine Chinese food” by USA Today, one of “America’s top tables” by Gourmet magazine, 2008 “Best of Philly, Chinese” by Philadelphia Magazine, “award of distinction” by Zagat. I’m not sure I’d go as far as best in America as I’ve had some outstanding Chinese meals in NY and San Francisco, but it’s darned good, and in a very pleasant, laid-back atmosphere where I think your family would enjoy catching up; surprisingly affordable, too, given all the rave reviews the place gets. </p>
<p>It wouldn’t be significantly farther than KoP for your daughter coming in from Lancaster, either, just a slightly different route and maybe 5-10 minutes difference in time. From Bryn Mawr it’s easy to hop on 476 and head out to your final destination. In contrast, the traffic patterns around KoP are terribly confusing if you’re not familair with them—take it from me, I’ve gotten turned around there multiple times with my destination in clear view but unable to get there without complicated and time-consuming maneuvering to recover from a non-obvious missed turn.</p>
<p>The intersection of Pa turnpike near KOP has been redesigned in the last year or two…NOt confusing at all…yes, one can take 95 south to 476,usually a better ride then coming thru city on 76…</p>
<p>Absolutely go 95 S to 476. I thought that was understood. I do that drive once a month or so. I go past KOP, but same route… I also mentioned exiting Rte. 30 exit for Bryn Mawr/Main Line restaurants.</p>
<p>Great to have so many ideas - thanks, all. The Bryn Mawr area sounds very do-able, and Yangming sounds amazing. That’s a great review, bclintock! I have the worst luck with driving directions (this is true even when my GPS isn’t trying to take me to parts unknown). If there’s a way to wind up three lanes over going the wrong way, I’ll find it. Making note of taking 95 south to 476 north. Though husband’s GPS likes him better and might have sent us that way anyway.</p>
<p>Depending on your d3’s arrival, you could run into rush hour traffic which is from 4:00 to about 6:30. You definitely want to stay away from 76 and instead take 95 south to 476 north to 276 (PA Turnpike) west to Valley Forge/King of Prussia exit. Once through the tolls, stay to the right for quick exit onto 202 north which will take you to a left turn onto Mall Blvd in a couple of traffic lights. Mall Blvd circles the Plaza and the Court at King of Prussia (the “Mall”). Some of the restaurants are on the perimeter and are accessed right off Mall Blvd, some of them are in the Mall itself and you need to enter the parking lots from Mall Blvd and drive over to the restaurant mall parking lot entrances. </p>
<p>The Mall is really your best bet because it is a stone’s throw from the Turnpike. When leaving the Mall, there are a gizillion signs leading you directly back to the Turnpike. The Bryn Mawr/Main Line restaurants will take you too far from the Turnpike on local roads (friends live in Bryn Mawr and we eat in the western suburbs) . Getting off the Turnpike in Lansdale has the same problem (son lives in Lansdale) and you really need to be familiar with the area to find the worthwhile restaurants.</p>