Favoritre Dining Spots, Attractions

We've been visiting a number of our favorite dining spots, museums and other attractions recently and it's a pleasure to tell you about them:

Devon Seafood Grill - Well established among a fine selection of Rittenhouse Square restaurants, Philadelphia's Devon Seafood Grill offers fresh premium seafood, an impressive wine cellar and handcrafted, signature cocktails mixed by bar chefs well practiced in the art of mixology. We enjoyed fresh martinis, calamari, and a variety of entrees including fresh, flaky halibut, swordfish, salmon and cioppino. The famous sweet biscuits here are out of this world. And the key lime pie is the best you'll find anywhere. The service is seamless and the inviting, upscale casual atmosphere truly sets Devon apart from many other Philadelphia restaurants. And the prices are appealing as well. This is a real winner!

Delaware Art Museum [pictured] - We journeyed down I-95 to the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington to view two great shows: Exposed! Revealing Sources In Contemporary Art and Ellen B. T. Pyle, Illustrating Her World. These two exhibitions were as different as they can be but both were fascinating and illuminating.
Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle (1876-1936) was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania.
She studied art at the Drexel Institute, and she was one of the few female students invited to study illustration at Howard Pyle’s Chadds Ford summer school.
She married Pyle’s brother Walter in 1904. She was a prolific illustrator during the 1920s, famous especially for her 40 covers for The Saturday Evening Post. Her recognizable style drew acclaim from around the country.
She receives the first overview of her career in this exhibition of approximately 50 works.
Exposed! explores artistic strategies of quotation and appropriation. The featured works present various relationships to their sources, from respectful homage to cultural critique.
The exhibition includes works of art by Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Prince, Jeff Koons, Robert Colescott, Grace Hartigan, Ellen Gallagher, and Glenn Ligon, among others.
Some pieces are from the Delaware Art Museum’s collection, and some are on loan from private collections.
Pyle runs through January 3 while Exposed! runs through October 4.

Maggiano's Cherry Hill - We visited the new Maggiano's Little Italy at the Cherry Hill Mall and were very pleased with our luncheon slections. This is a big, splashy, spacious Maggiano's and we hear it's already one of the most successful spots in the Maggiano's chain.
A huge bar serves tasty adult beverages and though the luncheon and dinner entrees here are always plentiful you can also order smaller portions if you'd like.
And now Maggiano's Cherry Hill is offering a family Character Brunch with Dora, Diego, Elmo, Sponge Bob and more. Join them for Sunday Brunch September 13th from 10 am to 1 pm. They'll feature Music, Games, Face Painting, and Balloon Creations, complemented by Maggiano's Buffet Brunch! For Details or Reservations, call BonBon's Parties and Events, 856-701-8734.