Gift idea: LaBan's 'Ultimate Dining' guide

Inquirer critic Craig LaBan's latest edition of "Ultimate Dining" is a glossy, 52-page guide to 150-plus delicious food destinations in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey suburbs.

It started with a statement: "There are no good restaurants in the suburbs."

As LaBan writes, "That's one of the most persistent assumptions I've heard living inside one of America's great food cities, too often uttered by my Center City neighbors as an excuse not to join me for a dinner adventure beyond the city limits. Usually along with a wisecrack about strip malls, chains, or the Schuylkill Expressway.

"But that couldn't be further from the truth. And I just logged 4,000-plus miles on my way to 150 restaurants over the past six months to prove it, from rustic charmers in Chester County to small town Main Street bistros, trendsetting brewpubs, sophisticated Main Line haunts, exciting international kitchens, and intimate BYOBs just across the bridge in South Jersey."

Get a copy here.