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SWoodyWhite

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    Rehoboth Beach, DE. (Formerly from CA.)
  1. Well, yeah, as a resident I agree about the traffic. Particularly on Highway One, which resembles a parking lot. But that brings up the other problem: the parking! There ain't none! But, as you said later, if you can park and hoof it, things are much better. I'm working at one of the grocery stores now, on the highway. Prices are lower there. (Of course, that means facing the traffic on the highway, and probably losing your parking place at your home base...) Any restaurant in Rehoboth, on Saturday night during the season, faced with a large party, will not shine their best. It's too bad you couldn't have been in town for a longer stay; mid-week is a better dining experience, IMO. Most places are open through the year these days. Rehoboth is increasingly a town where people come to live, instead of stay for the weekend or a summer week. And yeah, there's the specials that the restaurants run, which can save you some bucks. Frankly, we locals look forward to the end of the season, when we can actually get to downtown ourselves again! There are lots of events, such as the Film Festival and the Sea Witch Festival, the Cabaret Festival...you get the idea. The town doesn't die out after the summer crowds are gone. And the traffic is much better during the winter.
  2. Thanks for the suggestions! I appreciate all the help.
  3. Does anyone have restaurant suggestions for the fair city of Annapolis? Heck, I'll even take suggestions if you think the city stinks. I'm looking for restaurants in three different catagories. First, places where a couple can enjoy a very good dinner together. Der Brucer and I like a wide variety of foods...think of this as the anything goes catagory. Second, places where we can take der Brucer's daughter for lunch. This gets trickier, because she will not eat chicken and is allergic to shellfish. But she works in the area and we'd like to get together with her on occasion. Third, trickiest of all, places where we can take der Brucer's daughter and her two boys (aged 8 and 5), for either lunch or an early dinner. Of the boys, the younger likes to try all kinds of things at least once, but the older is a very fussy eater...heck, let's just concentrate on the younger lad, since the older one will fuss his way out of eating anything. Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions you can give!
  4. Way back in April of 2003, in a General Forum thread, I posted the following: There was a time, in the 50's and 60's, when gay restaurants were something of a necessity. If two gay men, or two lesbians, wanted to have a nice dinner, they might not get served, or at best be seated at a table in the center of the room instead of a booth. So, we had places of our own. I can remember the Carriage Trade, the Toy Tiger, the Garden District, the Academy, the Frog Pond, David's, the Little Shrimp, the Venture Inn, all in the Los Angeles area, my home town. Of these, only the Venture Inn seems to be in business any more. The food, by and large, ran to second level Continental. Oh, it was good enough, but never quite stellar. Then again, anyone who wanted to dine at a top, five-star establishment knew better than to take his (or her) date, knew to make the occasion social, not romantic. More often, it was the atmosphere (and the drinks) that made the gay restaurant a decent place. Piano bars and gay restaurants were a good combination. As my life-partner, Bruce, has just pointed out to me, these were also places where gay men and lesbians could take their families; if Mother was around and the boys wanted to show her a good evening, the decorum was always of the sort that no one would feel embarrassed. But then the Seventies hit, and with them the real beginnings of gay liberation. I know, "Stonewall" was in '69, but the idea took a few years to catch hold, even in California. The group that embraced this new emancipated outlook was, of course, the younger generation (including myself). This was a group that could not quite yet afford the pricy restaurants, was more inclined to eat at home or grab a quick bite, and spend more time and money at the newer gay bars with DJs playing the latest hits. The gay restaurants more and more became the turf of the older crowd. I remember at the Garden District, the owners having been conned into sponsoring a gay softball team one year (another phenomenon), when the team for which I was scorekeeper joined the Garden District's players at the restaurant's bar. The regulars were rather nonplussed by this rowdy and youthful crowd, fresh from the ballfield. The glare I received from Richard Deacon, the late actor and cookbook author, was particularly memorable! The two generations just didn't mix. And the world changed. Somehow, the non-gay restaurants began to realize that gay dollars folded the same way as straight ones. We were more welcome than we had been before. By the time Bruce and I met, not quite twenty years ago, there were few if any problems with dining in any establishment in Long Beach. In fact, we've always been quite welcome. But with this came another change: the gay restaurants of old began to close, because the need for them was disappearing, as were their patrons. Add the toll from AIDS, and there was little chance for the old-style gay restaurant to survive. Are there any more gay restaurants? Sure, but their customers are different. Hamburger Mary's is a nationwide chain, targeted primarily at the young gay community, but not exclusively. As I noted, the Venture Inn is still in operation. Where the Toy Tiger was now can be found a piano bar called the Other Side, but I don't think they're still running a restaurant. There's a place called Ozz in Buena Park which combines a supper club, cabaret, and discotheque, which is nice if not outstanding. But a place called Cha Cha Cha in Long Beach, which tried to target gay diners on Tuesdays, has folded entirely. The community's needs are different now. That isn't to say there aren't some who still prefer a gay environment, such as a bar or restaurant. It's certainly a better bet for meeting new people with similar interests than at a straight bar or restaurant, for example. Bruce and I are planning on moving cross-country sometime soon to Rehoboth Beach, DE, known as a heavily gay resort town. We're moving to Delaware to be closer to his family. We're moving to Rehoboth for the community. But I can't think of a single restaurant in Rehoboth that would not welcome a straight family or couple, the same as they would welcome a gay couple or family. I realize it's a bit strange to repeat a post in a Pennsylvania thread where I'm talking about my experiences in Los Angeles, but I thought it better not to edit my earlier post. Bruce and I are now very happily living in Rehoboth Beach, which is very gay-friendly, and straight-friendly as well...which is how things can and should be.
  5. Earlier, Malawry posted (and for some reason, I cannot get the quote function to work correctly here) Which reminds me, it's about time for me to find out what's going on in the Rehoboth Beach restaurant scene this year! I'll be posting soon.
  6. For that matter, this section of EGullet is "D.C. & DelMarVa". Am I, a resident of the "Del" part of that title, supposed to claim second-class citizenship simply because I don't live in DC? And what of those who live in Baltimore? Here in Rehoboth Beach, the newspaper racks include papers from DC, Baltimore, Wilmington...and the New York Times! What the hell is that doing here? Fact is, der Brucer and I take occasional day trips to all of those places, both for business and pleasure. It's all part of our "neighborhood."
  7. Or, better yet, you could all come over to Rehoboth Beach to try the ORIGINAL Dogfish Head location first, and then use that as a comparison for the new joints!
  8. Dogfish Head has been one of the favorite places on Rehoboth Blvd. for years. Good grub, great beer...pretty good spirits, too! Der Brucer loves their hot rum and cider these winter months.
  9. Sadly, I believe the problem lies in NYC, not with DC. NYC is a media center, the most important one in the USA if not the world. This makes that city our key opinion-maker. How people often perceive DC and other cities is filtered through the NYC editorial offices. Making things more difficult is NYC's own perception of itself as where the best of everything can be found. I know people in NYC who refuse to even consider leaving their city, firm in the belief that everything should come to them. Ultimately, this is a provincial attitude, and nowhere near as cosmopolitan as that city claims to be. I suppose those of us who don't live in NYC could try boycotting any media that generates from that city...but that would leave us with nearly nothing to read, watch, listen and otherwise gain our information from. Until we find some way of decentralizing where the media control is located, we're stuck with 'em.
  10. I haven't tried the restaurant, since I usually fondue at home. However, here's a link to their website: http://www.meltingpot.com/
  11. So, here I am, a fiscally conservative (but socially moderate) Republican, and I have to wonder...with all the money being spent on this Inauguration, they can't afford electricity? Or is the candlelight dinner to hide the food?
  12. As long as I'm here, I'd better put in a New Years Eve report. Der Brucer and I spent the night at Cafe Zeus, (37 Wilmington Ave, Rehoboth Beach, 302 226-0400), where chef Charles Davidson did served us a marvelous six-course meal. There were appetizers of seared fois gras, chorizo-stuffed mushroom caps, and roasted Brie. There were lobster bisque and potato/shallot soup, roasted duck with a raspberry and lemon sauce, and lobster Newberg. There was prime rib and roast venison, salads with roquefort and apples and almonds, chocolate truffle mousse, and roasted pears in pastry. And the New Year was toasted in with champagne. There was also a major glitch. Just hours before the first seating was to begin, the night's entertainment (singer and combo) called and cancelled. Fortunately, I didn't find out who the entertainers were, but John and Charles were able to get ahold of a singer who had performed at Cafe Zeus before, named Viki Dee. Was she available? Yes, and she was in town...but her keyboards weren't! And she had a broken foot! But this is what makes a trooper: a kareoke setup was found at the last minute, and even though it didn't use her own arrangements, and even though she wasn't that familiar with the kareoke machine, and even though there were probably a million other "even thoughs," she had the diners at ease in minutes. On top of which she's a damned good singer! All right, let's make this an official plug: her website is at www.vikidee.com . I am now a fan. *** A couple of nights later, we were back. Charles and John are closing down until mid-March, and it was time to clean out the fridge! Yep, it was leftovers! Of course, my own refrigerator doesn't have leftovers like his (mostly from New Year's Eve). Pretty good stuff, served buffet style. Nice way to end the season!
  13. Thank-you for the kind words. I don't think I'd be very good as a restaurant critic, as I like to get to know the owners, not a good practice for a critic. And I'm not sure I'd be able to keep my mouth shut about faults, which isn't a good idea for a rag like exp; they usually need to keep their advertisers happy (hence the sycophantic reviews over at Camp Rehoboth). Interviewing the owners and chefs might be an idea, however... Der Brucer and I didn't get over to the Iguana Grill this summer. We're looking forward to the Purple Parrot's new digs. The new space will be at 134 Rehoboth Avenue, closer to the shore and on the other side of the street. I understand that the crazy paintjob will again be a feature, along with an expanded menu and more seating. What's becoming of the old Purple Parrot digs? Along with an Irish-themed store next door, the lot will become a three-story hotel, with parking for tenants. This last is particularly good news, with the downtown parking shortage!
  14. Are there any good places to eat near the Arena Theater? We'll be in town for the opening of Hallelujah, Baby!, and I've a hunch a grumbly stomach in the middle of the first act wouldn't be appreciated.
  15. We will be spending the meal with my illegal half's family, and his daughter is doing most of the cooking. She has requested I make the sweet potatoes with marshmallows . Der Brucer, in turn, wants me to fix a side of creamed onions. And I'll be roasting a Smithfield ham, some of which (by no means all) will be going with us to the dinner. It debrines in the kitchen sink as I write. We'll also be supplying the wine. The big topic of discussion at the Thanksgiving table this year? Handling Christmas. Der Brucer's ex-wife, the mother of his daughter, is coming from California, and the family has decided to bite the bullet and put both of us together in the same room. Much hand-wringing will take place before the yuletide event, to be sure. I'm looking forward to it all.
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