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SWoodyWhite

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Posts posted by SWoodyWhite

  1. There were some things that sucked.  Traffic!  I could never have a weekend place that was as nerve racking to get to as our Friday afternooon/evening drive from DC.  I suspect that if I had been able to arrange my life to arrive 3 or 4 hours earlier, I would have been a lot calmer when I arrived.  The traffic would have been more tolerabe had I been staying longer than 2 days also.

    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.

    Sticker shock!  Specialty foods were all at least 30% higher than I am used to paying.  Limes, for example, were 3.5 times what I pay for them (in a store very similar to where I shopped in Rehoboth) -- good thing I only needed to buy 3 dozen!

    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...)

    Restaurant.  We had dinner Saturday at Zebra.  I don't feel comfortable criticizing based on one Saturday night visit in a large party.  Let's just say I was underwhelmed.

    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.

    What I really liked.  Once I parked the car and got onto foot or a bike, I loved the town, the homey feel and the people I saw and met.

    Had my first visit been in winter, I probably would tell Mark S. that he is nuts.  I suspect that if I get a chance to visit in winter, I will fall in love with the place.

    Michael

    edited for speling

    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! :laugh: 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. 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 :huh: 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!

  3. 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.

  4. Earlier, Malawry posted (and for some reason, I cannot get the quote function to work correctly here)

    Sometimes I have wished Sietsema would cover more restaurants in typical Washington-area destinations like Rehoboth/Lewes/Ocean City or the nearer ski resorts.

    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.

  5. 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."

  6. I feel like it's a little sad that some of our best chefs are sent up to NYC to try to convince them that DC is a worthy dining destination. I mean where's our pride!? :wink:

    But seriously, it does seem a little demeaning for the chefs. I mean it's sort of like Norah Jones having to go on American Idol to prove herself or something...

    I wish people would stop trying to compare DC to NYC, and just love us for what we are -- that is an incredibly diverse city, which happens to host a bunch of politicians and federal employees, with so many amazing restaurants and talented chefs that sometimes I wish I could eat out every night. I think it's fair to say the dining scene has come a long way in the past 10 or so years, and it's great that someone's out there promoting it. I just wish it wasn't presented like we're begging to be worthy of Manhattanite visitors.

    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.

  7. 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!

  8. Hey, SWoody:  Have you considered doing restaurant reviews for exp? You're an excellent writer and your contributions would raise the quality of writing in exp immediately.

    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...

    Since I haven't seen either of these places mentioned yet:  What's your opinion of the Iguana Grill and the Purple Parrot?  I haven't tried the latter yet (and see in exp that it's moving to new digs closer to the beach on Rehoboth Avenue), but the Iguana is my favorite casual dining/hangout spot in Rehoboth, hands down.  I've never failed to strike up a conversation with some interesting character from well beyond the region at the Iguana's bar, and the food--heavily Southwestern-influenced--is tasty and reasonably priced.

    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!

  9. 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 :smile: with marshmallows :wacko: . 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.

  10. It's taken a while, but I've finally gotten der Brucer to like sushi.

    His big problem with sushi, or the concept of it, has always been his claimed dislike of rice. "That stuff is gummy and nasty," would always be his comment. Of course, he loves good Mexican rice, and when I serve it to him at home he enjoys what he's eaten. But the German in him just couldn't get around the idea of rice.

    That changed when we decided to try the new Tokyo Steakhouse on Highway One (sharing a parking lot with Home Depot). It's taken what seemed forever for the owners to get the restaurant's building completed, starting before the summer season and finally finishing when all the tourists have left. As such, opening post-season seemed strange. All the same, there have been cars in the parking lot every night, and the lot is large enough that we can tell which are there for the restaurant and which for the hardware store.

    The first time we went was for the teppan steak. This part of the restaurant is what I had expected, Benihana-style in both the food and the theatrics is cooking it. Both were good, but not exceptional. What I do like about this kind of service is getting to meet other diners, total strangers with their stories to tell. This is not the kind of dining for people who want to be left alone.

    Before the grilled food was prepared/performed, we had appetizers. On the waiter's suggestion, we split a Dragon Roll and a Rainbow Maki. I found them both enjoyable. Der Brucer found them remarkable.

    It shouldn't have surprised me, then, when he suggested that we return "just for appetizers." This time we went into the Sushi Bar, and since it was a Monday there weren't too many people there. What started as an appetizer ended up being a meal, repeating our earlier choices and adding maguro and sake sushi, plus soft shell crab and a few other items. Der B had never tried good raw tuna before, and loved how meaty yet tender it was.

    A few days later, we dropped by again, this time definately staying just for appetizers. He's definately hooked. And he has absolutely no complaints about the rice. (And the waitstaff has no problem supplying him with a fork instead of chopsticks.)

    Prices as the Tokyo Steakhouse are consistant with other sushi restaurants I've fiound on the web, as well as with other teppan grills. They have a website, parts still under construction, at http://www.thetokyosteakhouse.com/WELCOME.htm

    Now, if only I can get der B over his aversion to tofu. :rolleyes:

  11. Sorry, I didn't mean to give the impression that I don't like La Tolteca, because I do. To your own list of positives, I would add great, friendly service.

    What I was intending to say, and I appologize for not being clear, was that Tijuana Taxi gives Rehoboth Beach residents and visitors another option, quite different in style but also worth pursuing.

    I think I like the chips at La Tolteca better, and their food would probably match better with a frosty cerveza than TT's. But I'm not knocking La T's margueritas at all (and they're on special on Tuedays!).

    *****

    Somehow, another thread I started last Spring on Rehoboth Beach got lost in the shuffle. It's located at http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=39822&hl= and included my first impressions of La Tolteca.

  12. There has been some controversy involving a restaurant here in Rehoboth Beach.

    The Rehoboth branch of Crabby Dick's, a Baltimore seafoodery, has a marquee-style sign out front, where they can post the daily specials, that sort of thing. Someone on the staff thought it would be funny to post double-entendres on the sign. Stuff like "Pop our crabby balls in your mouth with our seaman sauce."

    This wouldn't have gone over so poorly if CD's weren't located right on Highway One, where everyone passing by could see the sign. A number of residents took offense, and wrote letters of protest in the local Cape Gazette. The management promised to tone things down.

    It didn't last long. After a week or so, the 2nd grade dirty phrases started popping up again. Making things worse was a full-page ad in the CG from a local bakery, quoting the Bible in denouncing the restaurant's sign.

    Things came to a head when CD's sign, during Gay Pride Weekend, referred to the celebrants as "queers." Again, letters to the editor flew. In an interview, the managers protested, noting how they themselves are gay, that "everyone" uses the word queer, and that the sign was intended as a positive thing.

    But there are plenty of locals, including those who are gay, who aren't amused. My own better half, der Brucer, has commented that "it's one thing to use the word "queer" within the gay community, but right on the highway where everyone can see it...can you imagine being a mother of a family, where a seven or eight year old can read the sign, and then having to explain it to the kid?"

    Me, I think the signs are simply in poor taste. Unfortunately, so is the food at CD's. They made it through the summer season; whether they can last through the winter, having alienated so many locals, remains to be seen.

  13. And, while I'm talking about Animal Rescue, Aqua on Wilmington Ave. is hosting a "Yappy Hour" for the Delaware Humane Association on the last Saturday of each month. That will make this month's celebration on October 30th, from 1 to 5. Humans get to give a $5 donation, while their four-legged friends get in free. This includes drinks at happy hour prices, and a tapas buffet for pets and people. The DHA has their Spay/Neuter Van on site, bringing adoptable pets that you can meet. They do ask that all pets be kept on a leash, and have their vaccinations up to date, for obvious reasons.

    Der Brucer and I plan on being there on Saturday with Zeus, a very nice collie mix that we are giving a foster home until he can find a new family, and probably Fletcher, our deaf Dalmation rescue who loves to go on these meet-and-greets.

    Aqua also regularly has a Sunday brunch, and on Thursdays has half-price Cuban specials. Their Rum Runners are dangerously tasty.

    ****

    Fletcher proved he loves getting out and meeting people when we dropped by the Blue Moon. While we were having a couple of drinks and meeting friends on their front porch, he was having a grand time having his ears scritched and just generally being sociable.

    While there, I double-checked. The Blue Moon has brought back Tasting Tuesday. This is their off-season special, with three courses (appetizer, entree, and desert) matched with three wines. $30 per person, reservations suggested, and worth it. They're also holding Martini Madness on Thursdays, with $6 martinis all night.

    35 Baltimore Ave. 302 227 6515

    ****

    One more note, this time over at 37 Wilmington Ave. Charles and John of Cafe Zeus are also pet lovers. The restaurant is named after one of their Labs, and their Miss Kitty is currently taking a vacation, having had kittens of her own.

    Monday nights, Cafe Zeus has a buy one entree, get one free special running (cash only, sorry). They're also keeping their heated courtyard and Argus Lounge running through the off-season with "Sundays at 5," where people can "wind down from the weekend or gear up for the week" with drink and food specials.

    302 226 0400. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

  14. Our other recent "new place" has been in town for a while.

    After having been let down so badly at Dos Locos, we were afraid that the only place local for Mexican food would be La Tolteca. However, since der Brucer and I have involved ourselves with the local Animal Rescue Society, we've struck up a friendship with Shayne, who runs a pet supply shop called Dalmatian. She agreed that Tijuana Taxi, located across the street from her shop (at 207 Reboboth Ave., 302 227 1986) hadn't been all that good in the past, but over the last season had shown a lot of improvement.

    So we decided to give them a try.

    What we found wasn't Tex-Mex, and wasn't authentic Mexican, but had a good deal going for it. Since it was Wednesday, we took advantage of the specials. Der B. enjoyed the burrito ($6), filled with carnitas (his choice), and I do mean filled. The pork was tender, spiced nicely, and the tortilla that was wrapped around it all had a toasty crunch. I had the fajitas ($8), my choice of flank steak and jerked chicken, both tasty. The accompanying rice, beans, bell peppers and onions matched the meats well, as did the $4 margaritas. Also on special on Wednesdays is paella, at $8.

    Can't get to Rehoboth on Wednesday? Thursday TT has both enchladas and chimichangas for $6. Sunday, all frozen drinks are just $4 (at the bar only, according to their flier).

    ****

    Next door to the Tijuana Taxi is Abstractions. Their current specials are Tini Tuesdays - $5; Roll Night on Wednesdays - 20% off all sushi rolls; and on Thursday, buy one entree and get half off on the second. 302 226 0877.

  15. Thanks for the kind words posted above.

    I'm between jobs again, now that the season is over (and so is my headcold). So, back to reporting...

    First, a couple of changes in restaurants: the location run by Tutto Bene, at the Midway Shopping Center, has been taken over by Adriatico, giving them a Highway One location in addition to their downtown Rehoboth spot.

    Meanwhile, what was Harlow's at 404-A Rehoboth Beach is now under new ownership and has been renamed Partners. They're proudly flying the Rainbow flag but, in true Rehoboth spirit, eveyone is welcomed with open arms. Friday and Saturday, from 8 to 12, they've got a live piano bar going, playing "a little of everything" and taking requests. (If you can't see the piano player from the dining room, you can watch him on a couple of well-placed television monitors).

    The menu runs towards good "home style" cooking, nothing fancy but tasty when der Brucer and I have been there. Most entrees run in the $10-$15 range. Mondays they're running a dinner special that changes weekly, except for the price - $9.95, which includes soup or salad, potatoes, and veg. Similarly, Friday is Prime Rib night, with the same sides (smashed red 'taters) for $11.95. Wednesday is Burger Night at $5.95.

    Partners Bistro does have a website. Phone: 302 226 0207

  16. My partner ("der Brucer") and I will be at the Celebrity Chefs' Beach Brunch in Dewey Beach, DE. It's a benefit for Meals on Wheels Delaware. Starts at 11 AM at the Baycenter at Ruddertown, Dewey Beach, runs until 3 or 4. Tix are $75, and should be on sale at the door. Over 25 restaurants are participating, with lots of food, drink, and a silent auction.

  17. I'm way behind on the learning curve when it comes to pizza, particularly here in RB. And I admit it.

    Running through the phone book, the only pizzaria that lists a "brick oven" is Mancini's, down in Fenwick. (907 Coastal Highway, Fenwick, 537 4224).

    The only satisfying pizza experience I've had so far was at Dogfish Head (320 Rehoboth Blvd, RB, 226 2739). Theirs is a "gourmet" style pizza, thin crust and wood grilled. Their menu is at the following page: http://www.dogfish.com/food/index.cfm

    Hope this helps.

  18. I agree, good NYT article, with one error and one omission:

    First, under "A Little Late-Night Music," the karaoke at the Purple Parrot is listed as "no cover." It's a very small cover charge.

    Second, the author mentions the Tanger Outlet Centers, but only talks about clothes stores! As any good eGulleteer knows, the places to splurge are Mikasa, Oneida, and particularly Kitchen Collection (my own place of employ)! (I'm at the Bayside mall; there's another KC store at the Midway mall. Shameless plug, I know, but what the hey.)

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