Rehoboth Beach

[BobL]

bbonz -I'm curious too.

If you feel don't want to give out the name then twll us which ones you don't own. I'll figure it out from there. LOL

[BobL]

bbonz -I'm curious too.

If you feel don't want to give out the name then tell us which ones you don't own. I'll figure it out from there. LOL

[Susan in FL]

I am WAY curious, too. Inquiring minds want to know.

[BobL]

Anyone tried The Villa Rosa on Long Neck Road? The menu looks good.

[Susan in FL]

Anyone tried The Villa Rosa on Long Neck Road?  The menu looks good.

I don't think I'll answer that, not yet knowing what restaurant bbonz14 owns.

[BobL]

Susan in FL....Hummmm....There seems to be some negativity in you response. We are getting ready to make reservations for Valentines dinner there.

[Susan in FL]

It's been a few years since I was there, but based on that and what I do know of the restaurants right in Rehoboth more recently, I would pick one of the great spots in Rehoboth for a special occasion, and save any of the Long Neck Road restaurants for more of an everyday dinner. But maybe it has gone more upscale since I moved!

Edited January 29, 2004 by Susan in FL (log)

[bbonz14]

Ive thought about it, and i think revealing my restaurant would take away from the objectivity of this forum. So please dont ever hold back.

The rest. biz is a constant push and pull, what kind of food do we want to serve?

who is our customer base? should we try and get larger? smaller?

what can we do to improve? Is the bus boy having car trouble? Where's the sous chef been for the last two days?

The most important part of what we do is how our public perceives us.

And both positive and negative feedbacks help us improve,

the positive, pats us on the back and energizes us to get more creative,

the negative puts us in our place, and more specifically how and where we need to improve.

Thank you for your help

by the by, i haven't been out in the long neck area but if anyone has any recomendations out there id love to hear about it.

and how about dover, i drive by there all the time and wonder whats happening in that town. Anyplace worth getting off the highway for?

I love casapulas, and capriottis even more so.

[BobL]

bbonz14 - I respect you decision not to reveal your resturant. I hope someday to stumble in and enjoy it.

Long Neck and area has some good things going. There are a couple of great breakfast places at the end of Rt. 5 in Oak Orchard and I've heard that the newer on, Serindiptiy had good dinners. My friends also say that Villa Rosa is very good Italian.

At Peddlers Village the old Ashby's is undergoing new ownership and renovation into AJ's and it's looking like a brew pub. I hope so as I have a little weekend place near there.

Capriotti's over Casapulas? IMHO - close but I'll still take Casapulas first.

[Susan in FL]

At Peddlers Village the old Ashby's is undergoing new ownership and renovation into AJ's and it's looking like a brew pub.

A brew pub, as in brew their own beer on the premises?!

[BobL]

The sign says AJ's Brewing Co.. I don't know what that means but I'm very hopeful.

[Susan in FL]

Thanks! We still own a home in Slower Lower DelaWhere? and my husband is going up there soon on business for a few days. He'll be checking that out. Please keep me posted if you find out more.

Hopeful, too...

[SWoodyWhite]

One of the advantages of moving is that it has afforded me an excuse not to cook. I love cooking, but the van finally arrived (three months after I got here; long boring story) and my kitchen is so crowded with boxes that it's simply unuseable as a kitchen. So sad!

The result is that der Brucer and I have been able to sample the two restaurants on Wilmington that others here have been joking about, going to one but never getting to the other. (We also went to Dogfish Head http://www.dogfish.com/ on Thursday night for their pizza specials; quite enjoyable.) Good news: There's good reasons to go to both!

We went to Celsius http://www.celsiusrestaurant.com/homepage.html on Wednesday, taking advantage of their early-bird special (5 to 6:30, second entree free with the purchase of appetizers or dessert, please pay with cash only). I had pasta purses filled with wild mushrooms, followed by seared ahi on a bed of wasabi mashed potatoes; Der Brucer had the escargot, followed by a crispy duck. We were very pleased, with good flavors, good service, and only one flaw in the presentation. Der Brucer found his duck a wee bit too monochromatic on the plate; he'd have preferred some haricots verts over the carrots that were served. To me, that was a bit of a nitpick, but a little green on the plate would have been more interesting.

Last night we went to their neighbor, Fusion http://www.fusion-sedona.com/ , which is currently open only on Friday and Saturday nights. Their special price for the winter is the second entree free, all night. (People in Rehoboth Beach have no reason not to eat well during the winter months!) We started with the soup du jour, a very good crab bisque garnished with a plentiful mound of lump crab meat and a splash of sherry, followed by the roasted boar quesadillas, in which the boar had been shredded and complimented with just the right level of chilis. The quesadilla plate also included a mound of fresh lettuce greens and and a thick sour cream, along with dabs in the plate's corners of what turned out to be ketchup, serracho and wasabi. (I know I've got some of that wrong, at least in the spelling.) My entree was the Thai Lobster and Shrimp Curry, a very pleasing blend of flavors. Sorry, I can't remember what der Brucer had.

We got to meet Jonathan Spivak, the owner, after our meal. I could see where the staff's friendly attitude comes from; he was very interested in talking about the Rehoboth restaurant scene, giving high praise to several of his competitors, making suggestions as to what places we should try next. The schedule at Fusion should expand to four days per week sometime in March, and return to seven days in May. He also owns Sedona, in Bethany Beach, if anyone is in that area and looking for good food .

[SWoodyWhite]

I initially wrote this for another site, where most of the people aren't heavily into food, which I hope explains my writing style and emphasis. One of the regulars there, a screenwriter on the West Coast, replied that I'd made her hungry!

All right. We weren't really planning on dining out, just going out for a drink while der Brucer recounted the day's grandladsitting. We ended up at the Blue Moon, as I say only planning on cocktails. But on the way in der Brucer picked up a menu, and he began to smile as his eyes got wider and happier.

We stayed for dinner.

He started with a soup. Yeah, right, a soup. What's so great about soup, right? This was a truffled butternut squash bisque, with herbed goat cheese. I had a taste, and it was magnificent. The bisque was full of butternut squash flavor, with just the right spicing to lift it. The only thing wrong was the presentation, because it needed a little something on top to make it something different than a sea of deep orange, something like a few droplets of chive oil.

It was the only dish that was flawed in any way all evening.

My appetizer was a confit of buffalo osso bucco, served in a puff pastry shell, with fried leeks as a garnish. We've had confits before that were heavy on the salt, but this was wonderfully meaty and not salty at all. The textures of the puff pastry and fried leeks complimented the confit quite well. And the buffalo flavor was very nice, stronger than beef but less fatty.

For my entree, I had a breast of duck in an apricot sauce, with wasabi mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas. Absoulutely delicious, and I'm not normally an apricot fan, but this worked very well. Der Brucer had a rack of lamb in a panko crust, with hericots verts and roasted garlic mashed taters. He happily knawed on the bones.

It was pricy, but well worth the cost. We were very happy with our meals.

What amazes me is how many fine restaurants are here in Rehoboth Beach. We've had better dining experiences during the last three months here than we regularly would have in Long Beach, or in the greater Los Angeles area. And we've travelled a bit, sampling some of the best of cities around the United States. Something tells me I'd better find part-time work fast, because our appetites are exceeding our budget. That, and my own cooking is up to an interesting challenge, to be up to the area standards!

The Blue Moon is back in operation after taking January off. They're open seven days a week, from six to ten, with a Sunday brunch from 10:30 til 2. Web page: http://www.bluemoonrehoboth.com/

[Susan in FL]

As always SWoodyWhite, you have got it right! I've been applauding Rehoboth's restaurants for years, and thinking that Mariani or the like should give it more attention. It's nice to read about your appreciation of the fine dining mecca.

[SWoodyWhite]

Thank-you, Susan. Der Brucer and I are having a great deal of fun discovering whats here in our new home.

Well, most of it is fun. However...

Tonight was a fundraiser at the Rehoboth Convention Center, a bingo night (!!!) serving several local charities. There were prizes donated by a number of local businesses, most of them quite attractive.

But it seems our friends at Dos Locos are back from their winter vacation. I'm glad they are contributing to the community, but in doing so they had a flier that they passed around, listing their specials, including a new drink.

It's a chocolate-strawberry margarita.

I think I'll pass.

[Susan in FL]

A chocolate-strawberry margarita? Oh well, the lots of good makes up for the little bit of bad. You and Der Brucer keep on having fun and reporting back!

[SWoodyWhite]

One of the signatures of Rehoboth Beach is the use of color everywhere. This is natural for the town, befitting the summer resort business. Bright paint is splashed everywhere. Mattel's Barbie would approve of a store called "Tickled Pink." Fences are painted in rainbow shades.

Cloud 9 http://cloud9restaurant.com/ is almost discreetly yellow in comparison; much of it's color comes from the lighting on the roof. That's as far as the outside goes. Inside, the walls are burnished gold, with a sky blue skylight over the dining room, and cartoon-ballooned paintings in bold graphic style by Matt Adler on the walls.

We went because we wanted a change of pace, and had heard that they have a pasta special running on Monday nights. Indeed, there is a special menu of pasta dishes and individual pizzas, and the pastas on the regular menu are at half price. (There is also currently a second-entree-free special on Thursday nights.)

Der Brucer started with the baked oysters, which are served with andouille sausage, spinach, and aioli. He thought the bite of the andouille complemented the oysters very well. For my appetizer, I thought the sweet chili-garlic sauce that was paired with the coconut crusted shrimp also a good match, with the light heat of the sauce cutting the coconut's own sweetness.

For the entree, he went for the duck confit pizza, which was paired with scallions, tomatoes, asparagus tips, and cheddar. I tried the lobster ravioli from the regular menu, which was served with a sherry cream sauce. No, I told our waiter, I didn't care for fresh Parmesan. What I did find myself wishing for was some contrast on the plate. The ravioli was very good, tender and striped orange and white, and filled with flavorful lobster. The sherry cream sauce was a good pairing with the ravioli. But...

White and orange raviolis, with a white sauce, and served in a deep white dish somehow lacked a certain visual something. There was too much white, which went well with the late 70s soft rock playing in the background but wasn't as appealing to look at. The whole combination needed something green, like a glazed decoration to the plate itself, and maybe just a small sprinkling of seaweed salad on the raviolis to give a flavor contrast.

The service was as pale as my entree. Tasty, but lacking something.

As we were driving home, der Brucer commented that they're sure to rake in the bucks during the season. I'm sure he's right.

Edited February 24, 2004 by SWoodyWhite (log)

[BobL]

Heading that way on Friday with great hopes that AJ's Brewing Co. will finally be open.

BTW, SWoodyWhite have you been to Beautiful Foods, yet? My wife & I stumbled in there last weekend and found a selection of cheeses that is unrivaled in the area.

[Susan in FL]

Heading that way on Friday with great hopes that AJ's Brewing Co. will finally be open.

BTW, SWoodyWhite have you been to Beautiful Foods, yet?  My wife & I stumbled in there last weekend and found a selection of cheeses that is unrivaled in the area.

Bob, please do let us know about AJ's Brewing Company, after you go.

Beautiful Foods... oh my, what a wonderful place for cheese. You're right, it certainly is unrivaled in the area. He taught me what really good cheese is. I thought I knew before that, but I didn't. Do you know if it still belongs to Bill W.? There aren't too many things that make me miss Delaware. That is surely one of them.

Another question -- you or SWoody might know -- is Ristorante Zebra still alive and well?

Hey, I miss your posts, SWoody, and hope everything is OK.

[SWoodyWhite]

Everything is fine here; there just hasn't been much to post about. The winter break is almost over, with restaurants that have been open through the off-season on a limited basis getting back to a full schedule, and places that have been closed finishing with their remodeling (such as Catchers and Sir Guy's). It might be time soon to start a new "Springtime" thread.

There was a Chinese restaurant on Rehoboth Blvd., located just a few doors down from the bookstore, which will not be reopening. The site has been bought by new owners, who are working on redesigning the interior.

Der Brucer decided last week that we should try the Crab Barn's Thursday special, a steamed lobster for just $14, which was good but not great. I liked their clam chowder, and there was plenty of melted butter for the lobster (a one-pounder), but there simply wasn't that much to get excited about.

We'll see what the Spring brings.

[JennyUptown]

Less than four months until my next Rehoboth visit...

[BobL]

Zebra was still there last April, but I haven't checked since. We may go again in a couple of weeks for my dear one's B'day. If not there I'll let you know.

[Susan in FL]

Thanks for the update, and the info on Zebra. Glad all is well.

We'll be coming for closing when our house sells, so I'm trying to narrow down the choices of where to go for a dinner or two. The problem (a wonderful problem) is narrowing down so many good restaurants and too little time, I know. We'll probably take one evening to go restaurant hopping for a progressive dinner kind of thing. Then there's Cultured Pearl, which I miss so much, not to mention family obligations.

Jenny, hope I don't have to wait as long as you do for your next visit, to get that house sold. Hey, anybody wanna buy a house in slower lower Delawhere?

[suzilightning]

great thread and swoodywhite you write so well, it is a pleasure to read your reviews.

all the suggestions - i'm just sorry we're going to be in rehoboth/lewes for only one night next month. there are soooo many places i want to try.

hmm..... maybe i can convince my friends robert and tom and their son zachary to meet me for a few days in july.