Welcome to the Home Skillet, where “Yes We Can!” simply answers the question, “Can we finish off another case of Yuengling?” Here’s what’s going on in the dining world this week:
Friday, November 7: Join the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Friday in the first of what organizers hope is a rockin’ annual event.
The first ever Brandywine Wine Opening is a vino-centric event sponsored by, and benefiting the Delaware Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Southern Wines and Spirits Delaware and the Click Wine Group will bring five wines to sample and our old friends Dogfish Head Brewery will be on hand with a few beers.
On tap for the tasting will be: Spanish vintners Mad Dogs & Englishmen, Root: 1 Cabernet from Chile, Fat Bastard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from France and Clean Slate Riesling from Germany. Wilmington’s Greenery Caterers are providing the food. Look for stations serving hors d’oeuvres, carving up black angus beef, or serving artichoke-seafood fondue, petit meatballs Madagascar, Kennett Square mushrooms, chicken cordon bleu and much more.
Tickets are $75 for general admission, $125 for a VIP ticket, which grants the bearer some fancy exclusive wine and food.
Special events director Robin Clarke told me the foundation hopes to make this an annual thing and given the demand for tickets (she’s expecting around 150 guests Friday), they’re off to a good start.
It all goes down at 8 p.m. at the Rockwood Mansion in Wilmington.
Call 610-325-6001 to order tickets, or visit www.cff.org/chapters/delawarevalley for more info.
Friday, November 7-Saturday, November 8: If there’s one thing I need with my musical theater, it’s wine. Lots of wine. Dover Downs is kind enough to combine the two in a festive way.
The seventh Wine and Music Festival goes down at the Downs this weekend, and will feature Italian wine tastings, wine and Italian cooking seminars and demonstrations, and plenty of great music and entertainment.
General admission runs $25 for a Friday pass, $30 for Saturday. Upgrade to VIP status for $50-$55 and get a special four-course meal and some gifts from Toppers Spa and Salon.
Call 800-711-5882 to order tickets or visit their website.
Sunday, November 9: Newark’s favorite party host Caffé Gelato will sashay (shantay) on the catwalk Saturday with its Little Black Dress champagne brunch and fashion show.
Retro duds from Main Street boutique Clothes in the Past Lane will mingle with Gelato cuisine, like pan-seared scallops with pink Zinfandel sauce, truffle roasted center cut filet, and cream of asparagus soup with lump crab meat.
Tickets cost $38 and benefit the Delaware Chapter of the American Cancer Society. Call 738-5811 to make your reservation.
Monday, November 10: Who knows more about wine than Tom Hudson, proprietor of Domaine Hudson in Wilmington? Well, maybe Chris Campbell, owner of C&P Wines in New York, does.
Campbell will be the guest of honor Monday when he invades Domaine Hudson with five Spanish wines for a special wine and cheese tasting shindig. Campbell and Hudson will crack open Campassos Brut Cava from Tarragona, an ’07 Ermita de Nieve Verdejo from Rueda, ’07 Cellar la Bollidora “Sao” from Terra Alta, ’05 Valderiz “Senorio de Valdehermosa” Ribera del Duero and ’06 Rejadorado Tinto de Toro—and pair them all with appropriate cheeses from the same regions.
Head to Domaine Hudson from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday. The cost is $25 per person. Call 655-9463 to reserve your spot.
New digs: I spoke yesterday with Julio Lazzarini, whose Orillas Tapas and Bar is set to open on Market St. next Monday. Chef Lazzarini’s previous job was at upscale Deep Blue. The menu, he says, will be made up of 70 percent tapas, as well as traditional Spanish favorites like paella and flatbread Spanish-style pizzas.
“It’s really Old World style cuisine presented in the way it should be,” Lazzarini says. “We’ll have that Spanish flavor, straightforward and with amazing ingredients, representing different regions.”
The 67-seat restaurant will also feature private dining and twin barrels of sangria (white and red) behind the bar. A restaurant website, www.orillastapasbar.com, is set to launch this week, too.
So be sure to check out Orillas (413 N. Market St., Wilmington, 427-9700) and report back to your boy, the Home Skillet.
