10 Years of Beer
Make time for the 10th annual Downtown Newark Food and Brew Festival on July 27, when 19 restaurants will pair more than 40 craft brews and imports with creative meals to celebrate the best in beer and food. No ticket required. Just wander from place to place, sampling and paying as you go. The first 2,500 guests will receive a Food & Brew Fest 10 commemorative mug, available at all participating restaurants and at the information booth on the Academy Building at Academy and Main streets. Sample one of a restaurant’s featured brews for $1. Food prices vary. The 10th year is a good year, not only for longevity, but also for the participation of four new restaurants: Café Ole, Taverna, The Greene Turtle and 16 Mile Taphouse, formerly known as the Stone Balloon Winehouse. (Don’t worry—there’s still plenty of wine.) The event runs 2 p.m. till 8 p.m. Bottoms up. 655-6483, newarkfoodandbrewfest.com
Pinch Me
One of our favorite dining specials is back. It’s Lobster, Lobster, Lobster at Deep Blue Bar and Grill in Wilmington. Every Saturday night all summer long, Deep Blue offers three creative courses for $29.95. The menu changes every week, so you have quite a few different ways to enjoy everyone’s favorite crustacean—times three. 777-2040, deepbluebarandgrill.com
Smooth Move
What do you do if you’re an enterprising restaurateur who wants an olive oil that’s just right for his Italian place? If you’re chef-owner Matt Haley, you travel to Italy, where you meet with the owner of an olive grove, then partner up. Haley now uses his own Conti di San Bonifacio brand oils at popular Lupo di Mare in Rehoboth Beach and other SoDel Concepts restaurants. As a chef who values farm freshness so much that he personally selects local products to use in his restaurants every day, going in search of an olive oil that met his standards was a natural project. But olives aren’t local. Hence the trip to Maremma, Italy. Because of the labor and the expense of harvesting and cold-pressing the olives, quantities of Conti di San Bonifacio are limited—only 750 bottles—so get to Lupo di Mare post haste.
On the Subject of SoDel…
Haley’s popular Lewes place, Fish On, has revamped its menu. New are cool starters like black pepper-coffee crusted tuna lollipops with pineapple-soy sauce; entrées such as the chef’s daily fish prepared simply with olive oil, salt and lemon served with local sides and linguini with shrimp, tomatoes, spinach and garlic; and a short rib stroganoff over pappardelle with peas, wild mushrooms, onions, veal demi glace and rosemary cream. Don’t forget daily raw bar selections. 645-9790, fishon.bz
Blues and Barbecue
You may not think of Philadelphia as being a great barbecue town, but it is. Find out why when the Philly Blind Pig BBQ Team visits World Cafe Live at the Queen in Wilmington as guest chef during its 4W5 Blues Jam on July 24. Enjoy slow-cooked brisket and award-winning pork spare ribs while local musicians jam in Upstairs Live at the Queen. The Philly Blind Pig BBQ team is Jeff Bera, Tom Bera, Marie Moody and Steve Calvert, who united in 2005 when a friend asked Tom Bera to cook ribs at a charity rib cook-off. With a $25 Brinkman smoker, Bera finished in the top five. In 2007 the team earned its first big win, finishing Reserve Grand Champion at the New Jersey BBQ State Championship in Wildwood. From there, it was up, up, up until, last year, it placed second in Team of the Year for Pork in the Mid-Atlantic Region, having won three first places in the pork season. At The Queen, the gang will smoke right outside while everyone jams and listens inside. It’s an open-mike with great food and a perfect way to spend a summer afternoon. queentickets.worldcafelive.com
