Where’s the Beef?
Nage wants to improve your health. If you do too, check out Meatless Mondays. Every week brings a slate of new vegetarian dishes that shows meatless cuisine can be every bit as interesting and delicious as recipes for meat. All dishes are made with local, seasonal foods. Yes, going meatless—at least some of the time—can help you live longer, if done correctly. But it’s also good for the planet. Farming grains and vegetables requires less energy, thus reducing emissions of greenhouse gases; it requires less water; and it requires less fossil fuel. Sold? You don’t have to be. The chefs at Nage never disappoint. You’re still in for a stellar meal. 226-2037, nage.bz
Ladies’ Night
A wine called Simply Naked gets our attention. If it’s gotten yours, reserve a spot for Women and Wine at Lupo di Mare in Rehoboth Beach on May 15. Chefs Phil Mastrippolito and Matt Haley have designed the menu. Michele Souza of Southern Wine and Spirits handled the wine. What are you in for? You’ll begin with asparagus bisque, whipped goat cheese and crunchy leeks and the aformentioned Simply Naked Pinot Grigio. Continued with a stack of fried eggplant, basil, fresh mozzarella and spicy tomato with The Dreaming Tree Crush. Crispy-skinned rockfish follows. It is served with risotto of roasted tomatos and basil and white balsamic butter with Simi Pinot Noir. Dessert will be delicious strawberry cobbler with whipped cream and mint. Your nightcap is Ruffino Moscato. As always, a portion of the sales goes to charity. This month’s beneficiary is the Melanoma Research Foundation. Enjoy. 655-1200, molly@sodelconcepts.com
Barbecue and Ballyhoo
Break out the cole slaw. The 2012 Middletown BBQ State Championship Cook-Off happens May 18-20. The weekend starts Friday with national country acts Eden’s Edge and Thomas Rhett. There’s more country music on Saturday by national artist Ashley Forrest, and locals Hung Jury and Stones Throw. But the big event is the cookoff, which attracts barbecue competitors from around the country, all competing for a chance to cook in the Jack Daniels Invitational and the Kansas City Royal National BBQ competitions. (This is a Kansas City Barbeque Society-sanctioned event—and those KCBS folks take their barbecue very seriously.) Sunday features a car show, an amateur backyard barbecue competition and music by the Philly George Project. All weekend long, there will be beer, there will be wine, and their will be amusements for the kids. It all happens at Frightland on Port Penn Road in Middletown. For more, check in with the Middletown Area Chamber of Commerce. 378-7545, middletownareachamber.com
Burgermeister Meisterbrewer
Who knew May was National Hamburger Month? The folks at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant did, and they’re celebrating in style. Every night of the month features a different specialty burger—the Alpine Burger with fried onion rings, bacon, Swiss cheese and horseradish sauce on May 18, for example, and the Fresno burger with Haas avocados and green chile aioli on May 25. You say you’re a big burger eater? There’s good news for you: Eat five during the month and you’ll receive a $15 gift card. The special runs at all nine Iron Hill locations. Here in Delaware, hit the riverfront in Wilmington or the original on Main Street in Newark. And don’t forget—this is the only time of year when you can enjoy a Maibock classic beer. ironhillbrewery.com
