It’s Here
It’s the eighth annual Restaurant Week in Newark Jan. 20-26. The culinary celebration highlights downtown’s diverse restaurants and their offerings. Downtown Newark’s Restaurant Week is known for its affordability and great food in a fun and vibrant area. Three tiers of prix fixe meals are offered, with some restaurants offering more than one tier during the week. Each restaurant develops menus for the week according to its clientele and tiers. Friends & Family Fun Meals feed a group of four for $22. Two-course lunches cost $10. Two- and three-course dinners are $22 and $28. Participating restaurants include 16 Mile Taphouse, Ali Baba Middle Eastern Restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings, Caffé Gelato, California Tortilla, Catherine Rooney’s Irish Pub & Restaurant and Cosí. And that’s just the ABCs. There are at least 10 more places, everything from Vietnamese to Irish. Check out your favorite restaurant’s menu for the week at enjoydowntownnewark.com/restaurantweek and on Facebook.
Bouchaine at Buckley’s
Buckley’s Tavern in Centreville will host a special wine dinner Jan. 23, featuring the best of Bouchaine, the California winery owned by Delaware’s Gerret and Tatiana Copeland. The wines include the Estate Vineyards Chardonnay, Carneros Pinot Noir, Las Brisas Vineyard Reisling, Estate Vineyard Terraces Pinot Noir and Rockin’ H Vineyard Syrah. They’ll be paired with terrific food such as pan-seared salmon steaks with chestnut-mushroom ravioli and spiced lamb tagine. Here’s just one of the desserts: Gorgonzola Souffle with strawberry-pecan bubble sugar. We’re in. Learn more at buckleystavern.com.
Bouchaine and Bourbon at WCL
Here’s a taste of the foodie fun at World Café Live at the Queen in January. First, as at Buckley’s, a Bouchaine dinner on Jan. 25 with special guests winemaker Michael Richmond and Greg Gauthier, veep for wine production and sales. (Little did we know, Bouchaine is the oldest continuously operating winery in the Carneros District of Napa Valley, a winery that began making wine long before the region earned its reputation for producing the great Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of Carneros today.) Next up: Bourbon & Burgers on Jan. 30. How does a Bison burger with some Booker’s Single Barrel Bourbon sound? How about salmon burgers with a bracing side of Baker’s? Each dinner, created by WCL Executive Chef Joe Deamer, consists of four burger courses each paired with a delicious bourbon that’s been carefully selected to create a savory meal you won’t soon forget. Says the Burger Club of Philadelphia, “…the staff was excellent, the burgers were delicious, and each whiskey was unique and new to me. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and I’d encourage anyone to attend an event like this at World Cafe Live in Delaware.” The events are so popular, they happen four times a year now. And don’t forget about the monthly grilled cheese and craft brew dinners. Learn more at queentickets.worldcafelive.com.
Chocolate Heaven
Calling all chocoholics. Hundreds of chocolate treats—cakes, brownies, candies, cookies and cupcakes—will be available for tasting during the Kennett Chocolate Festival on Feb. 9 to benefit the United Way of Southern Chester County. Bring your family and friends, then sample all you want—for a mere $5. Contestants will vie for ribbons in these categories: professionals, amateurs and students. Don’t miss the fun at Kennett High School. For the hardcore, check out the Salon du Chocolat Wine and Chocolate Evening, in a private home, on Feb 1. For more, hit kennettchocolate.org.
More Chocolate
Calling all bakers, judges and volunteers. it is time once again to get ready and excited about the eighth annual Wilmington Chocolate Festival. It happens Feb. 15—Valentine’s Day—at the recently renovated and reopened Wilmington Library in Rodney Square. Look for more here soon.
