Summer’s Here At Last
We’ve waited all year for Downtown Rehoboth Beach Restaurant Week June 3-9. Thanks to Rehoboth Beach Main Street, the best restaurants in every foodie’s favorite town will offer three-course dinners for $20 and-or $30 prix-fixe dinners, many with wine pairings (or beer, or sake) for small upcharge. Some even offer a $10-$15 prix-fixe lunch menu. Look who’s in: Hari Cameron’s new a(MUSE), the classic Adriatico, fun stop Arena’s, the sublime Back Porch Café, trendsetting Blue Moon, Jay Caputo’s new Cabo Modern Mexican Tequila Bar, charming Café Azafran—and that doesn’t even get us through the ABCs. Who else is in? There’s Catchers, The Cultured Pearl, Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, Eden Restaurant, Espuma, Jam Bistro, Lupo di Mare, Pig + Fish Restaurant Company, Stingray Sushi Bar & Asian Latino Grill, Victoria’s Restaurant and many more—over 30 in all. So mark your calendar. To see the menus as they’re announced, hit the Web site. downtownrehoboth.com
We Love Wine
Here’s a first we expect will become the first of many: The Brandywine Food & Wine Festival, presented by The Brandywine Valley Wine Trail and The Town Dish, on June 9 in West Chester, Pa. About 15 area wineries will offer tastings while you graze on a variety of foods made by local artisan cheese makers, beekeepers, restaurants and caterers. There will also be local crafts, as well as local bands Big Package Band and Amy Ash & the Volcanoes. Among the highlights, Jonathan Amann, chef at Amani’s BYOB restaurant and two-time winner of Best Chef in Chester County, will conduct a demonstration pairing local foods with local wine. And Victor Ykoruk, winery and vineyard advocate for Pennsylvania, will conduct two wine seminars about locally grown and produced Chambourcin and Chardonnay grapes. Live and silent auctions feature such prizes as free rental of the special events room at Black Walnut Winery (value $375), season passes for Kreutz Creek Vineyard’s summer concert series (value $100) and private rental of the tasting room at Penns Woods Winery (value $250). All the fun happens from noon till 6 p.m. at Myrick Conservation Center. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the gate. We’re stoked. (610) 444-3842, pawinefestival.com
Best of the Beach
Alison Blyth has earned her stripes, having opened the landmark La La Land and Yum Yum Bistro in Rehoboth Beach, which, though long gone, are still not forgotten. In fact, they’re remembered quite fondly. So it was not a surprise that Blyth’s go fish! fish + chips was a hit right out of the box. Since then she’s taken her jolly good concept to the highway. Go brit! fish + chips opened recently across Del. 1 from Bethany Blues in Lewes, and it’s on its way to enormous local popularity. It’s the name of the game at the beach: The strong survive, the smart thrive, and everyone else falls by the wayside. Seasoned restaurateurs like Blyth know how to make it work. Hence the news this year. The best new restaurants at the beach belong to established owners. There’s Jay Caputo’s new Cabo, Hari Cameron’s a(MUSE), Lisa DiFebo-Osias’s Bus Stop and a whole lot more. Get the full roundup from food writer Pam George in this month’s beach guide. Check it out here.
In the Market
Drivers who pass by the red barn at the corner of Cave Neck Road and Del. 1 in Milton have probably noticed an increase in activity over the past few summers. Wally and Dawn Goff, who bought the farm in 2009, keep adding to what’s now known as Dawn’s Country Market. Visiting children feed chickens, pet Chunk-Chunk the cow and cuddle a kitten. Adults go for the produce. “We grow most of what we sell: heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, cucumbers, potatoes and onions,” says Wally Goff, naming just a few of the farm’s offerings. “I don’t claim to be the best, but I certainly try.” Dawn’s Country Market is one of the many places in the Delaware area that offer fresh produce. Indeed, 12 new farmers markets opened this spring, boosting the total to 27. That’s not to mention roadside produce stands and other markets. All together, it’s staggering. Pam George shows you how to navigate. If you like to eat local and eat fresh, you need to click here.
