Chewing Less Fat
You’ve made a resolution, and you’re sticking to it. Maybe this will help: Don’t think about losing weight. Think about eating better. Here are meals from favored local places that balance all deliciously.
Home Grown Café in Newark is known for local sourcing and natural-organic ingredients. No dish demonstrates its commitment to healthy eating better than Bun Cha, marinated pork tenderloin that’s charred, sliced, then layered over glass rice noodles in a savory garlic broth. Or go meatless—try it with seitan ($21).
Few meats are leaner than turkey. That makes the turkey burger at 33 West in Dover a solid choice for careful eaters. It also means you can get away with that slice of gooey melted provolone and a dab of garlic aïoli with Montreal steak seasoning.
Also known for local sourcing and natural-organic ingredients is Fresh Thymes in Wilmington. Take your pick of low-fat, healthy foods at this charming bistro, where owner Jen Adams will steer you toward Jess’ Delight for breakfast. That’s hot millet and quinoa with berries, walnuts and Pennsylvania maple syrup ($6) and, for lunch, Katie’s Spinach Salad, a heap of greens topped with beets, goat cheese, raw walnuts, fresh cukes and herbs ($10). We’ll happily recommend the black bean brownies for dessert.
There’s a reason why Seafood Nage (at Nage in Rehoboth Beach) is listed on the menu as a classic—it’s delicious. Loaded with lean fish, it’s also heart healthy. You’ll find an abundance of shrimp, mussels and clams, with plenty of sweet fennel and potatoes, afloat in a sea of saffron-scented tomato broth. Which means you get your daily allowance of lycopene, too ($30). —Mark Nardone
New Deli, Delaware
When Ken Friedman moved away from Wilmington in 1975, there were, he says, three Jewish-style delis. When he moved back in the 1990s, there were none, forcing him to drive to Philly when he needed a good corned beef sandwich. He’s not making that drive anymore. Since opening Bain’s Deli in Wilmington’s LOMA district, he’s done a land office business in corned beef, pastrami and other specialty meats. You may remember Bain’s, a staple in South Jersey and Southeast Pennsylvania, from the Christiana Mall, where it was a fixture until it closed four years ago. The LOMA Bain’s is the same idea, but with a different owner and plenty of seating. (No throwing elbows during the holiday mall frenzy.) That means sandwiches made with top-quality cold cuts, homemade chicken salad, egg salad and tuna salad, homemade sides like cole slaw and potato salad, three soups of the day every day and a variety of chilis. With winter comes heartier fare like hot roast beef and hot turkey, all served in a bright cheerful place that has become one more great reason to hit LOMA. “This is Brooklyn quality, right up there with the best in the country,” Friedman says. (691-3039, bainsdelide.com) —M.N.
