September 11th, 2009
 Today was a good day. I had not seen my friend, Cindi, in some time. She is moving back to the Delmarva Peninsula because she cannot forget the feel of the sand beneath her toes besides family and friends.
She stopped by and we decided to go to GreenMan for breakfast. I had never been there but had heard about it and Cindi, had been there some time ago and had gotten one of their organic wheatgrass healthy shots.
GreenMan is located on 12 Wilmington Ave., in Rehoboth Beach. Tel. 302-227-4909.
It is a Juice Bar and Bistro, but it is also an organic gourmet, little restaurant.
GreenMan is open for breakfast and lunch. No alcohol is served and the restaurant is very dog friendly. A take-out menu is available, as well.
It is the type of restaurant that is very laid back and casual, like a beach eatery should be. It is very small, but comfortable and the food is healthy and refreshing.
I had coffee but Cindi had the GreenMan Fresh Juice Combo, which was a combination of kiwi, apple, pear, cucumber and spinach. It was served on a tall glass with a little piece of pineapple as a garnish and at room temperature. I sampled it and you could really taste the cucumber and spinach. It was quite good.
Both of us had the same thing for breakfast, which was the Scottish Smoked Salmon, Local Tomatoes, Red Onion, Capers, Cream Cheese on Toasted Dark Pumpernickel. It was excellent and we both agreed that we would have it again any time.
For such a small restaurant, there were so many things on the menu.
Following is a sample:
For the Breakfast Menu – 8 a.m. until Noon
Traditional Porridge: Organic Steel Cut Oatmeal with our own Lewes Dairy Milk or Soy Milk. You could sweeten it with local honey, maple syrup or brown sugar. Organic toppings like walnuts, almonds, pecans, dried cranberries, were available.
Waffles topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream.
Quiche of the Day.
Homemade Creme Brulee French Toast with bananas or berries. Now, this was different and we saw it coming from the kitchen and it looked fantastic. We gained a few pounds just by looking at it.
There were other items like a wrap, granola with yogurt and fruit, bagels and sides like links of local all natural organic turkey sausage. The toast was pumpernickel or wheatberry.
Their Lunch Menu is from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., and available are an assortment of fresh salads. You can also make a salad a wrap too.
Some of the salads on the menu are: chopped, Caesar, soba noodle, Lebanese (Fattoosh), caprese, and barley tabbouleh. To these salads you may add grilled chicken or tofu for a little extra.
There is no way I could mention, here, the amount of refreshments they have. From Fresh Juice Combos with names like the Cantaloupe Kiss to Fresh Fruit smoothies with names like the Srawberry Seduction and the Healthy Elvis.
Their Tea Smoothies & More did not stay behind with names like Chai Love, Energy Elvis and the Green Hornet.
The teas and organic tea lattes, the healthy shots, and the natural bottled beverages and sodas, were all refreshing choices and different from the everyday drinks.
Besides the salads, they have plenty of gourmet sandwiches, some of them with flat breads, others with whole wheat wraps, ciabatta, or multi grain.
Part of their lunch menu is also their Bistro Grills like the Free Range Buffalo Burger, the Ostrich Burger, the Naked Hippie, and the Eco-Chic, among others. You really should visit this eatery, at some point, when you are in Rehoboth Beach.
Just as they are dog friendly, they are also kid friendly with a menu just for kids.
Every season, GreenMan gets known more and more and people are really enjoying this dining experience, here, in one of my beach towns.
September 5th, 2009
I was putting my thoughts together as I sat, yesterday, not even a block back from the Atlantic Ocean, in my beach town of Rehoboth Beach, but why is it that I feel like I am on a narrow side street in France? When I mentioned this to my friend, Shelley, she thought that I was having too much of an imagination. Nevertheless, that is what I felt.
At the Penny Lane Sidewalk Mall is where I found myself, specifically, at Cafe Papillon, 42 Rehoboth Ave., tel 302-227-7568 and the website is http://Cafepapillon.com/index.php. After Labor Day week-end, the Cafe will open only on week-ends.
This narrow “alley” has a tall clock and just has an aura of a narrow street with shops and eateries on either side. What made it feel French is that I was at an authentic French creperie and patisserie.
Cafe Papillon has been in existence for over 20 years. It is owned by a mother and daughter team, Maya and Penny. Maya fixes the croissants and pastries and her husband, Jerome, is French and makes the crepes. To help them in the summer, they employ French students.
At Cafe Papillon your order is placed standing in front of their establishment, almost like a street stall. On one side the crepes are ordered, cooked and paid for and on the other side is the patisserie, where you can purchase pastries, coffees, lattes, mochas, and so much more. Available seating for customers are small tables with umbrellas and a couple of picket fences, so it makes it really charming and casual.
I chose a crepe made with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and chives. It was made right in front of me and even though there had been a line, waiting, it was worth it plus I really did not have to wait too long. They can take care of 2 customers at a time at 2 windows.
The majority of people were ordering the crepes, from plain ones to the ones filled with fruits or the ones filled with ham and cheese.
I then proceeded to the other window and had a cafe au lait and sat down and people watched, enjoying every minute of it.
Crepes have always been popular, but, what excactly is a crepe? Well, it is a very thin pancake. The word is French, coming from the latin word “crispa” that means curled.
There are 2 types; sweet crepes made with wheat flour and sweetened a bit or made with buckwheat flour and not sweet. These are called savoury galettes. Galette comes from the word galet, which is French for pebble. Originally, crepes were made on a large fire heated pebble.
Batter made from buckwheat flour is gluten-free, which can be eaten and enjoyed by people with a gluten allergy or intolerance.
Crepes are quite diverse because they can be enjoyed as an entree or a dessert.
The word “patisserie” means, a bakery that specializes in pastries and sweets.
I use buckwheat flour all the time. Following is a recipe from Arrow head Mills Organic Buckwheat Flour. It is a gluten free recipe.
Crepes
2/3 cup Buckwheat Flour
1/3 cup Pastry Flour (I use Arrowhead Mills All Purpose Baking Mix Gluten free.)
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups Soy Milk, or Milk Substitute
1 tbsp. honey
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1-2 tbsps. vegetable oil, as needed to cook crepes
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and eggs, and mix well with a fork. Slowly stir in the milk. Add the honey and salt and beat with a wire whisk until the batter is smooth.
Drop a little less than 1/4 cup of batter at a time onto a hot, oiled skillet or crepe pan. Tilt and rotate the skillet to distribute the batter evenly over the bottom of the pan. Cook the crepe until it is done on the bottom (lift the crepe by the edge and look; the bottom should be lightly flecked with brown).
Turn the crepe over and cook briefly on the other side, a few seconds. Repeat this process with the remaining batter, oiling the skillet as necessary to prevent sticking.
Stack the cooked crepes and cover them with a clean cloth until you are ready to fill them.
It will yield 9-10 crepes.
Notes: The Joy of Cooking has a good recipe for crepes, using just flour.
Sometimes the best crepes are the ones just dusted with a little bit of powder sugar or just sprinkled with honey.
Information on crepes was taken from www.enwikipedia.org.siki/Cr%C3%AApe.
Au revoir, mes amis.
August 30th, 2009
Fifer Orchards opened this local market in 2007. Around my beaches we are so lucky that we are able to buy so much fresh produce during the summer months into the fall.
This market is located on 2700 Coastal Highway or Rt. 1 in Dewey Beach, or the cross street would be Cullent St. The tel. is 302-227-8680. You cannot miss it whether you are traveling north or south.
But, let me tell you, this is not a new market sprouting in my beaches. Fifer Orchards are full of tradition and since 1919 they have been in existence.
Charles F. Fifer was a Virginia farmer that fell in love with the moderate climate and hearty soil of the region. He bought several farms and originally he was growing apples, peaches, pears and grapes. They were then shipped to different areas from the Wyoming, Delaware train station.
Today, it is a very modern operation that owns 2,500 acres, growing all kinds of produce.
Their Country Store is located on 1919 Allabands Mill Rd., Wyoming, DE 19934. Tel. 302-697-2141. Website is www.fiferorchards.com. Please check their website because they have events that go on all the time. You can pick your own, have birthday parties, group tours, school tours, you name it. You can even get a virtual tour of the farm on your computer.
My interest is that their Dewey Beach local market is only about 1 mile from my house. So, there I was, checking it out and how pleasantly surprised I was.
The produce looked beautiful; arranged perfectly. But, it is not only produce, it is a whole market. From locally made ice cream with Fifer fruits, to preserves, jams, salsas, Dietz & Watson’s meats, fresh baked breads, sugar free apple butter and nuts. They also carry Lewes Dairy milk and cream.
This is the perfect place to visit if you would like to go to the beach and take a picnic. Some of the ready to go salads were: Greek Quinoa, Edamame, Hummus and Guacamole and a Mexican Chicken Salad.
Two of their salsas got my attention. The Mucho Spicy Salsa with tomatillos, chilis, cilantro, garlic and kosher salt. And the other was the Some Like It Hot Salsa and it had the same ingredients of the Mucho Spicy one, except that instead of chilis, it had jalapenos. Ay, caliente!!
Other products made with Fifer Orchards’ produce were sauces like Thai Peanut, Tequila Chili, Peachy Chipotle and the Peach Grilling Sauce.
Spending some time at my beaches and having some people over? Well, do not despair, because they have party trays available for your guests. Just give them notice.
For breakfast, at the local market, you will find bagels, muffins, scones and other fresh baked pastries, as well as croissant sandwiches.
For lunch, they have salads and Panini-Style sandwiches, and other Deli sandwiches.
For dinner, they have Rottiserie Chicken and BBQ Ribs. You may even get fresh cut steaks and fish. Just call to the above telephone and ask for the current selections.
While I was visiting this market, everyone was very helpful and most of all friendly. The new breed of Fifers have a legacy to maintain and it looks like they are doing a great job. They should be very proud of this store.
Writing about all this food has made me hungry so how about if I add a recipe to this post?
Asparagus, Walnut & Goat Cheese Salad
1 cup walnut halves (4 oz.)
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
2 lbs. medium asparagus, tough ends removed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsps. sherry vinegar
1 large scallion, white and light green only, minced
1 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
1 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool, then break in half lengthwise.
Toast fennel in a small skillet over moderately high heat until fragrant and golden, about 1 minute. Set aside.
Steam asparagus spears over high heat until just tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and let dry. Cool, then cut diagonally into 2″ lengths.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk olive oil with vinegar, scallion, tarragon, mint and fennel seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Add asparagus and walnuts to bowl and toss. Add goat cheese. Adjust seasonings and serve.
Always make the recipes your own and enjoy them.
This one will serve 6.
Note: Information on Fifer farms was taken from www.fiferochards.com
August 13th, 2009
The Crystal Restaurant is definitely a meeting place for my group of friends when we get together for breakfast. Pretty much there are 4 of us that get together; Debbie, Missy, Roberta and myself. But, in the summer months we might have Alice. Remember her? I walked with her a while back on the boardwalk and was posted on this blog. And, maybe her sister, Sheila, might join us too, or another Debbie from Lewes. What I am saying is that it is a comfortable restaurant for friends to get together and catch up.
Throughout this summer I have met friends there several times and even though I am not a big fan of sitting down for breakfast and ordering all the eggs and breads, etc., there is nothing better than the company of these women.
The Crystal Restaurant is located on 620 Rehoboth Ave., and even though there is another address that shows up when trying to locate the restaurant, I called them and they confirmed that their address is the one mentioned above. The tel. is 302-227-1088.
The Crystal has plenty of parking, but it gets crowded, more so, in the summer months. People even wait outside to get in. They move pretty fast so I don’t think you will have to wait long unless it is a Sunday. Just like everywhere else, everyone goes out for breakfast on Sunday.
Their menu is complete with all the breakfast foods including make your own omelet, breakfast sandwiches, seasonal fruit plate, sausages, scrapple, my favorite, and bacon.
I love their French toast and have ordered it plenty of times but this time I had their Greek omelet. I really would have liked to have had the chipped beef on toast but I was a good girl and did not order it. I think I told you some time ago that I am watching my figure.
Yeah, some times I watch it go downhill and some times I feel as it is a losing battle, but at the moment I am being good. Back to breakfast, some of the women, ordered scrambled eggs with sausage and some had the fried eggs. And, of course, there is the one that ordered the egg white omelet with no home fries, bread, or breakfast meat. Really, why bother?
Seriously, the food at Crystal is good, reasonable, consistent and the waiters are pretty busy trying to serve everyone expeditiously. It is definitely, a breakfast place but they are also open for lunch until 4:00 p.m. with a full bar. Take-out is available too.
I think that whether you are in Rehoboth Beach or Dewey Beach,you could make Crystal your breakfast hangout, just like we do, here at my beaches, sooo….until next time.
July 27th, 2009
I have been going to McCabe’s for many years. It is such a nice gourmet store. I wanted to get some pate, and they always have a good selection. Their pates are from a company called Three Little Pigs. I had to check them out closely because, my husband has celiac disease and has to follow a gluten free diet. I could not buy the truffles pate but I bought the Campagne and the Au Poivre and they were both delicious.
Their store is nice and cozy and you may eat indoors or outside, weather permitting. You find customers just coming for lunch or ordering take out. Or, just coming to have a cup of coffee and a croissant or other baked goods. I know that in the winter they have great soups too. They also have a freezer, so they have great goodies to take home for a later time. One of those treats is their Queso (Mexican Cheese Dip) and I happen to have that recipe because years ago when I was part of a group that put together a school cookbook, they graciously donated their recipe and I will be posting it on my next blog.
This market has great salads, carry a pretty good selection of gourmet foods, olive oils, pastas, etc.
Another reason to know this market is that you may order ready to go gourmet gift baskets or customize your own. You can find some great cookbooks and magazines all catering to foods. Their prices are comparable to a lot of the gourmet shops in all the beaches in the area. It is easy to get to since it is at the end of South Bethany, on Coastal Highway, the last strip mall, with plenty of parking too.
I hope you like it, and let me know what you think.
Until then, Gloria
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