“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.” anthelme brillat-savarin
Everyone’s is a food critic these days. I find that the experience comes from eating out often. It is actually very personal. You might love the restaurant and then someone will come back saying; what were you thinking?
The more relaxed you are while eating, the best it will be for you and your dining companion.
Kris Etze and I chose The Station on Kings located at 720 Kings Highway, Lewes, DE 19958. Tel. 302-645-0300. You can reserve tables online and the restaurant has plenty of parking. They are open from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Early morning coffee and baked goods are served. Every day you can enjoy lunch and dinner. Website? http://www.thestationlewes.com
Kris is a well known local personal chef. If you would like to know more about her…..she gives cooking classes too, please check her website http://www.abracadinner.com.
I love to see a beautiful plate full of colorful and well seasoned food. Kris can dissect how perfectly cooked a dish is. A pro at what she does.
The Station on Kings is a one stop shop. Beautifully displays of food, baked goods, home accessories.
Our server was very attentive. We ordered some wine and then jumped into the appetizers.
Have you ever had Blistered Shishito Peppers? Or, even know what they are?
Up close and personal…here is the photo. They are great for snacks. Easy to “blister” too. They are from Japan and sweet. But, caution is in order. 1 in 10 peppers are spicy. Don’t worry, nothing extreme. People that are in the know like Kris, will probably tell you that high heat and quick cooking is what you want. You want them fairly firm but with charred blisters on all sides.
My expert told me they were perfectly cooked. And me, the eating expert, will tell you that they were mild. The dipping sauce of kimchi aioli was also very good.
There is plenty to choose if you are vegetarian or have to eat gluten free.
Kris chose the Vegetarian Risotto. This dish was composed of farro, grilled corn, shaved fennel, house ricotta and chives. It was a nice portion and Kris really commented on how good it was.
I really do love octopus, so every time I see it being offered I order it. You want it to be firm but not dry and chewey and at The Station on Kings it did not disappoint. Perfectly done!! It was served with smoked potatoes, romesco, chorizo jam and salsa verde. Romesco is a tomato-based sauce that originated in Tarragona, Catalonia. The sauce was made by fishermen and should be eaten with fish.
Our choice for a sweet ending was Stone Fruit Frangipane Tart. A frangipane is made with almonds or almond flavoring, butter, sugar and eggs. The combination of cherries and roasted apricots was delicious. Cardamon almonds, brown butter caramel, and rum toffee ice cream. What can I say? Awesome!!
I am looking at these photos and I am salivating. Summer 2019 has brought the local restaurants to bring the best of what they have. Just yummy!!
Check my FB page AboutMyBeaches and comment if you have made it already to The Station on Kings.
Until then, Relax, You are at The Beach.
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When we share a meal with friends, it is so much more than food (really?)…and, when we share it with girlfriends, and for purposes of this post, like the Swirl Girls, then it is really priceless. Some of us have known each other for years while others, are getting to know each other very fast. Here we were trying to figure out which table would be the best one. Right after Memorial week-end we had the place to ourselves since we arrived early. We did not want a big table. We like to be cozy in order to get that conversation going. The group had just gone to watch the Book Club, if you get my drift.
The majority of us had not yet dined at Our Harvest. This restaurant located at 1106 Coastal Hwy., Fenwick Island, DE 19944, opened last year. Every day, at 5:00 p.m., you can come in and experience a way of eating that has become so popular in the U. S. Telephone is 302-581-0377. No reservations are accepted. The website is http://www.ourharvestde.com.
As the season progresses please have in mind when you would like to eat. You have to have a plan because it gets crowded at the Delaware Beaches. If you arrive and there is a wait, you could have cocktails, relaxing in their bar or in any of the very comfortable leather sofas.
There is an open concept kitchen. You really can see how the kitchen is running. I have to tell you that I probably should have come to try Our Harvest last year. I love their sister restaurant, Liquid Assets, in Ocean City, MD, and I did not want to like this one more. Guess what? They are completely different.
The menu was presented and our server knew the menu well. She explained the concept of eating small plates and shareables. At that moment all we wanted was some wine. Having watched the Book Club, wine was very much consumed by the characters. It was time to relax. The wine that you see at the table was from South Africa. A full bodied Merlot called Immortal Hero.
At first you are a bit overwhelmed because you, actually, do not know how much to order for the table. And, we all have our likes and dislikes. We managed to do a good job and we were all very pleased with how the evening was progressing. Could not believe Jane Fonda looks that good at 81… I know, I know.
We all decided to have a small plate to start our dining experience. Every time I see the offering of a Grilled Caesar Salad, I order it. Years ago I had it at a restaurant in Hagerstown, Maryland. Since then, a few have gotten close at how good that one tasted so I wanted to see how this one would be, more so because it had Boquerones which are white anchovies. They are very mild and usually they are marinated in vinegar. It gives the salad a kick. I will have to say that this Caesar was excellent.
Others ordered the Salt Roasted Beets & Two Cheeses. Served on a wooden plank it had whipped ricotta, Stracciatella, local greens, black pepper and beet vinaigrette. Stracciatella cheese is produced from Italian buffalo milk in the southern Italian region of Apulia. They use a stretching and shredding technique. This particular small plate could have been shared by two people.
We ordered the Spring Harvest Flatbread. A crispy crust filled with local peas, ramps, morel mushrooms, local asparagus, ricotta, gruyere mornay, green garlic pesto and crispy capers. Ramps are a special type of wild onion, found in eastern Canada and U.S. And a Gruyere mornay is a bechamel sauce that has Gruyere cheese added to it. It was delicious but to tell you the truth we probably ordered too much. Not that we did not eat it, by the way.
“Friendship is a delicious meal to be shared off one large plate.” So, we decided to order our large plates. This particular dish I truly loved. It was called the Vegan Feast. It was a whole wood fire roasted head of cauliflower, benne cashew crumb, and a lemon garlic vegan aioli. At first we thought it was cheese but it was the benne cashew crumb. Cashews are lower in fat than other nuts. You can find online a lot of recipes for this vegan seed.
A very popular dish at Our Harvest is a whole Amish air chilled chicken…Arnold Palmer brine, (sweet tea and lemonade brine chicken, I believe), wood fired with lemon and rosemary. Liquid Assets has an amazing chicken, as well. Both chickens are completely different and delicious in more ways than one. We ordered TWO.
Needless to say, no need for dessert. We decided that definitely we would be back. Thanks to our server and also to the hostess that so graciously explained to me how the restaurant worked.
And so I end my post with this quote from John Lanchester….”Hospitality is central to the restaurant business, yet it’s a hard idea to define precisely. Most, it involves being nice to people and making them feel welcome. You notice it when it’s there, and you particularly notice it when it isn’t. A single significant lapse in this area can be your dominant impression of an entire meal.”
Until next time….
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A Delmarvalous full moon, no less!! It was gorgeous. I stood on Lewes Beach, Delaware, to admire it.
Then, off to Bethany Blues, Lewes, located at 18385 Coastal Highway. A craving for ribs and barbecue chicken. Tel. 302-644-2500. Website? http://www.bethanyblues.com. Love coming here when I least expect it.
I give Bethany Blues and Big Fish Grill big thanks for being so aware of customers with food allergies and sensitivities. In my family’s case, it is a gluten allergy. Bethany Blues Manager will come to your table to discuss your allergy and your food options.
The restaurant was comfortably crowded and the fire was glowing. We sat at the bar area.
A dish that I would say “gotta have it” is the Crispy Pork Belly. It is an appetizer. Basically, you get cured pork bellies with a vinegar/apple cider sauce. Just a little bit is enough. Delicious.
An order of St. Louis Ribs which were thick and meaty, prepared with a brown sugar rub, smoked for a long time. The mashed potatoes were made out of red skin potatoes.
The Cheesy Creamed Corn….customers’ favorite.
My Saucy Delmarva Chicken was smoked and seasoned and then brushed with their house sauce. The meat fell off the bones, true!! And, that Sussex Medley, was a mix of garbanzo beans, diced cucumbers, tomatoes, onions with chopped cilantro in a light vinaigrette. It screamed Summer! That side was sooo good. During the summer months, when the veggies are at their best, this Sussex Medley is made with local tomatoes and cucumbers.
Some of their award winning sauces are gluten free.
The background music was good tonight. Live music on Fridays and Saturdays with Sydney’s Music Revival starting at 8:30 p.m.
Friday, 2/1 is Deb Callahan Band – Philadelphia’s blues and soul drenched vocalist and songwriter. Check http://www.debcallahanband.com.
Saturday, 2/2 Keith Mack and Ed Shockley, lifetime musicians will be performing. They are returning to their fan base by popular demand. Check http://www.keithmack.net.
Checking the restaurants that are open year-round….2013 is a new season!!
Comments Off on Crispy Pork Belly, St. Louis Ribs, Barbecue Sauces, Delmarva Chicken, Creamed Corn, Mashed Potatoes, Sussex Medley…Gluten Free!! At Bethany Blues, Lewes, Delaware…Live Music, Fridays, Saturdays, Sydney’s Music Revival at 8:30 p.m.
It was going to be my first time visiting Catch 54 after last year’s fire, when they had to completely rebuild the restaurant. Since their opening, at the beginning of the summer, people kept telling me how cool it had turned out. Well, it has taken me until last week to stop by with friends and enjoy a night of laughter, good food, awesome views and great service.
Catch 54 is part of the family of restaurants under SoDel Concepts, http://www.sodelconcepts.com. It is, also, one of Matt Haley’s restaurants.
Catch 54 is located at 38931 Madison Ave., Fenwick Island, DE 19944. Tel. 302-436-8600. Website? http://www.catch54.com. If you are traveling on Coastal Highway, please turn west at the intersection of Rt. 54 and Coastal Highway (Rt. 1), cross over the bridge. You’ll see the restaurant on your right. Turn right, you will find plenty of parking available. Catch 54 is also located on the same spot as Shark’s Cove Marina. The restaurant opens 7 days a week at 11:30 a.m. Happy hour, from 12 until 6 p.m. They do not accept reservations. You can find Catch 54 on Facebook and Twitter.
From Rehoboth Beach, it takes about half an hour, give or take, with the summer traffic. I was rushing to get there before sunset. Catch 54 has one of the most gorgeous views at our Delaware Beaches. It sits right at Little Assawoman Bay; the salt marshes that line the bay are home of many species of waterfowl. At that time of the evening is breathtaking, serene, and peaceful.
Since I don’t like to wait at restaurants, I have started eating late during the height of the season at the Delaware Beaches. So, we decided to meet at around 7:45 p.m., thinking that people would be almost on their way out. Surprised surprise, there were people waiting. No problem, I just went around to take pictures, some sat at the bar, waiting to be called. No rush. Catch 54 has 2 floors with a bar on each one.
At the upstairs bar, there are also booths available for dining, as well.
It was a beautiful evening so the restaurant was showing off how pretty it looked at night.
Indoors is light, and modern, exhibiting the casual atmosphere of our beaches.
There are 2 decks with tables for dining al fresco.
The outdoor dining tables were going to take some time, so we decided to eat indoors. The restaurant has glass windows throughout so you have an excellent view if you are indoors.
Our server came to get us. His name was Michael. As we are walking to our table, I proceeded to tell him that one person in our party had to eat gluten free. His answer? No problem, I have had Celiac disease since I was young. I know exactly what your dietary requirements are. Worry free eating!! No questions!! I bet Catch 54 does not know what an asset he, actually is. It turned out that Michael was also a fantastic server. Very attentive and his suggestions were perfect.
It goes without saying that when I have lunch or dinner with friends….they cannot touch their food until I take pictures. A few try to dive into their entrees, but are usually stopped on their tracks. I also want them to, honestly, tell me how their dinner was.
So, here is what we ordered.
Oysters on the half shell were ordered; the saltier, the better. Chincoteague Salts came on ice and were delicious.
A friend ordered the Heirloom Tomato Salad, on toast, with herbs, grilled red onion, blue cheese, and a Dijon garlic vinaigrette. The tomatoes are still so tasty; green, red, and yellow.
I went with the Crab & Clam Cakes. I thought they sounded different. They had bacon, Parmesan, spicy mayo, micro beets and lemon. They were soooo good. It really was a good combination. Definitely, would order them again in a heart beat.
For our entrees:
A couple decided to order the Fish Camp Stew. It had fresh fin fish, shellfish, white wine, tomato butter broth, and toast. One came without the toast because of the gluten allergy. It had a well seasoned broth, very light and plenty of seafood.
Another person decided to order the Day Boat Scallops on cheese grits, sweet corn, zucchini and PBR tomato jus. She really enjoyed them, and thought they were very good; cooked to perfection.
I loved my fish. I really did. I had the Pan Roasted Whole Trout, on roasted farm beans, Crimini mushrooms, almonds, and lemon butter. The whole fish was so flavorful. I would, definitely, order it again.
Dessert:
We decided to order two desserts.
The Roasted Summer Peach Bread Pudding was served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel. Comfort dessert! Not overly sweet, either.
A Lemon Icebox Pie with Blueberries was the second dessert. Sort of like a key lime pie, except lemons were used.
The person that had to eat gluten free is hoping that Catch 54 brings back a dessert called Flourless Chocolate Torte. This dessert was so good whether you had to eat gluten free or not.
Our Delaware Beaches are full of wonderful restaurants. It really is a dining destination for many. We are so lucky!!
Note: Catch 54 also has a kid’s menu!!
Have a great week! Talk to you later….you know I will.
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