December 4th, 2011
The coastal town of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, was founded in 1873. It is only 1.6 square miles and the name Rehoboth means “place (or space) for all”. The town has done such a great job in keeping its visitors coming year round, practically. Restaurants stay open; some might close for a couple of months only. Beach eateries, cafes, bars, bistros, all serving a variety of good food for all tastes.
So….on Friday evening, with a couple of friends, we decided on Lupo di Mare located at 247 C Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971. Tel. 302-226-2240. Website? www.lupodimarerehoboth.com. The restaurant offers take-out. And, if you are staying at Hotel Rehoboth, then, you can even order room service.
Lupo di Mare has been in the community for more than several years. It is known for its fresh cuisine; pastas and sauces are prepared daily.
Lupo di Mare serves Italian cuisine, has a very good selection of wines, including small boutique Italian wines.
A small bar is located to the right as you enter the restaurant; a full menu is available there, as well.
The room opens up; tables comfortably assembled and a little nook here or there conducive to lingering chatter. We lingered so much, we closed the restaurant. What can I say? It was relaxing!!
Sheila was our server. She was also our server back on June 13th when right before the season got crazy we went to check Lupo. She is attentive; not intrusive and her suggestions have been the best.
The first thing arriving at the table was Lupo’s focaccia bread accompanied with Virgin Olive Oil. Herbs, a tad sweet; so good.
Two starters were ordered:
The Grilled Artichokes with Sea Salt, Fresh Herbs, Lemon and Virgin Olive Oil. I have had them before and they were still so very good.
The Shaved Brussels Sprouts came just like the picture shows it. A mixture of Truffle Oil and Pecorino Cheese made this a favorite. It is also one of those “raw” foods. Please do order this starter. It is amazing.
A Fall Farm Vegetable & Mixed Green Salad was full of color and gorgeous vegetables. This was a new salad for the season.
An Arugula Salad was what I ordered and again that Pecorino Cheese, Radish, Red Wine Vinegar and Virgin Olive Oil made this salad a light and refreshing dish.
We were full of expectations for some of the entrees to arrive; new for the season were the scallops and the lamb shank.
The Pan Roasted Scallops with a cauliflower puree, shaved brussels, gold raisins and pine nuts got raved reviews. They were gorgeous and perfectly cooked and the dish looked beautiful. This dish was gluten free so my husband was delighted.
The Braised Lamb Shank, had creamy polenta, rosemary, and a winter veal fennel ragu. It was pretty chilly on Friday and this dish fit the description of “comfort food”.
I had the Pan Seared Sea Bass before. Once again I ordered it since it was so good the last time. It came with a butternut squash risotto, pancetta and spinach. It did not disappoint.
Dessert was ordered for all to share. We chose their Panna Cotta. It was glutten free and we all decided we liked custards. This Northern Italian dessert is made by simmering cream, milk and sugar together and letting it cool to form the custard. Usually, it is served with berries, caramel or chocolate. At Lupo di Mare it is served with berries. I confess; we ordered two.
I think it was time to go but not before I asked Sheila if I could take the lamb shank bone for Addy (my rescue). She had never tasted anything like it. Her review? Bring me more!!
Note: Lupo di Mare is now serving 3 courses for $19 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Check www.lupodimarerehoboth.com to check the menu. It opens daily at 5 p.m.
Have a good one!! Talk to you later….
January 10th, 2010
For being the first week-end after New Year’s I was surprised to see that Rehoboth and Coastal Highway were crowded. I thought everyone would be pretty much worn out after all the shopping, partying, and eating.
Debbie and I were getting together for lunch. You remember her? She went kayaking with me this past summer in Fenwick Island and has been with me to some of the restaurants I have reviewed.
We ended up at Casa DiLeo on 721 Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971. Tel 302-226-8660. The owner and Executive Chef is John J. DiLeo.
Casa DiLeo has been in the area for some time now. It has a big following and back in October they expanded their restaurant. This is the first time that I have seen the expansion and it looked good and certainly added more seating availability.
The hours of operation are: Mondays through Thursdays 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Any time that my friends and I get together for breakfast, lunch or dinner, we must drive the wait staff crazy. We just talk, might glance over the menu, and without missing a beat we keep on talking. We tell them to come back in a little while, many times. It’s just the way it is. But, isn’t it nice to be able to share a meal with best friends? I love it.
Casa DiLeo is a fullfledge restaurant, but I am going to be reviewing lunch time. That is why I went there today. My favorite room is really the first one when you come in. As I come in, the music is playing and I feel the welcoming atmosphere of a Italian trattoria. The colors, the prints; all add to that feeling.
A trattoria is an Italian style eating establishment, less formal than a restaurant, but more formal than a tavern. The service is casual, with the food being mostly regional and local.
Casa DiLeo has a full bar and a very good selection of wines, including the PortoVino Italian wines. Try them and let me know how you like them.
This restaurant has take out and delivery. The specialties are New York Style Pizza, Pasta, Subs, Calzone/Stromboli, Soup and Salads. For dinner, some of their offerings are: Chicken & Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken or Veal Marsala, DiLeo’s Homemade Chesse Lasagna, which is very good, DiLeo’s Homemade Meat Lasagna, which is also delicious.
I usually get the Greek Salad with their balsamic dressing. Both, Debbie and I ordered it today, but we added a slice of pizza for each of us. I had really forgotten how big their portions are. But, check the picture of one slice of NY Style Pizza. The salad was fresh, full of vegetables with a nice slice of Feta cheese on top.
Casa DiLeo has a wide variety of subs. From the traditional subs like Italian to the unique ones like Sausage Parmesan or Veal Parmesan.
The same goes for the Calzone and the Stromboli. Chef DiLeo has his own “Boli” like the DiLeo Boli which is ground beef, Italian seasonings, sauce and cheese.
Calzone? Stromboli? A Calzone is like an Italian turnover which is stuffed with tomato and mozzarella and possibly other ingredients like pizza toppings. The stromboli is a type of turnover filled with various cheeses, Italian meats and veggies. The dough is Italian bread dough.
Everyone has something to say about pizzas. Whether you like the thick or thin crust, I would have to say that Casa DiLeo has a pretty good one. They have non Premium Toppings like tomatoes, low fat cheese, mushrooms, onions, sausage, etc. and they also have Premium Toppings like Bacon, Spinach, Feta Cheese, Anchovies, Portabella Mushrooms and more.
The House Specialty Pizzas; Low Fat Veggie, Diablo Pizza (red devil-hot), Supreme (8 toppings), New York White Ricotta, Mediterranean which has feta cheese, Kalamata olives, spinach, artichokes, fresh tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil. I have had the Diablo Pizza in the past and really enjoyed it.
Casa DiLeo offers about 8 pasta sauces, so you have your pick from tomato sauce to Pomodoro (red) clam sauce.
We come to the sweet endings and how could you leave without having a Canolli with DiLeo’s homemade cream? Very popular and award winning is DiLeo’s Chocolate Mousse, and one of my favorite desserts is the Zabaglione with fresh berries. We did manage to leave without having dessert.
Zabaglione is a dessert made with egg yolks, sugar, Marsala wine or Prosecco and sometimes cream, mascarpone cheese or whole eggs. It is a very light custard.
And off we went, with a slower gait, but happy…
Another cold night in the beautiful Delmarva Peninsula…but I will talk to you later…
Note: Information on trattoria, Calzone, Stromboli and Zabaglione was taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/trattoria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/calzone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stromboli_(food) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabaglione
0 Comments