July 23rd, 2018
Many years ago when I first came to the Delaware Beaches, Bethany Beach became my home for a long time. My first friendships were made there. Over the years life happens. Happyness, marriages, children, grandchildren, divorces, and yes, even death have impacted our lives. New friends have been made but you always remember those first ones. We were so young then.
Deveraux is one of those friends that then moved out of town. We still text or call during our birthdays in March, but we have not been together much. This week-end she came to Rehoboth Beach. Oh yes, this rainy weekend, so no beach time for us but plenty of activity, eating and catching up did happen.
Friday was going to be the best day so she arrived by lunch time. Arriving in Downtown Rehoboth Beach, we were hungry. Something light is what we wanted. We decided on The Back Porch. This restaurant is one of the oldest restaurants in Downtown Rehoboth Beach. Liked by many and in competition with plenty of other restaurants in town. I had not been there in quite a few years.
Deveraux had the Seared Day Scallops, Thai Red Curry, and Sesame Noodles. She loved this dish.
I had the Burrata Salad, which was light and very good. Would have loved to have had it topped with scallops or something else but there were no changes to be made at The Back Porch. I can see if the restaurant was crowded but with only a couple of people having lunch at 2 p.m. what would have been the big deal? Go figure.
Happy Hour at my house with Annie visiting from Bethany Beach. Deveraux had made marinated Chicken Wings…Gluten Free. Easy fixing. First cook the wings in oil in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Then make a marinade of Whiskey, brown sugar and mustard. You can mix different kinds of mustards. Then marinade for at least 24 hours. Put them in the oven at 400 degrees for about half hour or so. Check them and if you like them well done then you know what you need to do.
Friday really was a perfect day. Our next stop was going to be a(Muse), located on Baltimore Ave. in Downtown Rehoboth Beach. This restaurant is great for foodies. If you are one of those people that want quantity vs. quality, then this might not be an eatery for you. All we wanted was to graze. A little bit of this or a little bit of that.
Two different types of Rose for us. One dryer than the other. Perfect.
People stuff squash blossoms. This is what they would look like.
We share the Smoked Salmon Squash Blossoms. Dill, croutons, and heirloom tomatoes. Love, Love!
We also ordered a salad of Baby Kale, boquerones, pine nuts, golden raisins, lemon vinaigrette dressing and parmesan cheese. Boquerones are originally from Spain. I think they are delicious. They are fresh anchovies, marinated in vinegar.
Our next shareable was the Middleneck Clams…they had country ham, tomatillo, and green tomato. I had a problem with this dish. It look so beautiful and appetizing. But, it really was too spicy and you could not taste the steamed clams. And yes, we did tell our server. Usually you would have liked to dip bread in this sauce, but not this time. Honestly said, hopefully they took the hint.
The pasta with Maryland Crab, heirloom tomato, celery and fennel was a dish we really ennjoyed and wished we would have ordered the whole portion instead of the half. You could have this with a salad and be pretty content.
Our sweet ending of 3 scoops of our choice of ice cream was truly excellent. Made in house. They were delicious. One was a Brie Ice Cream, a Vanilla, and I cannot remember the other.
We took off for the Bandstand to listen to the last of the music.
And last but not least…..Funland to play Whack a Mole. This is a tradition and a must. Sorry Deveraux, but I had to put you on the blog.
And so our weekend did continue. Sometimes there is no friend like an old friend. These types of friendships are the comfort food of our relationships.
Talk to you later.
May 23rd, 2011
Rehoboth was so crowded this past week-end. Hard to find a place to park. Thank you Rehoboth Beach for not having to pay for meters yet.
Sunday was the day that we were getting together with a couple of friends. The chosen restaurant was The Back Porch Cafe. At the Delaware Beaches this restaurant is an institution.
The Back Porch is located at 59 Rehoboth Ave. Tel. 302-227-3674. Website? www.backporchcafecom. Reservations are recommended.
At the Back Porch Cafe you have several choices regarding seating. You can eat indoors, on a beautiful night you can dine al fresco, or you can have the choice of the side porch.
It has been some time since I had stopped by for dinner. The restaurant closes for the winter. In 2009 a gluten free menu was offered. I have to remind you that my husband has to eat gluten free; celiac disease.
As we waited for our friends to arrive I asked to see the menu. I also asked if there was a gluten free menu. The person said that they did not have one; that probably they will have one later on in the season. She said she would go and check with the kitchen but that their restaurant was not a gluten free restaurant. Their menu changes all the time. My answer was that he had a food allergy. She came back from the kitchen and marked the dishes that he would be able to have.
One appetizer and one salad were gluten free. There were 5 entrees to choose from.
On this Sunday evening the Back Porch was not crowded. That was not so on Saturday. They even had to turn people away.
I was trying to figure out what appetizer to choose from; the Char Seared Day Boat Scallop, blood pudding and wilted cavolo nero, blood orange vinaigrette. The blood pudding is what caught my attention. I am sure it was going to be a “morcilla”. Being from Puerto Rico, that is one thing that Isla del Encanto can prepare well.
But no. I chose the Pickled Veal Tongue, Tomato Marmalade, Shaved Ricotta Salata. It was good; a little gamey, which I like, and a very good combination with the tomato marmalade.
My entree was a Roasted Guinea Hen, Sage and Mascarpone Polenta, Fava Beans. It was pretty tasty. The white meat was nice and crispy but the best flavor was reserved for the dark meat even though it was not as crispy. The polenta was good and the fava beans gave the dish the final touch of color.
One person ordered the Yellow Fin Tuna, Corn Blinis, Preserved Lemon Salsa. She loves this dish which is pretty much available all the time. She orders it every time.
Then, a salad. That’s all she wanted.
Another person ordered the Pan Seared Wild Rockfish, with peas, morels and braised butter lettuce. He thought it was delicious.
Then my husband ordered the Grilled Wild King Salmon, with fresh pea colcannon, warm bacon vinaigrette. He liked it even though his choice would have been the crispy veal sweetbread. It had gluten so that was not going to happen.
I asked the table what they thought of their meal. Everyone’s answer was ” good”. My comment was the same. Good, but not the meal that made me want to say “I cannot wait to come back”.
No desserts for us even though there were a few tempting ones.
We were pretty much the last ones to leave. A stopped at the bar and some chatting.
Then, after a few minutes, my question was: What is your policy for someone coming to the restaurant who needs to eat gluten free? His answer was: Policy? If you come to the restaurant with an allergy and there is nothing you can eat on the menu on that day, then you are out of luck.
Basically you need to call a couple of days in advance informing them about the food allergy. Their kitchen is the size of a closet and they cannot make changes, substitutions or additions to the menu.
Otherwise, he continued, they would have to accommodate every person with a restriction, for example, vegetarian, vegan, peanut, and so on and so forth. They are just too busy and simply, cannot do it.
They do not want to substitute ingredients because their dishes are structured in such a way that if they did that then the outcome would not be the same.
To tell you the honest truth, I was a little taken back with the delivery of all this. I have been a customer for a long time and I thought the way it was presented was with some attitude, perhaps? Did not expect it.
There are so many gluten flours in the market and so many products that can be used in order to create the same taste and presentation. They just have to be on hand for the unexpected customer with a food allergy.
In a time when so many customers have dietary restrictions, restaurants are bending over backwards to make you feel comfortable and at ease so that you can enjoy the evening, I found the Back Porch a little rigid and wondered; do they even care if I come back?
Please remember that if you or anyone in your party has a food allergy, call ahead and see what accommodations can be made available to you.
So many restaurants and so many choices….aren’t we lucky?
Certainly an interesting evening with friends….nothing better than to share a meal with the ones that mean the most to you….Talk to you later….
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