The Brandywine is a new brasserie on Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilmington.
The First State is witnessing a flurry of new openings, from casual takeaway to fine dining.
Meanwhile, restaurants have released Thanksgiving menus. We’ll keep you posted as more become available. And they are starting holiday gift card promotions.
New and upcoming restaurants
The Brandywine will open on Nov. 14 at 2000 Pennsylvania Ave., Wilmington. That’s the same building as Santa Fe Mexican Grill.
The Brandywine calls itself an “upmarket brasserie” interpreting “classic Continental cuisine.”
Roja & Verde Taqueria is preparing to open on North College Avenue in Newark, and I got a sneak peek this week. Try the tamales—some of the best I’ve had outside Albuquerque.
The small counter-service restaurant will announce the grand opening date on social media.
Between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, Henlopen Pizza Kitchen has opened in El Dorado’s old space.
Briefly, the site was a second Dos Locos location.
The new restaurant is next to Coastal Taproom on Route 24 (18766 John J. Williams Highway) just off Route 1. Order online.
Dash In recently opened locations at 405 Middletown Warwick Road in Middletown and 154 N. du Pont Highway in New Castle.
The fresh-food menu emphasizes breakfast and lunch items, including bacon, egg and cheese on a croissant, double meat pizzas, wraps, salads and wings.
The website gives the items’ calorie count. I’d avoid that page unless you want to read it and weep. The site also lists gas prices for each location.
More than 50 Dash In stores are now in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
But now, each happy hour day has an additional special menu item.
For instance, grilled smash burgers with cheese are available on Monday, and tacos are on Tuesday.
Part of the Thanksgiving buffet at Crooked Hammock.
Thanksgiving plans, for dining in or taking out
Crooked Hammock restaurants will also have an unlimited Thanksgiving buffet this year, and the menu has something for everyone. Along with turkey, the main dishes include salmon ham, tenderloin and chicken pot pie.
The price is $39 per person and $19 for children 12 and under.
For a fine-dining setting, consider Le Cavalier in the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, which is planning a three-course fixed-price dinner from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The menu includes turkey with herbes de Provence, foie gras tartine with butternut squash, marmalade and pomegranate, and haricots verts with mushroom mornay.
The family-style dinner is $75 per person.
Sonora in Newark has a package for $29 per person for to-go options.
Owner Melissa Ferraro likes to add a twist to the classics. For instance, the menu includes pumpernickel sausage stuffing and jalapeno creamed corn.
It’s never too soon to order your meal. Toscana to Go, for instance, regularly sells out.
The Trolley Square store features complete dinners for six ($150) or 12 ($265). You can also order only sides. Place your order online.
Pan-roasted pork tenderloin is an addition to the menu at Piccolo Toscana.
Meanwhile, the adjacent Piccolina Toscana introduced a new menu this week with such autumnal delights as pan-roasted pork tenderloin with fried new potatoes and salciccia (sausage) pizzette with roasted red pepper.
Soup from chefs trained at Food Bank
The soup sale of the Food Bank of Delaware is a warming win-win for culinary students and customers.
Under expert chefs’ guidance, the students hone their craft, and proceeds go toward student scholarships. For customers, it’s a quick and easy meal.
The $18 fee includes 2 quarts of soup, bread and specialty butter. The Nov. 13 menu, for instance, includes gluten-free Tuscan bean, a pumpkin roll and honey butter.
Place your by 11 a.m. on Tuesday and pick it up at the food bank in Newark or Milford on Thursday. Order here.
Wine, dine and listen at The Room at Cedar Grove
In Lewes, The Room at Cedar Grove has become a destination for those who want dinner and a show.
Co-founder Paul Cullen started The Room to showcase local, regional and national acts. That’s not surprising, given the musician toured with Bad Company before becoming a personal chef.
On Saturday, Nov. 4, Cullen will cook a five-course wine dinner and then perform.
Cullen, who has an in-home dining/private concert business, specializes in Italian cuisine, and the menu includes bruschetta, antipasti, risotto and tortellini.
Given he also has a wine company, you can guess the label of the wine he’ll pour. The cost is $95 per person—email [email protected] for reservations.
Most concerts in The Room include meals. Melody Trucks will perform on Nov. 10 with the Fitzkee Brothers (young, local musicians) and the $75 fee includes a wine dinner.
However, Cullen recently began offering a food-only option; you can buy beverages at the bar.
Go, go, Dogfish Head
On Saturday, Nov. 18, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery’s annual Analog-a-Go-Go festival returns in the brewery’s Milton Tasting Room & Kitchen.
Scheduled from noon to 4 p.m., the festival includes live music and an outdoor artisanal marketplace where vendors will sell records, vintage goods, crafts, apparel and jewelry.
Of course, there will also be 14 beer and spirit samples.
Moreover, Dogfish Head will unveil a new collaboration with Juniper Ridge, an independent personal care brand based in Oakland, California.
“Walk With Wildness” is a ready-to-drink bottled whiskey cocktail.
It’s also the name of a personal care line that includes cologne, room spray and incense made with the essence of Dogfish’s Let’s Get Lost whiskey barrel and a blend of Juniper Ridge botanicals.
Unusual? Not for Dogfish Head.
Analog-a-Go-Go tickets are $50 per person and $15 for designated drivers.
Customer Appreciation Day at the Lewes Farmers Market includes free samples of Old World Bread brownie bites, gluten-free brownie bites from Grateful Bakery and Fifer Orchards apple cider.
Giving thanks at Lewes Farmers Market
This Saturday is Customer Appreciation Day at the Historic Lewes Farmers Market, which runs from 9 a.m. to noon in the Lewes Elementary School parking lot.
Head to the information tent for free Old World Bread brownie bites, gluten-free brownie bites from Grateful Bakery and Fifer Orchards apple cider.
Vendors throughout the market will have tokens of appreciation.
Gift card promotions, discounts at Harry’s, Bonefish
It’s one of the happiest times of the year: Harry’s Hospitality Group is offering its gift card deal.
Buy a $100 gift card, and you’ll receive an extra $20 card to use at Harry’s Savoy Grill or Kid Shelleen’s Charcoal house locations in Trolley Square or Brandywine Hundred.
Give one and keep one. Give two. Or just keep both—it’s a great deal.
The bonus cards are valid Jan. 1, 2024, through March 31, 2024. Visit one of the restaurants to purchase or go online.
Bonefish Grill – which has a location in Concord Mall – is also running a gift card promotion.
Buy a $50 gift card between Nov. 7 and Dec. 31 and receive a $10 bonus card.
Also, on Saturday, Nov. 11, the chain will offer a free order of bang bang shrimp—crispy shrimp in a creamy, spicy sauce—and a soft beverage to service members, veterans and first responders with valid ID. No purchase is required for the Veterans Day deal.
All year, Bonefish Grill gives a 10% discount to service members, veterans and first responders.
The Brandywine will open on Nov. 14 at 2000 Pennsylvania Ave., Wilmington. That’s the same building as Santa Fe Mexican Grill.
