Back from beach bumming

It seems like I've been gone much longer than a week. Then again, it doesn't feel long enough.

A week's vacation at the beach has me re-energized.

Good friends, family and lots of good food. That's the ticket.

However, that old saying, "You'll never know how many friends you have until you get a place at the beach" was certainly true last Sunday. I stopped counting when I got to 23 bodies crowding the sand, and, later, the decks, of our house. Thank God, the cold brewskis, bottles of sparkling wine and plates of pulled BBQ pork were flowing freely....

We're a group that enjoys cooking on a vacation (I'm a wacky food writer, what do you expect?) but I did get a chance to get out and about. Not as much as I would have liked, but, well, here's a few quick notes:

- Best doughnuts in the world: The Fractured Prune near Rehoboth Beach. Soft and hot with really funky flavors. (Lemonade doughnut? Why not? And hey, who counts calories on vacation?)

- I can't let the summer go without a vanilla and chocolate twisted frozen custard cone from Kohr Bros. And the next day I got an orange and vanilla twist just to make sure I had all my bases covered. I get all Corey Haim when it comes to frozen custard. It's my addiction, my version of crack.

- Really spicy, tasty Bloody Mary on the deck of the Rusty Rudder. Don't eat there though - the Rudder is not known for good food. We had breakfast first at the Sunrise in Dewey. Not bad pancakes and bacon, though we were really glad we didn't see the ants on the table until AFTER breakfast. Order a drink at the Rudder and enjoy the view of Rehoboth Bay. Be prepared to pay for it, though. A Grey Goose Bloody was $8.50, (plus 50 cents for the Bloody Mary mix.) Seriously. That's what it read on the bill.

- The peaches from Bennett Orchards in Frankford (bought at a farm stand on Rt. 26 near Bethany) are insanely juicy and sweet this year. This farm is a Delaware treasure.

- Local corn and cantaloupes are outstanding too. Local tomatoes are just starting to gear up. And I saw the Tomato Sunshine stand is back in business after a fire earlier this year.

- Friends went for hardshell crabs at Mickey's Family Crab House in Bethany Beach one night and left, sans crabs, - in a STATE OF SHOCK. One dozen medium-sized crabs were $72.

No lie! That's 6 beans PER CRAB. You people crazy? They had dinner at the Bluecoast instead and couldn't have been happier. (Just had takeout steamed hardshell crabs from Feby's Fishery on Lancaster Pike, which, I believe, were $38 a dozen for large...so c'mon now.....72 beans is highway robbery.)

- Beautiful Foods in Rehoboth hooked us up with a wonderfully creamy gorgonzola - to eat with those peaches- and a smoked salmon, goat cheese and sundried tomato spread to eat with crackers.

- The Sussex County resort area restaurant scene seems to be doing OK in this economy - still the same old lines outside of Nicola Pizza and Big Fish Grill - though I had to shake my head at places like the Back Porch Cafe that are still charging $35 plus for entrees - and weren't filling seats in the dining rooms.

- Really want to check out the new Shag restaurant on Wilmington Avenue - right next to the Planet X. It looks very funky and had a good Sat. night crowd. Didn't get a chance to get over to Stingray, new sushi spot from Mikimotos owner Darius Mansoory. Saving them both for another beach trip very soon.

- Had a wonderful tomato salad and grilled mahi-mahi one night at NorthEast Kitchen in Ocean View.

-NorthEast Kitchen/Bluecoast owner Matt Haley's new Lupo di Mare Cucina Italiano in Rehoboth Beach is definitely worth a visit.

It's Italian, but the cuisine is much closer to what you'll find in Italy rather than a Italian-American restaurant. The stuffed squash blossoms with ricotta and pork were excellent ($6) as was the grilled balsamic marinated lamb leg steak with zucchini strings and rosemary potatoes ($20.) I wish the wine list was a little deeper with Italian vinos, but Lupo shows much promise.

MORE TO COME - i.e. a Taste review - ON THIS RESTAURANT SOON. Stay tuned.

- Patricia Talorico