Brick Hotel in Georgetown

Not sure what happened on Friday, but my "forks up" review of Tavern on the Circle at the Brick Hotel didn't make it online.

Here's the box and the scoop.

Address: Tavern on the Circle at the Brick Hotel, 18 The Circle, Georgetown: 855-5800; http://www.thebrickhotel.com/

HOURS: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Thu.; 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun. Reservations recommended.

THE SCOOP: Executive chef and part-owner Joseph Sapienza proves there's so much more to Sussex County dining than scrapple and plates of chicken and dumplings.

TASTEFUL FINDS: Chincoteague oyster stew ($8); cast-iron charred scallops ($12); grilled pork chop with rainbow chard and cranberries and sweet potato puree ($19); and warm cherry cobbler ($7).

By PATRICIA TALORICO

GEORGETOWN - When I told my New Castle County eating posse I was dining in Georgetown, few wanted to jump in the car and join me for dinner.

Most gave me quizzical looks. Georgetown? Really? Why not Rehoboth Beach, the Sussex County sandbox well-known for its innovative cuisine? Or, perhaps, Lewes, the state's up-and-coming dining destination?

Fair or not, there is lingering upstate prejudice toward Sussex restaurants that aren't in beach resort towns. Some people believe, culinarily speaking, that Sussex is simply the home of chicken - and more chicken. And to be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure what to expect at the Tavern on the Circle restaurant, inside the newly renovated Brick Hotel, in Georgetown.

The eaters who didn’t join me missed out, and I'm happy to say that two of the most satisfying dishes I've had in recent months were made by the Tavern's executive chef and part-owner Joseph Sapienza.

The last time I ate in Georgetown, I had a ubiquitous, yet delicious, plate of chicken and slippery dumplings at Smith's Family Restaurant before interviewing celebrity journalist and novelist Dominick Dunne, who was covering the 2005 Walt Disney Co. shareholders trial for Vanity Fair magazine.

At that time, Smith's, a down-home-style eatery on Market Street, was one of the few places to dine in Georgetown when Dunne, actor Sidney Poitier, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and Hollywood talent agent Michael S. Ovitz stormed into town for this clash-of-the-titans showdown.

The Tavern on the Circle wasn't yet in operation. In fact, it's hard to believe that the Brick Hotel, a stately, three-story Federal and Greek revival structure built in 1836 and one of Sussex's oldest brick buildings, had once been slated for demolition to make way for the state Chancery Court building.

The hotel once had been a temporary courthouse, a meeting place for northern sympathizers during the Civil War, and the home of a Wilmington Trust branch for about 40 years. It was eventually saved in a land swap, and Lynn Lester purchased the building a few years ago. Major renovations on the 14-room hotel began in January 2008, and it opened in late December.

Lester says interest in the Brick's restaurant has been strong, especially at lunch, among the local business community, lawyers, judges and area politicians.

The 100-seat main dining room is a perfectly fine space, but it's not nearly as charming as the front 35-seat dining area, known as the Public Square, with its cozy tables and two gas fireplaces.With its mirrors, stained glass and polished wooden floors, the restaurant is upscale and refined without slipping into old-fogy stodginess. The dining crowd is decidedly on the mature side - more than half were probably card-carrying members of AARP - and most seemed to know each other well.

Chef Sapienza, who used to run his grandparents Villa Rosa restaurant on Longneck Road in Millsboro, has crafted a menu that has both Northern and Southern influences while also offering a few South Carolina-inspired low-country dishes. When is the last time you saw frogmore stew - a one-pot boil of rockfish, potatoes, corn, clams, crab and shrimp - on a menu in Delaware?

Sapienza says his goal is to use high-quality ingredients in dishes that appeal to both the eye and the palate. The menu will change seasonally, and an area farmer will be growing vegetables exclusively for the restaurant. "It's important for us to include and support local farmers and businesses," says the chef who braises lamb shanks ($20) in beer produced by Milton's own Dogfish Head Brewery.

The dish that I look forward to eating again is Sapienza's delectable Chincoteague oyster stew ($8). He uses cream from Lewes Dairy and blends it with a whisper of brandy and shallots. Fresh, briny oysters are gently bathed in the milky broth but still remain plump and sweet.The restaurant's other culinary gem is the grilled pork chop ($19) that is, since we're talking about hams, as big as Hulk Hogan's fist. The juicy and robust chop pairs beautifully with a side of rainbow chard sauteed with cranberries and a hearty pile of sweet potato puree.

The four cast-iron charred scallops ($12), served with fruit preserves, applewood smoked lardons, rosemary oil and fig syrup over a bed of microgreens, is a good first-course sharing plate. The Tavern salad ($6) hits all the right sweet-salty-sour notes with its sliced Gala apples, Point Reyes blue cheese, toasted black walnuts, slices of crisp ham and crunchy fresh greens tossed in an apple cider vinaigrette.

Sauteed shrimp and grits ($19) with andouille sausage, green onions, clams, black-eyed peas and sweet peppers is the dish I wanted to like more than I did. Baby clams, served on the side, were tough, and our server's description of the andouille as "not really spicy" wasn’t entirely accurate. The spice level overpowered the other flavors, particularly the perfectly cooked shrimp.