City Restaurant Week: Harry's Seafood Grill

EDITOR'S NOTE: Hey Second Helpers, this is our last City Restaurant Week review. To read reviews of all 10 participating eateries, click on the City Restaurant Week label at the bottom of this post.

By GARY SOULSMAN

It's possible to enjoy being born with a tongue.

That's how I felt after leaving Harry's Seafood Grill, after lunch at the riverfront restaurant.

I recommend going there to care for your taste buds, too, especially if they've been smacked around during Restaurant Week.

My mouth had been so man-handled by strange food concoctions it was feeling sheepish when I dragged it into a banquette under Harry's big starfish ceiling. As I waited for my friend to arrive, I noted a condo looming in the distance. And I told myself this was a new day.

The menu gave me reason for hope - two-course specials were part of the stylishly printed menu, not a casual insert. And I saw that Harry's wanted me to sense I was getting a deal - the prices added to more than $15 (what I would pay) when ordered individually.

I liked the psychology of this, just as I liked the muted red wall next to me and the silvery wall fish arranged in an abstract design.

As my friend Jerry settled in, we confessed to our waitress that we couldn't decide what we wanted and we intended to annoy her with questions. She was amenable, though my companion felt that, if she were able to speak about the dishes with greater precision, the ordering could have gone more smoothly.

"Someone with experience who really knows a menu can do that," he said. I thought he had a point. And while I was pleased with the warm crusty bread that arrived to staunch our hunger, he was less delighted.

He would have liked it better had the bread been crisper and less, well, all-American spongy. I smiled, studying the butter, arranged on what looked to be a clear picture frame.For me, nothing was wrong - the butter was fresh! - and I felt even more contented when the appetizers were set down.

Jerry had ordered spicy Bahamian conch chowder and we both allowed as how conch could be rubbery, if overcooked. But tomatoes and spice and carrots and conch combined so as to satisfy us, as the chowder heated the back of the throat. I ordered three small asparagus, wrapped in smoked salmon, and they were cooked perfectly and served with a zesty caper relish. A mound of accompanying arugula came with dressing that was buttermilk thick and buttermilk bland. And so what? It looked great and I wolfed it down.

So we moved our elevated hopes to the next course. Jerry ordered thin grilled slabs of salmon and sourdough bread, all tucked atop even thinner slices of Canadian bacon or prosciutto.

We couldn't decide. "I've never had salmon with salty meat before and I like that a lot," Jerry said. "Salmon can be awfully bland at times."

I dug into fried cod served on butter lettuce and micro greens. The fish that has fed the world fed me. It was nicely crisped and bathed with pickled lemon dressing and lightly heated mayonnaise or aioli, if you prefer.

Could all this happiness really be happening?

Not willing to settle for two well-prepared courses, we moved to dessert and Harry's signature Italian ice cream. A big white bowl of chocolate truffle macadamia gelato was worth every calorie. And isn't that how we count in the mirror?

So I say...it's Restaurant Week at Harry's Seafood Grill: What's there to complain about?

City Restaurant Week: Mikimotos

By PATRICIA TALORICO

I couldn't really tell how the City Restaurant Week menu was going over with the Wednesday lunch crowd at Mikimotos Asian Grill & Sushi Bar.

I suspect that most people come to Mikis for the fresh fish and interesting Pan-Asian dishes - and, frankly, they don't really care about a bargain meal.

It's simply a fun place to eat. The food is consistent, the dining room modern, the service very good, and, during my visits over the years, I have seldom found the dining room empty.

Yesterday was no different. (And I'm very glad we made a reservation.)

The City Restaurant Week menu ($15 for two-courses) is pretty straight-forward: You get a choice of a beef lettuce wrap consisting of shaved, lightly seared filet mignon, crispy shallot and nuoc cham dipping sauce or a sea scallop dumpling over shredded carrot and radish in truffle soy dipping sauce or shrimp summer rolls with vermicelli, spring vegetables, lettuce and peanut and key lime dipping sauces.

The second course: Create Your Own Maki Platter.

Whoa. Back up a minute. Make your own maki - as in play sushi chef for the day? Does that mean getting behind the sushi bar and wrestling with sharp knives, raw fish, nori strips, rice, wasabi and sesame seeds?

(Hey, I'm off the clock! Don't put me to work. I'm going out to lunch so someone else makes my meal.)

Relax. This isn't a roll-your-own operation. A server will hand you a piece of paper and you circle a selection of fillings and fish which include several offerings such as salmon, tuna, cooked shrimp, wasabi mayonnaise, vegetables, avocados, etc. The sushi chefs will then take the selections and create a platter. Now, that's pretty cool.

A crab "salad", tossed in a mayonnaise based dressing, comes on the side. I took a couple of lackluster bites, but it didn't really pique my interest. I did enjoy the first course beef lettuce wraps - I'm pretty sure there were four on a plate - and I'll never turn down nuoc cham, the Vietnamese dipping sauce that's made with salty (and some say stinky) fish sauce.

So how does the restaurant week lunch special compare with the regular menu offerings?

Well, my pal looked at the Restaurant Week specials and decided she didn't feel like eating any sushi. She opened the regular menu and ordered the shrimp miso soup ($5) and the lettuce cup chicken ($11).

Her lunch was one buck more than my $15 City Restaurant Week meal.

Just an FYI: We each got a drink - Diet Coke ($2) and iced tea ($2). Refills are free. Total bill: $35, not including tip.

City Restaurant Week: Cafe Mezzanotte

EDITOR'S NOTE: City Restaurant Week continues through Saturday. Keep reading Second Helpings for more reviews. Staffers will be grabbing tables at all participating eateries.

By PETER BOTHUM

The bread that's offered at a restaurant is kind of like a handshake.

On one hand, it's simply a gesture and a free, non-binding formality. Then again, it does provide a first impression of what's to come.

So what happened before an otherwise tasty two-course meal at Cafe Mezzanotte (1007 S. Orange St.) was kind of a bad moon rising. If its offering of bread was indeed a handshake, the hand awkwardly missed its target and fumbled clumsily into the person's rib cage.

When my dining partner and I sat down, no bread was to be had. Drinks were ordered and delivered, a specific request was made, and still no bread. Meanwhile, it seemed like all the other diners in the restaurant were soaking slices in generous amounts of oil and enjoying every tasty morsel in their mouths - I think I could hear an adult film soundtrack playing in the background.

The bread finally arrived, and, of course, it really wasn't that good. But Mezzanotte rebounded with the first course, which had us thinking that maybe that early harbinger was nothing. Cheese and tomatoes paired up in a circle around the greens and carrots and drizzled oil in the Italian Mozzarella Salad. The Pasta e Fagioli soup was surprising in its depth of bean-and-tomato-led flavor.

But then the Omen of the Bread came to fruition. Our waiter offered many apologies and made several "it's up next" visits, but it took a good solid 45 minutes for our lunch to come out (they did make up for the faux pas with complimentary desserts). Probably just a mix-up in the kitchen, but if Mezzanotte is going to score the lunch breaks of downtown workers, that's not going to cut it.

If, however, owner/chef Sergio Pellegrino can build his lunches quickly, they will come for the masterful blends of flavors. The Polpettoni pulled together hearty meats (ground chicken, ham, salami) and generous amounts of mozzarella.

Meanwhile, every bite of the gourmet pizza had something different to offer, depending on what combination of mozzarella, red peppers, eggplant, artichoke hearts and bacon bits (the real stuff!) your mouth found. And, in all honesty, this pizza beat the life out of the $15 mini-pizzas at Pizza By Elizabeths. Yeah, I said it.

One critique here: On one of the slices, the crust at the end was slightly crispier, and if the whole pizza was made that way it would have been insanely good.

City Restaurant Week: C.W. Harborside

EDITOR'S NOTE: City Restaurant Week continues through Saturday. Keep reading Second Helpings for more reviews. Staffers will be grabbing tables at all participating eateries.

Coming soon: Cafe Mezzanotte and Harry's Seafood Grill.

By BETSY PRICE

If bland food and odd flavor combinations are your bag, rush on down to C.W. Harborside for its City Restaurant Week specials.

There's the odd-tasting crab and corn chowder. And the overcooked pan-seared Atlantic salmon with a honey and dried currant glaze that fights it out with the gloppy lemon-flavored risotto on the side.

A much anticipated Pureland Premium Black Angus filet panini with grilled portobello mushrooms, onions and sharp provolone was sizeable, but not flavorful. And we generally expect sauteed spinach to not be primarily sauteed yellow squash with a few leaves of spinach thrown in. (But we gotta say, the squash was the best thing we had.)

I can't remember ever being this disappointed in a restaurant. I had been looking forward to going to C.W. Harborside, a Wilmington Riverfront eatery I've never been to, but also never heard anything bad about.

We dined late, arriving at 1 p.m., and perhaps the lateness of the hour contributed to our dismal dining. Did we just get leftovers while attention had already turned to dinner?

We were one of only three tables in the restaurant for the second half of the meal.

At least we had a cheerful, personable server in Tim.

City Restaurant Week: Deep Blue

By PATRICIA TALORICO

I've had up and down dining moments at Deep Blue over the years, but last night's meal had many memorable highlights.

The full dining room had an upbeat, lively vibe - on a Tuesday night! - which manager David Talmo (who spotted me as soon as we were seated) said is not unusual since the restaurant is popular with business travelers staying downtown.

"But you can definitely tell it's Restaurant Week," he said. (A few tables around us, however, seemed to be ordering off the regular menu.)

City Restaurant Week is a time for restaurants to shine - they're often welcoming back customers who may not have grabbed a seat in the establishment in some time, as well as putting on a show for newcomers.

It surprises me when eateries don't step up to the plate with awesome, well-crafted food. Keep customers happy and they'll be back for more. (And they'll tell their friends.)

Deep Blue's menu doesn't disappoint. I took along two pals who hadn't been to the 11th Street eatery in some time and they were excited by the offerings on the three-course, $35 fixed price meals. There are four choices for the first and second courses and three dessert selections.

Just so you know: There's no substitutions on the Restaurant Week menu. And, for some reason, we were told we had to order the dessert at the same time as the appetizers and entrees.

Our favorite first courses: crispy, fried oysters with tomato pickle relish and Old Bay aioli and the chicken Farinette, a sophisticated version of chicken croquettes with sweet Gorgonzola, schmears of spicy Buffalo sauce and minced celery.

The romaine and radicchio salad with roasted scallions and crushed pistachios was dry and didn't seem like it was tossed with enough Gorgonzola dressing. (I kept sneaking more bites of oysters and chicken.)

Since Deep Blue is known for its seafood - that's where we kept our allegiance. The pan-seared Delaware Rockfish with roasted fingerling potatoes, braised artichokes, saffron aioli had a beautifully seared skin and moist interior. Better still was the crab cake filled with sweet lump meat and served over a bed of roasted asparagus, crimini mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.

The flavor of the grilled salmon was good as was the mustard spaetzle, but the fish tasted slightly overcooked - and may have been sitting under a heat lamp for a spell. The red wine Portobello sauce had mostly dried on the plate when it arrived at the table.

While we dipped spoons into the Chocolate Grand Marnier Pot au Creme and pretty much ignored the ho-hum fresh berries served with whipped cream, the Guinness Stout gelato was the hands-down favorite dessert of the table. I initially ordered it out of journalistic curiosity, but was quickly seduced by its light chocolate and malty flavors and creamy texture.

I'll be back for more crab cakes and gelato - and isn't that what City Restaurant Week is all about?

City Restaurant Week: Ameritage

EDITOR'S NOTE: City Restaurant Week continues through Saturday. Keep reading Second Helpings for more reviews. Staffers will be grabbing tables at all participating eateries.

Coming soon: Deep Blue, Mikimotos and Cafe Mezzanotte.

By ERIC RUTH

At a time of year when the two-faced spring climate conspires to create a transition phase in our appetites, a place like Ameritage Restaurant & Lounge seems to understand our dilemma.

Fresh, light, bright Latin-esque tastes fill the menu of this cooly hip center-city refuge, but a few options also heed our need to stoke the fires with more substantive food.

Take the earthy (and somewhat underseasoned) black bean soup, unmistakably hand-crafted and brightened by accents of a pork pate "crouton." Or consider the excellent skirt-steak wrap, given just enough beany/chewy starchiness and snappy herbal presence to accent the beautifully charred beef.

Perhaps partly because of the need to keep costs under control, the Restaurant Week menu here is infested with freshly dressed lettuces and crunchy raw veggies, even in the main dishes -- an inclination that suits the time of year (and our waistlines), but may be inclined to result in vegetative overload, depending on your choice.

Arugula and kohlrabi salad with cilantro vinaigrette would satisfy most folks without such a massive foundation of mashed avaocado, and there's no need to throw a pile of lettuce next to the excellent smoked chicken sandwich with bacon and apple -- especially when we've probably already had our first-course salad.

The solution is easy -- ignore any excessive green-ness, and enjoy how Ameritage shows a remarkable hand at balancing tart-light flavors. A sweet-snappy-light character lifts several dishes.

In the case of the smoked chicken sandwich, that fresh character is countered well by a nicely toothy grilled roll -- though that same roll threatened to overwhelm the somewhat dry fried-shrimp Po-Boy sandwich, which cried out for more of the creamy sexiness its yellow-pepper aioli promised.

Bottom-line sentiments pronounced Ameritage's efforts highly worthy of exploration, though next time, we'll take another course.

We'll definitely sit upstairs -- where everybody seems to gravitate. We'll also hope for maybe a bit more sass and fire. And we'll definitely promise ourselves to try this under-appreciated downtown gem more often.

City Restaurant Week: Orillas

EDITOR'S NOTE: City Restaurant Week is off and running. Keep reading Second Helpings this week. Staffers will be grabbing tables at all participating eateries.

By LUCIA BLACKWELL

Can a meat-and-potatoes guy and a serial-grazer gal enjoy a meal together at a Spanish tapas bar?

They can if they're at Orillas (413 N. Market St.), where the City Restaurant Week menu offers a long list of choices.

Choose three small plates for the $35 dinner menu. Sharing is encouraged so it's a great chance to try new things - and it's easy to get a sneak preview by glancing at other diners' plates passing by in this little gem of a restaurant.

Part of the fun was the intimacy created by the small space and closely placed tables. It didn't feel crowded to us - it was more like being at a festive gathering. Spanish music, pictures of flamenco dancers and bull fighters on the walls, rustic candle sconces and lots of brickwork and dark wood added to the Mediterranean atmosphere. It was a pleasant escape on a hot evening.

The house sangria was crisp and cold with just a touch of sweetness - the perfect accompaniment to our tapas exploration. We dove right in and ordered all of our plates at once - then the kitchen sent them out one or two at a time so my dinner companion and I could share and focus our attention on each one. At some tables, diners chose to make one or two selections at a time, sometimes ordering a favorite a second time.

Fingerling potatoes with aioli and spicy tomato sauce give french fries a sophisticated spin. The aioli (think garlicky mayo) and tomato sauce (think light but sassy ketchup) decorating the plate were irresistible.

Empanadas de ropa veija (crisp little turnovers filled with braised beef and served with green salsa) were pockets of pure satisfaction. My fellow diner said, "This is what Hot Pockets want to be when they grow up!" (I've never had a Hot Pocket, so I'll take his word for it.)

With the meat and potatoes requirement satisfied, it was time to turn to other flavors. Artichokes sauteed with Serrano ham were a tasty, light break from bigger, bolder flavors on other plates, but I might choose another, more interesting, vegetable or salad option were I to visit again.

Chicken croquettes were deliciously crispy on the outside, light on the inside. Lamb chops were perfectly seared, tender and pink, and served with a slightly sweet lentil stew studded with bits of crispy smoked bacon.

One of the last dishes we tried was the corn and black bean chowder with manchego croutons and basil oil. This "chowder" - more of a velvety rich black bean soup with corn nestled under a little manchego cheese-topped crouton raft - was the unexpected smash-hit of the evening. The smoky chili heat was assertive, but not overpowering. My dinner pal did all but lick the bowl clean to get every last drop. Ole!

We succumbed to the temptation of dulce de leche banana tart and mango tres leches cake, though after our succession of little plates we were both surprisingly full.

The desserts were fine, but not worth the overindulgence. We wished there had been a lighter offering, perhaps fresh fruit or an icy sorbet. Maybe next time we'll try the flan.

Yes, next time. We're hooked on Orillas' tapas. We'll be back.

City Restaurant Week: Green Room

EDITOR'S NOTE: City Restaurant Week is off and running. Keep reading Second Helpings this week. Staffers will be grabbing tables at all participating eateries.

By RYAN CORMIER

For my first-ever dinner at Hotel du Pont's Green Room, I felt the same way I do as a Yankee Fan visiting Fenway Park: I'm in a place where I really don't belong.

No matter how many times Green Room folks or city officials downplay the Green Room's prices -- their dinner entrees average $31 a pop -- it's just not a place that I am drawn to.

I usually try not to drop that kind of cash for dinner. I avoid formal spaces as elegant as the Green Room dining area. And I tend to enjoy being around people my own age.

But since this is City Restaurant Week, my editors thought it would be interesting to send Mr. Pulp Culture to one of the the city's finest dining rooms just before I head down to Dewey Beach this summer -- a place where you're more likely to spill Bud Light on your shirt than Esperto Pinot Grigio.

Before heading into downtown Monday night for my 7 p.m. reservation, I decided to test the Green Room's dress code, which was relaxed last year to business casual -- jackets are no longer required for men.

I wore a button-down shirt and a crisp pair of jeans. (I added the word "crisp" to make it sound a little less white trash.) Walking in, I expected the same reaction the goober gets in that old Polaner All Fruit commercial when he yells across the table, "Would you please pass the jelly!?!" I expected elderly women to take one look at me in my casual dress and shriek before passing out in their seared foie gras.

Of course, that didn't happen. Instead, no one looked at all. Actually, I was the one looking. The dining room was half-full and I was the youngest one there. (By the time we left a little around 8:15, the room was filled and there were plenty of diners in their 30s.)

I was seated next to two nice older women (possibly half of the "Golden Girls" cast) celebrating a birthday. I heard one of the classy Greenville types say, "Happy birthday dah-ling," and I felt like I suddenly felt like I really should have a top hat and a monocle to fit in.

I kicked things off with a special "Green Martini" ($8) from the City Restaurant Week menu -- a very sweet lime concoction made with Belvedere vodka. I'd recommend finishing it before eating or having it after dinner -- the drink didn't exactly go with my steak.

My friend had a Yuengling Bock beer ($6), which was also on the special menu. The beer is a seasonal offering from Yuengling in celebration of their 180th anniversary. My friend, who is from originally Texas and considers Shiner Bock his favorite beer, had no complaints.

For my first of the three courses, I had Georgia sweet corn soup along with the complimentary warm and crusty rolls. The soup consisted of corn shoots, a truffle-corn reduction and a dollop of corn pudding in the center. It marked my first time ever consuming corn shoots, a truffle-corn reduction or a dollop of corn pudding. Still, it was excellent, seemingly stripping the flavor down to a pure corn essence. (I'm sure I broke some sort of haughty etiquette, but you're damn right I wiped the bowl with a piece of bread to get every last drop.)

My friend's arugula salad, complete with Pekin duck prosciutto, Manchego cheese (a sheep's milk cheese) and covered with an apple and pecan vinaigrette was also a hit. Both my bowl and his plate were wiped clean.

Then it was entree time. Did I feel guilty about eating my petite filet mignon while looking out the Green Room's grand windows overlooking Rodney Square and some of the city's homeless population standing there in the stifling heat?

The answer is yes.

But once I turned my full attention to my steak -- with a perfectly blackened outside and a medium rare red inside -- I was lost in my meal. The steak was topped with smoked toast and served atop cheese grits, surrounded by a regiment of grilled grapes with sea salt. (Note to self: warm grapes are never to be eaten ever again.)

My friend had the pan-roasted organic salmon surrounded by green beans (haricot verts for the cultured among us) and a sweet bread almond salad. An almond puree caramelized half lemon used for lemon juice on the fish was the only thing left on his plate.

Before heading out, I dove into a creamy flourless chocolate mousse cake and my friend tackled a generous raspberry Creme Brulee.

I must admit, it was probably the best dinner I've ever had in Wilmington. From top to bottom, it was flawless. Really good.

With two $35 charges for the City Restaurant Week dinner and our drinks, the bill was $84 before tip -- not bad for two people considering the quality of the food, the service and the surroundings.

City Restaurant Week: The Exchange

EDITOR'S NOTE: City Restaurant Week is off and running. Keep reading Second Helpings this week. Staffers will be grabbing tables at all participating eateries.

By BETSY PRICE

The Exchange seems to be running a B.Y.O.W. menu this week for City Restaurant Week: Bring your own wheelbarrow.

By the end of these hefty lunches, you're gonna need one so your friends can haul you out.

The Market Street restaurant offers three courses, and you can pick any two items on the menu for $15.

Starters include vichyssoise; Exchange salad of apples, raspberries, candied walnuts and blue cheese on field greens; or smoky peanut soup with shredded chicken and ancho cream.

Entrees are a hand-carved corned beef with pickled red cabbage, Swiss cheese and coarse mustard on rye, with a mountain o' hand-cut fries (our description; not theirs); duck leg confit with wilted frisee and crispy potatoes; and a cheddar and asparagus omelet with a mountain o' fries.

Diners get two choices for dessert: Signature Sorbet Trio or Chocolate Mousse infused with Grand Marnier.

One of us got the Exchange salad with the sandwich; the other got the smoky peanut soup and omelet, mostly because we couldn't bear the idea of all those duckies on crutches.

The soup and salad were excellent. The soup -- served in a big bowl -- was a thick puree tinged with a smoky, spicy flavor, apparently from the ancho chilies. It would have been a fine lunch all by itself.

The salad arrived in the same size bowl and seemed small at first glance, but proved to be much more substantial than it looked. It was a perfect starter with its light dressing.

Both of us have seen footballs smaller than the corned beef sandwich, which was dwarfed by the pile of fries. And the abundance wasn't just limited to our plates. Small children could have played hide and seek behind the plates around the restaurant.

The sandwich was fresh, tasty -- and seemed like it was made-to-order. The omelet was fine, but seem ordinary, especially in contrast to the fabulous soup.

We splurged and got the mousse, too. It was thick and creamy with just enough kick from the Grand Marnier to make it feel like a special end to the meal.

We arrived late for lunch Monday, and service was slower that we would have liked, but understandable, because by that late hour, the restaurant was down to one server.

That wouldn't stop us from recommending the fine food.

City Restaurant Week: Washington Street Ale House

EDITOR'S NOTE: City Restaurant Week is off and running and the first review has arrived. Keep reading Second Helpings this week. Staffers will be grabbing tables at all participating eateries.


By GARY SOULSMAN

With the big windows open to the spring day, there was a warm breeze and a pleasant lunch vibe in the Washington Street Ale House as the tables slowly filled for the start of City Restaurant Week.

Truth be told, folks around me didn't seem to care about the special $15 fixed-price menu. They already had an attachment to the long list of salads, burgers and appetizers on the everyday menu.

And by the time I was done with my Maryland crab chowder and sesame-seared sea scallops I wished I had ordered a standby, like the Build-Your-Own-Grilled-Chicken sandwich.

Rats, I thought: The people over there are so much happier than me and they stayed away from the special menu.

Of course, comparisons are the root of disappointment and I should know better. But I'm starting to get a complex about Restaurant Week, particularly after a big let down at the Hotel du Pont's Green Room last year.

It's gotten so I get edgy looking at descriptions of a chef's improvised creations. I'm like a guy who's had too many blind dates with bad dishes. Such a fellow tends to lose hope as he waits for beauty to appear from the kitchen.

This time the Maryland crab chowder was so stunning it could have been photographed for a risque magazine spread. It was deep red and thick enough to double as pasta sauce. But why mostly pieces of potato and so little crab? Has the Chesapeake been ravaged?

At least the soup was served hot - and it had fire. And, for a time, the thin flavor seemed to get better as I trudged on. But half-way on, I mournfully laid down my spoon, unable to convince myself that life was worth living with this sort of crabby companion.

Next up - sesame-seared sea scallops, flavored with a soy ginger sauce, and served over sauteed spinach and saffron rice. Arriving at the table on a stylish white triangle-shape plate, I was encouraged. But after the first few forkfuls I wondered: Do I like soy ginger sauce? Do I like seared sesame seeds?

I guess not. Perhaps, I should stop going out to eat and dine at home where I'm the only person responsible for disappointing me.

I take no joy in writing this, though I insist on saying positive things about the iced tea (strong and satisfying), the waitress (helpful, patient and attentive) and the hostess (kind and solicitous when my dining companion was unable to attend).

You might not know it from this review, but I like the Washington Street Ale House, even with two of the urinals shut down for repair. (The Listerine dispenser works.)

Overall, it's a friendly place to be and I am pleased when I order from the everyday menu. It's Restaurant Week that gives me pause.

City Restaurant Week: UPDATE

Hope your weekend was filled with wonderful food. I dusted off the grill and have my tongs - and cookbooks - ready to start barbecuing ribs and other fire-kissed delights.

(Right now, I'm paging through "Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes", "Raichlen on Ribs, Ribs, Outrageous Ribs", "America's Best BBQ" and "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book" by Chris Lilly.)

Did the first real al fresco dining of the season with good pals on Saturday - does life get any better than sitting on a deck with a few tasty beverages? I think not (Andy, the Moroccan chicken rocked!) - and I'm so happy for more July-in-April weather.

(Typical Delaware spring, no? That is - no spring at all. We just go from winter to summer....)

But no stay-at-home plans for me this week: City Restaurant Week kicks off today - and

Second Helpings will be out and about, sampling dishes and checking out the scene. Remember, it's two course $15 lunches and three-course $35 dinners, plus some extras. Click here for more details.

News Journal staffers - including professional paid fork Eric Ruth; the new Food DOGs Peter Bothum, Jeff Gentry and Andre Smith; Delaware MomsLikeMe.com editor Lucia Blackwell; Pulp Culture's own Ryan Cormier; ace features reporter Gary Soulsman; and features editor (and my boss) Betsy Price - will be unfolding napkins and sampling from menus from all participating restaurants.

*** UPDATE: The staff has already out been picking up forks. Check back here later today for the first of many reviews coming at you this week. We'll let you know what you're missing - and what you should skip.*********

Here's your chance to support the local economy.

In the immortal words of Mrs. Claus: "Eat, Papa, eat!"

Reader Mail

Some technical difficulties today - no photos or images will upload (errrrr!) - so please bear with me for this installment of Reader Mail. (Remember: You ask. We answer. Every Friday. Email your dining questions to ptalorico@delawareonline.)

So much going on this weekend!

The eat-a-thon begins tonight with "Evening with the Masters" at the Center on the Riverfront. Tickets are $75. You can get them at the door.

Fork over $15 more and you entry to the private party within the party "Cellar Masters' Wine Auction" - with host Sara Cakebread from Cakebread Cellars and drinks shaken by "King Cocktail Dale DeGroff.

The creme de la creme of the weekend is the Celebrity Chefs' Brunch.

I'll be out and about this weekend - if you see me, say hey! A daily story is coming Monday and look for some Second Helpings updates, too. Stay tuned.

IN OTHER DINING NEWS:

Eric Ruth finds beauty in braised dishes today: including meals at 2 Fat Guys, D&H Jamaican and Eclipse Bistro.

Some pals and I grabbed a table - next to the window - at Orillas Tapas Bar & Restaurant Wednesday night for the Wilmington After Work promotion. Every Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. several downtown Wilmington restaurants offer specials including $4 glasses of wine and lower priced apps. At first, it didn't look like many people were taking advantage of the promotion. (It could have been the rain.) Later, however, a stretch white limo pulled up in front of the eatery and out piled a bunch of people. No clue who they were.

Nice night, even though our server kept trying to take away plates that were still half full. After a while, it started to feel like a wrestling match.

HOT DELAWARE DOG!

I want to talk about true Delaware eats during an upcoming interview on Martha Stewart Living Radio, so I took one reader's suggestion and popped into Deerhead Hot Dogs at 620 Maryland Ave., Wilmington; 998-4191. Deerhead has been around since 1935.

It's been about a year since I've had a Deerhead dog with "the secret sauce." What is it? The secret sauce is, well, a secret. I have never been able to pry the recipe from anyone. (Maybe it's refried beans?) Any hoo, I got a single dog ($2.25) - which they split in half and then fried - topped with the hush-hush tan colored sauce. Also ordered double dogs ($2.95) for two co-workers.

Man, was the sauce spicy! Not that it wasn't tasty, but I don't remember it being so fiery. Good thing I ordered a lemonade ($1.70 small) to cool the burn.

VERY COOL (AND VERY EXPENSIVE) UPCOMING EVENT:

Domaine Hudson wine bar and eatery, 1314 N. Washington St., Wilmington, will be pouring Harlan and Bond estate wines - known as "cult" California vino - at an exclusive five-course dinner on May 2.

Harlan and Bond cabernet sauvignon wines, which often sell at auction for more than $1,000 a bottle - if you can find any, that is - have achieved a certain cache among wine aficionados, and small production has brought them cult status among collectors. Eight different wines - six Bond and two Harlan - will be served. Details available at www.domainehudson.com/HarlanBond.html

The wine is in limited supply, seating is also limited. Advance reservation, secured with a credit card, is required. Cost: $500 - that's NOT a typo - per person plus gratuity. Call Domaine Hudson, 655-9463.

IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE A WELL-LIGHTED PLACE

QUESTION: Hello Patricia,

Do you know if Francine's is closed? Last couple of times I drove by it looked dark and empty. What happened?

Thanks.
Karen McDonnell

ANSWER: Francine's - the former Tomm's Produce Market on Del. 41 in Hockessin - opened a year ago in April. But not long after opening there were major problems with the refrigeration units. Francine just sent out a newsletter explaining the woes. Long story short: Business is closed. For now. Francine writes that she is working on a new business plan and hopes to reopen the market.

CITY RESTAURANT WEEK RESERVATIONS?

QUESTION: Patricia, Can you provide me details on how I can get tickets for the Loop Three dinner. Loop Three -- Appetizers at Mikimoto's; entree at C.W. Harborside; dessert at Harry's Seafood Grill.

Barbara

ANSWER: Reservations can be made online at cityrestaurantweek.com.

THAI-ING ONE ON FOR NEW YEAR'S

QUESTION: Last year's celebration at Tasti Thai went so well that the owners are trying it again. We had hoped we could have something larger with more ethnic involvement this year but business has been very slow because of the economy I have enjoyed the two Malay restaurants that have opened up in Pike Creek near my home. Unfortunately Soybean (no pork) has medium curries that are too hot for my Sri Lanken neighbors (and they like it really hot). Pinang (Chinese-Malay) is a lot of fun (try the Sarang Burong the next time you are there) but still doesn't do a curry quite like Tasti Thai. And no one is as hospitable and food oriented as the Thai.Kun Song has shown some of her Thai friends from DC the restaurant opportunities in the area and I had hoped the Thai community would be expanded so they could work together on the New Year's celebration, but not this year unfortunately.Thanks again for your help. Barb Jezl

ANSWER: We have some very devoted Tasti Thai fans here at Second Helpings Central. (And, yes, Ron, I'm talking about you!) Nice to hear from some others. Support your local restaurateurs.

ONE FINE CUP OF GIUSEPPE

QUESTION: I had the best cappuccino at that new coffee shop in Hockessin this morning. The best since a cup of the same that I had in Dublin, of all places!

Joann

ANSWER: Joann, are you talking about the Over Coffee Cafe in Lantana Square Shopping Center off Del. 7 and Valley Road? I've been hearing good buzz about it. (Buzz, hee-hee.) The best cup of Joe I've ever had was in Trieste, Italy. Think I'm making a coffee run today.

SHANG HAI QUESTIONS CONTINUE

QUESTION: May have misssed it if you wrote about it, but the best Chinese food in Delaware was to be had at Claymont's Shanghai restaurant. Last fall they suddenly disappeared and the building has been renovated for office use. Did these folks set up shop somewhere else (I hope)? Their food was wonderful. Thanks for any info you can provide.

Delawaregirl

ANSWER: Happy Friday Delawaregirl. What happened to Shang Hai? is probably one of the most frequently asked questions on this blog.

There was a fire and the business closed. But the mourning for this great little Chinese eatery continues.

I am trying to track down the owners and see if they plan to relocate. As soon as I get some more information, I will share it.

Restaurant Week comment

Just an FYI - I had to remove a comment from the last post because it contained profanity and offensive language - which we don't allow on this blog.

We ALWAYS encourage everyone to share opinions, but, please, keep it clean - just as you should do with your kitchen.

The poster had a beef with Restaurant Week coverage and I'd like others to see it. So, here is a cleaned-up version of the comment:

"You people are [rectums]....you want to promote and advertise restaurants in Wilmington and in your reviews you trash them? not one...but every single one you reviewed for restaurant week....[Bad word here] you, Eric and Patricia."

To answer the ANONYMOUS Angry Commenter: The job of the features department staff, whom all contributed to this week's coverage and WROTE THEIR NAMES ON THEIR REVIEWS, is NOT "to promote and advertise" restaurants.

Want to promote a restaurant? Hire a PR staff. They'll say whatever you want them to say.

Want to advertise? Call The News Journal's advertising department - a completely separate department than the editorial department.

Our job is to give READERS honest assessments of what restaurants were offering this week and to share our experiences. Which we did. Quite thoroughly. I think our staff did an excellent job.

And, just in case anyone was wondering, The News Journal's staff paid for ALL meals.

Did we "trash" everyone? Not at all. Click on the City Restaurant Week label on the bottom and scroll through the archives, you'll find accolades for Domaine Hudson, Deep Blue, The Exchange, CW Harborside (Conley Ward), and Harry's among others.

OK, I'm getting down from the soapbox to pour a cup of coffee. Enjoy the weekend. Eat and drink something delightful.

- Patricia Talorico

City Restaurant Week: Mikimotos

By CHRISTOPHER YASIEJKO

I had never tried foie gras.

There's something about force-feeding a duck or goose to fatten its liver that turned me off. But this account is for all tastes, so I chose the duck and foie gras shumai for a City Restaurant Week dinner first course at Mikimotos.

Our waiter, conscientious and friendly throughout the evening, delivered the dish on a long, narrow plate, part of an attractive presentation. After the host found us a table 20 minutes before our reservation, our hopes were high.

I expected to taste something rich, something that would amplify my conflicting feelings about how this dish came to be. Instead, the foie gras had the consistency of a meatball, if slightly softer. It tasted bland, which was especially unfortunate considering it was wrapped in a flavor-muting dumpling.

Glad I ordered the Purple Haze, a $10.50 confection of hot Gekkeikan sake and a shot of Chambord served in a ceramic carafe. It was warm and strong, and the shot provided a nice, spicy kick. Suddenly, the foie gras left my mind.

My girlfriend had the pork ribs and peanut sauce, and she was pleased with her choice - the meat slid off the bones. But when the main course arrived, she cast a jealous eye at my plate - I had ordered the grilled petit filet mignon, again presented beautifully, a fist-sized chunk of beef coated in crunchy black peppercorn with a medium-rare center, a deep purple hue that tasted delightful. The butter-infused mashed potatoes, topped with crunchy, breaded asparagus, were the highlight of the dish.

Mikimoto's seems unsure about its identity. The decor is somewhere between that of a comfortable pub and a fine-dining establishment. The lighting is chic, but the tables are basic and close together. This being Restaurant Week, the place was buzzing even at 6 p.m. Maybe the loud house music is an afternoon thing, but it was a bit much. The wall art is equal parts modern and kitschy - the more casual of Mikimoto's dual personalities featured framed prints of the Japanese manga series InuYasha and of Usagi Yojimbo, the rabbit bodyguard you may remember as a character in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

And the fine presentation of each dish left me perhaps more disappointed with the flavor than I might've been had the food arrived in a less aesthetically pleasing arrangement. That's not a call for downplaying the presentation. I just wished the taste would live up to the promise. My girlfriend's main course was a sushi and sashimi platter with a good variety of samples. The rice-coated shrimp was wrapped in shredded shrimp, so the first touch to the tongue threw the taste buds into the full flavor. That was a nice touch.

And there was enough on the plate to fill her before she was half-done. For dessert, I chose the lime and pineapple bombe. A delicious, warm pineapple dumpling topped it. A nice dose of Baileys coconut caramel sauce was drizzled throughout the dish. Know this: Ice cream boosts the value of most any dessert. It certainly made this one complete, a welcome counterpoint to the warm dumpling.

My girlfriend pined for a scoop of ice cream with her ginger cake in cardamom sauce. The cake was overwhelming, and with its chocolate crust I couldn't help noticing a resemblance to a large Devil Dog. If you can't get enough ginger, it's the dessert for you. If you like a balanced combination of flavors to finish a meal, try the bombe instead.

Contact Christopher Yasiejko at 324-2778 or cyasiejko@delawareonline.com.

City Restaurant Week: Cafe Mezzanotte

By SHRUTI L. MATHUR

At Cafe Mezzanotte, I was happy to see a full dining room and bar when my boyfriend and I strolled in a few minutes early for our 7 p.m. reservation.

He commented that, for some reason, he felt we were in a senior dining hall. It could be the clutches of blazer-clad ladies that surrounded our little two-top. However, 15 minutes later, all those ladies scurried out, holding theater tickets and we were left with a near empty dining room, except for a group of what looked like three corporate colleagues, a man with his date, Miss Blackberry, and a two intimidating-looking men.

The departing diners left huge dishes of half-eaten pasta on the table, the leftovers looking like enough to be a full meal. I hoped out loud that our Restaurant Week portions would be as sizable.

But first things first: I needed some wine. I noticed that most of the dishes on the Restaurant Week menu were also listed in the regular menu, and the entrees had suggested wine pairings. Except for the Ravioli Blush, which I had decided on.

Being somewhat of a novice to wine pairings, I asked my waitress for a recommendation but she was unsure so she had to ask someone else. I had my doubts, thinking maybe I should have just chosen a wine, but within a minute she came back and said the chef himself suggested the Cabernet Sauvignon. I ordered it.

The customary basket of bread was already on the table when we arrived, but instead of the usual olive oil and pepper, a dish of olive oil flavored with finely chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs sat on the table. Spread on the light, tasty bread, it tasted like bruschetta, or something I might have ordered from the menu, not a freebie with every meal.

I started my meal with the crab-stuffed oysters, which were delicious. Good size chunks of crab meat filled each oyster shell, surrounding the oyster meat inside. Four shells were presented on a bed of salad. I thought I might only get one or two shells.

The shrimp salad my boyfriend ordered had a pile of spinach, with a tangy dressing, surrounded by four plump shrimp and four wedges of toasted bread. He felt the shrimp were oversalted, but loved the spinach and bread. This was a good start. If the meal follows this pattern, we are set.

And really, I really, really wanted it to.

But it didn't.

The ravioli pockets itself were delicious, filled with a good blend of cheeses. Unfortunately, the carrot-colored blush sauce, which had a cheek-tingling tang on the first bite, was overall fairly bland; I got tired of eating it halfway through the dish.

The chicken calabrese, topped with bacon and cheeses with olives and normally $22 on the regular menu, was equally disappointing--after trying a bite, I whispered to my boyfriend "it tastes like something I could make myself."

The accompanying boat of steamed vegetables went untouched. And that was a problem. It's not that the food was unedible, but it didn't taste like anything I wanted to pay $105 for, including two glasses of wine and the tip. I felt I could have had the same meal at Olive Garden, and probably for less.

Mezzanotte seems like a good spot for the afterwork corporate crowd, which seemed to stay around the bar, ordering small plates to go with their booze, or the pre-theater crowd, also more interested in wine than food.

I heard a waitress mention that the restaurant hosted a lot of wedding rehearsal dinners and the like, and that is what the food tasted like: a catering menu for a banquet hall. I ate a good chunk of my cannoli, and I thought my boyfriend was going to lick the plate clean of his tiramisu.

But when I pressed him later on the tiramisu, he admitted that it wasn't the best tiramisu he's ever had. The ladyfingers were good, but it lacked the signature espresso flavor.

"It just tasted really good after that entree," he said.

Contact Shurti L. Mathur at 324-2888 or smathur@delawareonline.com.

City Restaurant Week, new Rehoboth eats places

Hey gang, no Reader Mail today.

Instead, our staff continues to blanket the city, pull out credit cards and chow down at the 10 restaurants participating in City Restaurant Week. (And we're getting very, very full.)

See Eric Ruth's review on Harry's Seafood Grill.

Coming up later today: Mikimotos and Cafe Mezzanotte.

In other news, if you pick up today's Fri./Sat./Sun. edition of USA Today look inside and read the new Open Air magazine. I wrote a story for the "Adventures in Eating" column about Chinese food and interviewed Susanna Foo and Chinese food expert Nina Simonds.

I have another article coming out in the magazine in the fall edition on cooking with beer.

Also, I'm heading down to Sussex County later today to see Jay Caputo's new Porcini House restaurant in Rehoboth Beach. (It used to be Chez La Mer.) Jay also owns the fabulous Espuma. Look for a report on Monday.

Sam Calagione, owner of Dogfish Head brewery in Milton - and author of the new, fun book "He Said Beer, She Said Wine" (DK Publishing, April 2008) and rock star of the beer world - told me to stop in the new Mexican restaurant in Lewes on State Street. Can you say margarita?

And here's some exciting scoop:

Darius Mansoory has taken over the former 59 Lake Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach (previously Third Edition and, more memorably, Fran O'Brien's) and plans to open Stingray Sushi Bar and Asian Latino Grill.
Mansoory, owner of Mikimotos, Washington Street Ale House and Presto!, all in Wilmington, is the middle of renovations. He says he has lot of plans for the 200-plus seat restaurant, which includes a lounge and bar.
Look for an opening later this month.

Now, go dine some where and then share, share, share.....

City Restaurant Week: Ameritage

By GARY SOULSMAN

It's fun to grab hold of the big knife and fork door handles of Ameritage Bistro and wander inside.

It led me to wonder what might be ahead during dinner: big taste, big ambience or big feeling of making a mistake?

For me, none of the above. I left a bit soothed and relaxed by the setting and service, somewhat happy with my dinner choices and confused by the blending of flavors in some dishes.

My first impression is that it was great to see such a prominent Orange Street space being used and to note that there was a friendly vibe to the downstairs bistro Tuesday night.

As you swing open the burgundy doors, you enter an airy and open market, where, if memory serves, the bar of the Brandywine Brewing Co. once stood. Now there's a market with pastries, cheese, olives and more.

Upstairs is an amazingly large dining room. It was softly lit and quiet in the early evening hours when we were there, the walls showing a devotion to the Art Nouveau paintings of Gustav Klimt. With other diners, I could imagine relaxing in the room. But we didn't want to have it all to ourselves. So we settled downstairs, though we also feared that the wood floors would make for a loud time as the crowd began to built.

We were happy to note that neither the noise nor the jazzy background music were annoying. As to the food, here's our scorecard:

- Small dishes of olives cured in olive oil and rosemary. (Great idea, taste fell flat.)

- Dinner roll (Fresh with good flavor. Even better if it had been warmed.) Olive oil for bread (Light and lovely.)

- Warm frisee salad (This frizzy chicory was a revelation with poached egg, diced potatoes and the Italian cured meat, known as pancetta, all topped with a Dijon red vinaigrette. Yum!)

- Bistro salad (The baby greens, orange segments, cinnamon-toasted hazelnuts, shaved prosciutto with citrus-white balsamic vinaigrette. It sounded so good we wanted to really like it, but decided we liked the dressing more with the bread than the salad. Go figure.)

- Steak frites (The grilled flat-iron steak was cooked perfectly and would have been best served hot, rather than a bit cold. But what was the chef thinking with those white truffle Parmesan fries? Do those flavors go together? Double yuk. Left'em all.)

- Chilean sea bass with citrus-shaved fennel and a red onion salad with black-truffle vinaigrette. (A dish that was both hot and cold with flavors that kind of confused us.)

- Bailey's creme brulee (Yes, yes and triple yes. Better than a version we had the night before in the Green Room.)

- Lemon white chocolate macademia nut sundae. (Once again too many competing flavors. The lemon square at the bottom was a nice sweet surprise. But what looked to be white chocolate macademia ice cream was surprisingly dull and disappointing.)

Since I had ordered the sundae, I has happy to find dried apricots and actual macademia nuts with the check. Nice touch.

Overall, given the vibe, attentive service and the pluses on our food scorecard, I would go back - and make a point of avoiding dishes that sounded excessively exotic.

Contact Gary Soulsman at 324-2893 or gsoulsman@delawareonline.com.

Reader review City Restaurant Week: Harry's Seafood Grill

More City Restaurant Week staff reviews will be coming in soon of Ameritage, Mikimotos, Cafe Mezzanotte and Harry's Seafood Grill.

In the meantime, I'll share an email I received from a Second Helpings reader about her Wednesday lunch experience at Harry's:

Went to Harry's Seafood today with the office for a "thank you" lunch.

I ordered from the $15 menu because I really wanted fresh fish, unfortunately, there was only one option (opa), other than salmon on the regular menu which I don't eat.

I opted for the City Restaurant Week menu because it had a broiled tilapia, which I do eat. It had a nice dusting of basil encrusted on it, with a wild mushroom reduction and served over herbed red quinoa, which I've never had before, but loved.

It had a nice nutty flavor to it and the fish was cooked to perfection! I got the Smoked Shrimp Bisque w/Lemon-cayenne creme fraiche and it had a wonderful smoky flavor, creamy and lots of baby shrimp. Delicious!

Then, everyone was ordering dessert so I did order a peanut butter/chocolate cake from the menu, but.... it was more like peanut butter with a kind of cookie dough cake. Not for my liking so I brought it back to the office for the poor souls who didn't get to go!

Honestly, everyone ordered different dishes and I don't think ANYONE of our 10 people were unhappy. Our boss said the fish tacos had so much flavor and my co-worker sat next to me and had the crab cakes and man, they were packed with lump crab.

I almost reached over and forked his food!! Only two of us got something from the City Restaurant Week menu and we both got exactly the same thing - and he loved it too!

Anyway, I've enjoyed TWO wonderful, filling City Restaurant Week lunches this week at the participating restaurants, and I wish I had planned better and went to more!!!

City Restaurant Week: Domaine Hudson

By PETER BOTHUM

As a kid I was the pickiest eater on the planet. As an adult it's almost impossible to disappoint me as a diner.

In fact, these days it's pretty easy to please both my wife - my lunch date Wednesday - and myself.

Our time is crunched like a used coffee creamer by two jobs and two little girls. Suffice it to say, we don't often go to classy joints like Domaine Hudson Wine Bar and Eatery, so the only thing that could happen was Dining Nirvana.

And it did.

Even on Hump Day, smack in the middle of City Restaurant Week, Domaine Hudson was on its A-game, serving up the culinary equivalent of a Michael Jordan crossover or a Prince guitar solo at this $15, two-course prix fixe lunch.

The baked brie and arugula starter salad was like therapy for this indecisive diner. It didn't matter how you paired its ingredients - any mixture of the pears, walnuts, baked brie (slightly crusty on the outside, warm and pliable on the inside) or the roasted shallot vinaigrette got the taste buds in shape for the edible brilliance about to unfold. I wanted to go with something classy, like the sauteed rainbow trout over puy lentils, but I followed my stomach's hunger for meat over to the 3-ounce spice rubbed flat iron steak and romaine hearts.

The spice rub smacked with all the flavor you needed, but gently brushing some of the melt-in-your-mouth, rare-cooked meat into into the Roquefort vinaigrette or red onion provided a powerful, unexpected kick.

My wife reported that her seared scallop tagliatelle boasted just the right amount of doneness, and the accompanying shallot cream over semolina pasta was muscular without coming off too heavy.

The dessert, however, was heavenly. At our waiter's recommendation we went with the Polenta Poundcake, which was topped with fresh pineapple, whipped cream and coconut.

But wait just a second. Back to that polenta, whose cornmeal-batter goodness - dense, but still airy - could have stood on its own. By adding a little warmth on the inside, and allowing a little of that pineapple juice to get soaked up in the cake, and coating it with that rich cream and a hint of coconut taste for good measure, and Domaine Hudson made the dessert soar.

Mission accomplished. We have reached Dining Nirvana.

City Restaurant Week: Washington Street Ale House

By VICTOR GRETO

The Washington Street Ale House is all about booze.

It's an ale house, after all, with lots of beer on tap and an interior ambience enriched by a fine brick and duct-work interior that reminds one of early 20th-century Drunk.

But during Restaurant Week, it offered $15 flat-fee lunches that were both small and problematic tasting. The choices for appetizers varied, from "pale ale cured salmon sliders" -- rubbery and tasteless salmon liberally slathered with sour cream, between two small pancakes (?) -- and an andouille (spelled "andoiulle") sausage corndog, three of which were presented on a lettuce bed of grilled mango.

The fine deep-fried dogs were speared by - the only term for the length of these is "javelin-size" - skewers and rested on a tasty sauce.The entrees included one that a friend unfortunately had to return. This was a "smoked sea salt seared tuna with wasabi lobster tater tots," a great name for a painfully salty, dried out tuna lump, with tots that were all tater and no lobster.

When I bit the tuna, I had a flashback to my former life as an ancient Roman slave working the salt mines. However, my dish, the grilled tequila chicken with Caribbean salsa, was very good. The salsa tasted spicy and fresh, and the chicken was moist and tender. It sat on a bed of great-tasting yellow rice.Alas, the portion was as large as palm of my hand. Although I have a decent-sized guy's hand, I also have a decent-sized hunger, and it wasn't enough.

So, when I asked for a dessert menu, the bartender (we sat near the bar because I'm a guy and didn't make reservations) making the rounds actually looked annoyed with me, holding tight to the check she seemed anxious to present.

In a couple of minutes, she came back around with a small, leather notebook, which she left on the table, and which I quickly opened to find nothing inside. That was it. If I was alone, I would have ordered a Blue Moon draft -- hold the orange slice, please -- and stared at the brick wall and duct work, getting into how both these features metaphorically represented my place in the universe.

Contact Victor Greto at 324-2832 or vgreto@delawareonline.com.