Caffe Gelato: Newark, DE restaurant week

So, one of our favorite times of year around here is restaurant week.  While most of the college students are still away, Newark entices us to leave our warm houses to try out new specials at Newark's best restaurants.  Today we visited one of our favorites for a cheap-er lunch than usual-well, it would have been if we had skipped dessert.

I first mentioned Caffe Gelato on my blog over four years ago as the first restaurant we ever visited on Newark's Main Street.  Their specials today for restaurant week were:

French Onion Soup au gratin

or

Roasted Cauliflower Bisque with aged Vermont Cheddar garnished with crisp pancetta

and

House-crafted sun dried tomato gnocchi ‘gratinati’ with caramelized onions, radicchio, roasted garlic béchamel and smoked mozzarella 

or

Prosciutto Panino with sliced apples, Manchego, fig jam, arugula and caramelized onions

I had the cauliflower bisque and gnocchi, while Brian enjoyed the French onion soup and panino.  All four courses were delicious.  My dishes were both very fragrant and delicately seasoned, and perfect on this cold January day.

 Their children's menu is pretty typical, but Theo enjoyed his sweet potato fries and chicken tenders. 

He was just being good the whole time to get his gelato at the end.  He immediately picked out his Strawberry flavored dessert when we walked in and were waiting to be seated, since the gelato selections are right inside the door.  He almost went for "green" (mint chocolate chip), but decided he "doesn't like" chocolate chips-which is the biggest lie I've ever heard.  Two year olds...

Cheeburger Cheeburger (Newark, DE)

After having the Chuckbox as our go-to-burger-place in Tempe, we were quite spoiled when it came to finding the perfect burger.  Chuckbox is absolutely the perfect place for college students to get a burger, beer and onion rings (or fried zucchini in my case).  This one-of-a-kind (and location) restaurant cooks the burgers to order on their huge fire pit, and lets you dress it yourself at the fixin's bar.  We pretty much took everyone who ever came to visit us there.

(couldn't find a pic of us there, but here's my brother-in-law and sister-in-law there)

There is really no comparison to it here in Delaware.  And the first few years we were here there were really no burger places at all on Main St. (though there is a Jake's just out of town).  But, as luck would have it, when we crossed the line from needing a college joint to a family atmosphere, Cheeburger Cheeburger came to Main St.  This is a chain restaurant, that seems mostly to be in our area and some of the south.  Some random airports across the country also have a location.  With a 50s décor, their shtick is to have you "invent" whatever you would like to eat.  Their menu boasts over 1.285 million milkshake combinations, and there are about 30 different toppings to choose from for your burger (I like the black olives!).  They have regular French fries, sweet potato fries, and really thin delicious onion rings. 

We took Brian's parents there last weekend, and it was probably our third visit to the new restaurant.  We have yet to be disappointed. 

You get your picture on the wall with this burger if you eat their big burger in one sitting.

Theo loves the car that his meal comes in, it keeps him occupied for a while. 

 Even Eli had a good time!

Newark Area Restaurants

In the last few months, we have been cutting back on eating out, but do have a few places to recommend, all of them on the ever changing Main Street of Newark.

Ali Baba- We went here during restaurant week a few months ago. We've always wanted to go here, but their hours have made it hard for us to make it in here. The outside of the restaurant is not very appealing, but inside you forget you are on Main Street with the low tables, couches, and Middle Eastern decor. We had lots of spicy food, and Theodore even joined in eating the rice, pitas, and Moroccan carrot salad (Carrots, garlic, onion, parsley, white vinegar, olive oil, & special spices). I had a delicious kabob, and Brian enjoyed their specialty, the Moroccan chicken.

Catherine Rooney's- I was very excited when we saw signs go up for a new Irish place in town. The food was about average for an Irish place, but the atmosphere was a lot more family friendly than the other Irish place in town, so we had a really nice time. The owner even seated us in a private booth area, and Theodore stayed asleep for a majority of the night, but woke up for dessert.


Peace a Pizza- We finally tried this pizza place in February when Brian's parents were out here for Theodore's birthday. The slices were pretty tasty, and we found the music played to be humorous, so we had a pretty good time. The tiny restaurant is a little cramped, but for a date night sans Theo it was fine!

Cheeburger Cheeburger- This place has been under construction FOREVER, and was supposed to open last summer and just now opened this spring. We tried it, and it was a pretty good burger place. Their onion rings, were much better than their fries, and they had a pretty nice atmosphere. Their menu was full of all their "options" for sandwiches, dips, salads, and shakes. It makes a math teacher like me a little excited to think about all the combinations and permutations.

Finally, Chipotle also opened out of the blue. I didn't even know they were coming, and all the sudden they were open. We loved eating there in Arizona, so now we've got another quick, cheap place to grab a bite in Newark.


ALSO: OFF MAIN STREET
Middletown- I have enjoyed a few lunch time meals from Caruso's in Middletown, and finally dragged Brian down here one night for dinner. I love their Penne with Vodka sauce!

Winter has arrived on the East Coast

We were having a hard time getting into the Advent season this year, but we finally received our dose of Christmas weather this week. On Thursday, I was down in Dover for a training when we got our first "real" snow of the season, which was still only an inch or two. It took quite a while to get home that afternoon, as many were unprepared and uncomfortable driving in the snow. They called a two-hour delay for school on Friday... pretty silly when the roads were perfectly fine the next morning, but that's Delaware. Our first glimpse of snow was actually last Friday, Dec. 10 (during last period, which was my homeroom-they were beyond excited).

The first week of Dec. we did get to see Santa arrive in Newark at the Winterfest. Theodore found the event a little strange, but not too frightening.

Last weekend Theodore picked out the Christmas tree with Brian and we set it up. Baby has yet to really bother the tree too much... we'll see if that can be said once we start putting wrapped presents underneath.

And finally, this Saturday we made our second NYC at Christmas time trip. This time we actually braved the traffic and drove right up to Central Park and parked right near FAO Schwartz (with a coupon for the garage!) with less than three hours from our door to theirs. We learned Brian quickly can pick up on taxi driver's techniques after being on the city streets just a few minutes.
There is just something so great about the city at Christmas... I am so glad we dragged our weary, tired selves there and had a great day. Theodore was great, other than being scared for a brief second when he found himself on the middle of 5th Avenue. It was quite a wake-up after his nap in the car. We headed through Central Park (stopping for Theodore's first carousel ride) to the Museum of Natural History. We could have spent a lot longer there, but it was closing around 6 and we didn't get there as early as we would have liked. We had to speed tour a lot of the museum.
Then we walked back through a very calm and quiet Central Park, viewing all of the city lights on our romantic stroll as Theodore napped. Finally, we stepped into FAO Schwartz and entertained Theodore with all the great toys there. It was a great day, and I got to see the Rockefeller tree at night this time, which is definitely the way to go.

Blueberry Adventures (and Other Produce Pursuits)

So this summer, two of our main sources of entertainment have been going to farmer's markets and orchards. Two things I never really did in my own childhood. Since I lived on a farm there was no reason. We could get fresh eggs from an aunt or pick strawberries from my grandmother's patch. We didn't need a market or an orchard to help us connect to our own food supply. But out here in Delaware, we need to.

We've been up to Wilmington for a small farmers market in Little Italy (Saturdays, 9-1, 8th & Bancroft Parkway), headed over to U of D's own market on campus at Mentors' Circle (11-2 on Thursdays), and found the best selection at Newark's own farmer's market that operates every Sunday (10-2, 280 East Main Street) where we can easily head to after church. Among other things, we've gotten a lot of green beans, some rhubarb (made my first strawberry-rhubarb pie-it was fantastic), fresh herbs, and of course baked goods for Brian.

Theodore at the UD Farmer's Market.

Milburn Orchard has also been a favorite destination of ours this summer, and for the first time in well over a decade, my blueberry feign of a husband got to go blueberry picking. It was the orchard's first year for blueberries, and they had three different varieties to choose from. The first variety is probably the reason I mistakenly thought I didn't like blueberries. They just don't hit my taste buds right. But in the following rows, I finally realized that blueberries might not be so bad after all. For years I have baked blueberry pies without tasting them, skipped the blueberry sauce on waffles, and picked blueberries out of fruit salads. I just thought they were not the berry for me. However, by that night around 9:30 pm I had a piece of blueberry pie that made me seriously doubt my behavior. IT was delicious! I can understand now why Brian is always begging me to make this pie for him.

Since we the perfect fresh blueberries to use, I went all out and even made the pie crust from scratch, and watched the blueberries go from this:

We had a fun time at the orchard, though we are still riding this East coast heat wave to the fullest. Theodore and I ended up back in the car in the air conditioning while Brian was still picking. He would have probably stayed out there until his basket was full if I let him.

I've also kind of fell in love with my mother-in-law's garden this summer. I love to see things growing, and her garden has so much variety. She brought us out a bunch of peppers and eggplant and kohlrabi among other things. It's even better than a farmer's market.

Newark Nite 2010

We had a great time at Newark Nite again this year. Brian had lots to eat, and I enjoyed some Indonesian food for the first time!

Theodore also started to try and blow raspberries while we were out. His imitation is pretty cute.

Saturdays

So our weekends look a lot different than what they used to before we had Theodore.

Today we headed to Babies R Us first thing in the morning armed with coupons, and bought 408 diapers. That should last him through next month.

Then we headed to Main Street, so we could try one of the TWO new burger places that Newark is getting (we're also getting a Chipotle, and recently got a Cheesecake Factory, so the restaurant situation here is really looking up). Main Street Sliders was okay, between us we got five sliders, drinks, onion rings, and old bay fries for less than $13. It wasn't the best ever, but a cheap alternative to Jake's Hamburgers, which is about the only other option around here.

We also stopped in Bing's and got some desserts. Always a fun place to go.

Then we came home and took a ton of pictures for Theodore's three-month birthday tomorrow. See the next posting for those...

Spring!!! (And St. Patrick's Day)

It was the most beautiful day of the year Saturday, a great start to spring.

We started it with a trip to Babies R Us.  They were having a promotion for a new type of diapers. We got a bunch of the new Pampers with Dry Max feature. And an outfit for baby to wear to his daddy's softball games this fall, a picture will come eventually of that. We also got him some new shades to protect his eyes.

Then we headed to Main Street to stroll, eat, and watch basketball.

We had lunch at Grotto Pizza, and watched Villanova lose.

We then finished walking along Main Street, with lots of people commenting on how cute Theodore looked in his stroller with his shades on.

And then we participated in a 20 year Newark tradition. Apparently, Rita's gives out free water ices on the first day of spring. We stumbled upon the line that stretched at least 200 feet from the counter. I've been wanting to try water ice for a long time, and we liked it, and will need to return this summer. It's one of area's claims to fame, along with pretzels and Philly cheesesteaks.

Earlier in the week, we also made a big deal out of Theodore's first official holiday:  St. Patrick's Day! He wasn't at all excited though :(

Newark Restaurant Week 2010

This year we thoroughly tried to embrace downtown Newark's Restaurant Week. January is a great time in Newark because most of the students are not in town (UD has a full J-term) and that leads to better parking, less crowded restaurants, and incentives to get us into stores.

We made a pact to try and go to completely new (to us) restaurants, or at least ones we had only been to once before. The following was our week:

Monday Lunch (MLK Day-no school): Wanted to go to Ali Baba, but realized it is not open for lunch. Went across the street to Klondike Kate's instead.

Shannon: French Onion Soup, Country Club
Brian: Jalapeno Beer Cheese Soup, All Tied Up sandwich

Wednesday Super: Finally went to Deere Park Tavern... "Newark's oldest restaurant featuring hearty and savory dishes in a beautifully restored historic hotel frequented by Edgar Allen Poe."

Shannon: Homemade Fried Fierro Mozzarella (Brian looooved the herbs on top.), Buttermilk Fried Chick with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy (I could eat mashed potatoes and gravy every day of this pregnancy if Brian let me).
Brian: Black & Blue Steak (as normally, not quite blue enough for Brian, but I think he liked it).

Friday Super: Dined at Home Grown Cafe. Found out the place is a little bit restaurant, a lot bar. And it was a little crowded. But once the crowd thinned out we were able to enjoy ourselves, and Brian really loved the flavors here. The band was pretty good too-The John Bryne Band (folk rock). "Home Grown Cafe is an independently owned and award winning restaurant. We focus on providing our clientele with an eclectic unique experience that will be memorable for a diverse spectrum of tastes. With fresh local ingredients, internationally inspired menus, beers and wines from around the world. Home Grown is a great place for families, students, professors and travelers. We make 99% of our menu items from scratch, utilizing local and seasonal ingredients. We have a friendly, professional and knowledgeable staff. Home Grown is truly an enjoyable experience for all.

Shannon: Burger
Brian: Baba Ganoush, Waffle Crusted Chicken, Brandied Pear Bread Pudding

Sunday: We went to the Stone Balloon Winehouse, hoping to get soup, but found out they only had a brunch menu on Sundays. We went with it anyway, and had a very fancy Sunday brunch.

Shannon: Day Break Potatoes
Brian: pastry platter, Crab Cake Benedict

Newark Winterfest & Saengerbund

We finally attended a Second annual event in our still-new home of Newark. We made it on time to see the Christmas tree lit this year, and again enjoyed the free cookies and hot chocolate. It was still so nice out though, that it didn't really feel like winterfest.

The following day it finally SNOWED and snowed. It eventually stuck to the ground, but was mostly gone by the next morning. It was pretty exciting though.

We also got in the holiday mood by going to the Delaware Saengerbund Christmas concert. The lure of German cookies (more free cookies) and coffee got Brian there as well.

Sugar Rush

A cute new cafe opened in Newark. We visited Sugar Rush after church a few Sunday's ago. I went for the loaded baked potatoes, and was delighted that they also had lemonata available to drink. Brian really liked the cannoli he had for desert. I think he's even gone back for more since.

Lots of Bs

Last Friday night I got the idea that we should focus on only picking activities for our Saturday outings that starts with the letter "B". Don't ask why, I know it was a pretty dorky idea, but it worked out well during the morning.

First-we Biked into town. My first time on a bike in a while, realized how uncomfortable they are. We ended up going about 7 miles.

We first made a stop at Bing's Bakery. I was in the mood for my first ever Black and white cookie, and we otherwise just wanted to check it out. I loved the shop, and got lots of ideas for Brian's Ph.D. celebration in a couple of years.

Then, we went to a Bistro, for lunch. The Adrian Bistro was a coffee shop at the beginning of Main Street with some really good food. I had a delicious BLT, and appreciated the quiet, personal atmosphere.

After that we thought about going bowling, but the lanes were already packed at 11:30 in the morning due to some kind of tournament, so we did a little window shopping and then headed back home.

Later that day, we aborted the B-theme to attend a couple of festivals. All the shops and organizations of Newark came out for the annual Newark Night, which offered lots of food offerings for my hubby. We then headed up to town for the Wilmington Greek Festival, my first foray into Greek culture. I certainly enjoyed the fest, which had a good crowd of happy people eating, drinking, and dancing. We enjoyed the pork souvlaki, baklava, ouzo, and Aris, and will definitely pencil in the festival on next years calendar right now as a must-not-miss.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keeping with the B-theme, I was able to try another bagel place today, and think it was definitely my favorite so far. The Sunshine Bagel place in Middletown has a great turkey sandwich (especially on onion bagel).

Memorial Day Weekend 2009 (including book recommendations)

I thoroughly enjoyed this weekend. We ended up not going camping, and decided to avoid the crowds that are descending upon the East Coast beaches at this moment. We basically stayed around home, and just decided things on the spur of the moment. Nothing was planned.

Friday night we continued our hunt for a good pizza place in DE. We tried Ciao's Trolley Pizza &  Grill based on good reviews I had found. It turned out to be a little more casual restaurant than we were expecting. It reminded us of Slices in Tempe. We ordered slices at the counter (though you can order a whole pizza) and ate outside on the patio in the beautiful weather. It was pretty good pizza to try if you are in the area, which was a quaint beautiful little part of Wilmington. Just be careful what you sprinkle on your pizza. Brian ended up seasoning his with garlic powder that he thought was Parmesan.

We then headed to the nearest theater to see the new Night at the Museum movie. As D.C. and the Smithsonians has quickly became my favorite DE getaway, I enjoyed seeing the familiar sights in the movie. It wasn't quite as entertaining as the first, but definitely worth the time to see.

On Saturday morning we went for a 2 mile walk in the warm weather, during which we tried Fresh Hot Bagel. The bagels were good, and not too big, but the service needed work (they were out of my desired spread and gave Brian a regular bagel when he ordered an everything bagel). We'd rather stick with one of the Main Street places.

Brian made a great lunch for us-Pasta Carbinara from the Rachel Ray Summer 2009 issue (he suggests adding balsamic vinegar).

We also finished off some cupcakes from Sassy Cupcakes in Newark. Though overpriced, the boutique offers different flavors daily and are good enough to merit a return trip. My favorite is the red velvet variety, while Brian has really liked the Baily's and triple chocolate flavors.

The rest of the weekend has been spent napping and reading and enjoying our time off. I've finished the following books:

"Mrs. Kimble" -is a book about a man told through his three wives. Each wife comes from a unique background and time, with very different expectations for their husband/children's father. ****.5

"American Girl" -a book set in the radical times of the 70s-it took a while for me to even understand the main plot of this book, but it ended up being interesting. It prompted me to wonder about the teaching of the Japanese-Americans internment during WWII in the US (CA and AZ mostly). I found out about this while in AZ-and I wonder how many people remember learning this in school-whether it's found it's way into the history books yet? *** Susan Choi's book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and after describing it to my husband he informed me it was loosely based on the Patty Hearst story.

"The Devil in Massachusetts" -this was one of the books I was assigned back in my Human Event class freshman year of college. I finally finished reading through this non-fiction book, and enjoyed the historical understanding I gained. ****

Day Trip: Getting out and Around

I wanted to get out of the area for a little bit, so we drove up north and went on a few shopping excursions. As always, I want to chronicle the places we visited.

Before we even got out of town, Brian wanted to stop for coffee, so we stopped in at Newark (Deli and) Bagels. For a Saturday morning in a college town, it was packed! I assumed it would be deserted, but it was quite crowded. I had a very salty "salt bagel" and they slathered on plenty of cream cheese. I would definitely make a return trip.

Next we stopped at that favorite cheese shop of ours in Gap, PA. We got some Spanish cheese, New Amsterdam Gouda, and the mango dessert cheese.

]Next, we went to an antique mall. It was our first time at such a place. Brian found a lot of cool old books, but didn't get any. I brought home a couple old mason jars, buttons, and quilting squares. It was very interesting, almost like a museum-without all the reading. :)

Then, we stopped at a farmer's market in Bird-in-Hand. It was a little more market than farm-and Brian just grabbed some pie and dismissed the rest of the place. He was getting hungry for lunch.

After getting back to Newark, we grabbed lunch at Jake's Hamburgers. This popular place is order-at-the-counter fast food that is pretty good. We haven't tried their milkshakes yet. We will definitely be back to try them.

And that completed our Saturday.

Newark, Delaware Mexican Restaurants

So we have now made it to three of the local Mexican restaurants around here. After being spoiled by the authentic food in Phoenix, nothing can quite live up to our Mexican food tastes, but these are still pretty good restaurants.

El Jefe: Brian went to this little place off of Kirkwood Highway with his co-workers before taking me there. When we went, the service was a little slow in getting to us (and it was actually a slow night for them), but once we were able to get our order in the experience improved greatly. The food was the closest to what you'd get in Phoenix, and the guacamole and salsa were both good. We'll definitely go again.

La Tonalteca: This place is right off Main Street downtown Newark, making it the closest to us. This place has replaced Tres Margaritas (in Tempe) as our spot to get our Mexican food fix on a Friday night. It's a franchised restaurant, with 10 locations in DE and one in PA and NY each, and overall has pretty good food-even though it's just a little overpriced.

Border Cafe: We finally hit up this place after passing it many times. Unfortunately, it is the least favorite of the options so far. It was a packed restaurant, and the round wooden tables were crammed so close together you could barely get through the restaurant. The menu was billed as a Tex-Mex restaurant, but ended up being an odd mix of Mexican, Cajun, Creole, and Soul foods. The food was okay, I didn't really like it but Brian did. I probably wouldn't return for a full dinner, but the chips were good enough that it might be a good place for having just drinks and appetizers. There are three locations in MA, and two in NJ in addition to the DE locations.

Newark Winterfest 2008

On Friday, we headed downtown to the acclaimed "Winterfest" of Newark. It was actually quite cute, and though we missed the tree lighting, it was a very festive atmosphere with ice carvings, carolers, and free cookies. There is also a walk/run race, which we may train to do next year. It'd be a great way to warm up in December. All in all, the town felt very much like Star's Hollow (fictional setting of Gilmore Girls).


We also enjoyed a meal on Main Street, at one of our favorite (pricey) places. Iron Hill Brewery is fabulous. I normally order the chicken fried chicken.