This Week Only Gets Better!

I just spent two and a half hours trying to locate Ciavelita’s, a Filipino grocery and take-out store on the outskirts of Wilmington because, for some reason, I had it in my mind that they had some sort of awesome Filipino sandwich.

I finally find the place after cruising around two shopping centers; a stop in the Indian grocery store in the same vicinity to ask if they’ve heard of Ciavelita’s (never heard of it!); a call to the boy so he can look it up on the computer (why so many Wilmington restaurants don’t have web sites is beyond me); a drive back into town to another Filipino grocery and take-out store (empty; must have been Ciavelita’s previous location, ‘cause how many Filipino grocery and take-out places can Wilmington have?); a call to Ciavelita’s for explicit directions (the phone was busy for a very long time previously); then a drive back out to the road I was on before about six times...to find Ciavelita’s tucked in a tiny strip perpendicular to the road it’s listed on…and three doors down from the Indian grocery store!

I have listened to the cd in my car’s player four times, and eaten the emergency granola bar in my backpack!

I was once lost in this same area a few years ago for about forty minutes looking for a WWE wrestling match (don’t ask!).

At Ciavelita's there are a few tables in the foreground, a few sparse racks of groceries along the walls and in a side room, and a steam table in the back with about ten deep dishes filled with goodies.

I ask if there’s anything vegetarian. Yes, two dishes. They look the same – both green beans and potatoes. What’s the difference? They’re the same, but they taste different. So what’s the difference? One is made with shrimp paste and the other is made with oyster sauce. Oh, I’ll pass. (The food did look good in that homemade, hole-in-the-wall, hidden-gem way, but nothing was vegetarian.)

I think Ciavelita’s Filipino sandwich (doesn't exist) got jumbled in my mind with Vietnamese sandwich and Delaware’s awesomely good veggie turkey sub from Capriotti’s. Filipino sandwich: Vietnamese sandwich. Ciavelita’s: Capriotti’s. You can see how things got crossed, right?

The food looked good, and I’ve already invested two and a half hours to this place, so why not another hour to tell you how to get there. So, you wanna find it?

Keep your eyes peeled for the Motto Computer sign.

Ciavalita's
3317 Old Capital Trail, Wilmington, DE 19808
302-998-4740

Google it if you like, but GoogleMaps won’t find it.

• Drive down Kirkwood Highway (Hwy 2) away from Wilmington towards Newark.
• After you pass Hwy 141, then Prices Corner Shopping Center on the left, then McDonald's on the left, you’ll turn left on Newport Gap Pike (Hwy 62).
• Turn left on Old Capital Trail.
• See that “B” place marker on the map below? Turn left there after the Moto Computer sign, but before the Tom’s Barber Shop sign.
• Ciavelita’s is on the right hand side next to Motto Computer.
  
• Ciavelita's does not have a sign out on the main road. They are in the back with a small sign, so if you think you’ll see it from the main road as you drive past, you’ll be driving around for two and a half hours like I did.

Somebody, please go eat there. I’ve invested a lot of time in this place, and I can’t eat anything!