Fresh Thymes

Be careful what you wish for, it just might come true.

When Fresh Thymes, the mother and daughter-run corner sandwich shop focusing on local, seasonal ingredients took over the spot vacated by Wild Chives and Rosemary (too many herbs on this corner; it confuses me), the drab white walls I wished had color got a new coat of vibrant orange, purple, and green.
The lamented, hung-too-high pictures were replaced with walls filled high and low and every which where with local paintings (not bad), John Denver albums, random framed inspirational sayings, and various tchotchkes (all bad).

I forgot to wish for a professional designer, and instead got crazy-fun, old-lady design. Oh, well. It's still better.I probably should have wished for an upgrade from the sandwiches and salads of the previous tenant, but Fresh Thymes is keeping the corner neighborhood joint in the same vein.

What is different is Fresh Thymes' gluten-free awareness with menu accommodations and baked goods from Kennett Square's gluten-free bakery, Sweet Christine's. The soup special of the day, a golden gazpacho studded with tomatoes, purple bell peppers, peaches and cilantro, was light and refreshing. The chunks of sweet peaches went surprisingly well with the tomato broth.
Another special of the day, a grilled sandwich featuring Mozzarella, pesto and peaches, suffered from too much grease — from the pesto slathered on the inside of the bread, and the butter for grilling on the outside of the bread. Here, peaches did not go so well. While interesting, I don't think a grilled cheese sandwich with peaches and pesto needs to be explored again.Menu items come with cute names like Meredith's Power House Sandwich, Theresa's Veggie Burger (sadly, not housemade), and Sunny's Sunflower Salad. When we ordered the Janeydilla, a sandwich described as Lancaster Cheddar, onion, bell pepper, tomato, olives, and fresh herbs melted in a wrap, we assumed the "dilla" part of the name was dill, not quesadilla, so were a little surprised when a veggie filled quesadilla arrived instead of a wrap.

Sandwiches come with either a side of chips or tabbouleh. Besides being a bland, disappointing, three-forkful portion, the tabbouleh salad is a misnomer. Instead of bulgur wheat, Fresh Thymes uses quinoa to make the traditional Middle Eastern salad gluten-free. There is also very little parsley, the key ingredient in tabbouleh. That's very thoughtful of Fresh Thymes to make a salad that's gluten-free, but they should just rename it quinoa salad, so as not to mislead customers. Also, up the seasoning and portion size.

Open at 8am Tuesday-Saturday, Fresh Thymes also serves breakfast staples like granola and yogurt, breakfast burritos, French toast, eggs, and bagels, but also sneaks in a trendy and healthy newcomer to the breakfast scene, millet and quinoa porridge.

Fresh Thymes is only open for breakfast and lunch, but if you watch their Facebook Events page you can be the first to know about their occasional RSVP dinners, and, of course, make a reservation for nighttime eats.

Fresh Thymes is a quirky, friendly neighborhood shop dishing up smiles and simple breakfast and lunch-time fare you could easily whip up in your own kitchen, but sometimes it's just nice to get out of the house and see your neighbors.

Fresh Thymes
1836 N. Lovering Ave., Wilmington, DE 19806
302-656-2026
Tues-Fri: 8am-3pm
Sat: 8am-2pm
Sun: closed
Cash only

Le Shio

The Pan Asian restaurant, Le Shio, opened up in the Fairfax Shopping Center on Concord pike back in January, so I convince a friend to meet me there for lunch a couple months after the restaurant's opening. I haven't seen her since. Hope she's not mad at me about the dining choice.

Dark and minimal describes the sleek, industrial black interior of Le Shio. A bar sits off in the front corner, a low wall bisects the middle, and a sushi bar resides on the back wall. Even in the daytime, Le Shio keeps the lights dimmed down low on their food.

The menu is extensive and spans many Asian cuisines, so making up your mind on what to order may be difficult. Most items have a vegetable or tofu option, and there's even a "wok self creation" where you choose the protein, vegetables, and sauce.
A 24-piece vegetarian maki sushi platter for $11 sounds too good to be true. And it is. The platter lacks the variety you find on standard vegetable sushi platters. You're given three maki rolls, each cut into eight pieces.

You'd do better ordering three vegetable maki rolls of your choice than having the choice be made for you. The platter had an avocado, cucumber asparagus and radish roll; avocado and cucumber roll; and oshinko roll. Order those three rolls a la cart for only $10.

Until now, I thought there was no way to make bad vegetable sushi, but Le Shio managed to do it. The maki rolls were loosely rolled, misshapen, and the rice on the outside of the nori was falling off.
Trying to up the fancy factor, Le Shio puts mixed greens in the Japanese carrot and ginger dressed salad. I prefer the crunch of classic iceberg in this situation with such a weighty dressing.
I have no idea what flavor the blue-green colored wrappers on the Chinese steamed vegetable dumplings is supposed to be. My guess is that these are not made in house (why would anyone make blue-green dumplings?), but are frozen. The chewy, hard edges also point to the dumplings being frozen.

Service at Le Shio with multiple servers tending to our table was atrocious. The worst of it was when one server actually swooped in and tried to wrestle the chopsticks out of my hand (no exaggeration) as I was packing up a to-go box, saying that they'd pack up the leftovers. No, it's too late. You lost your chance while you were tending some other table. Also, do not touch me.

Not impressed with my first visit, I waited about a month and stopped in for takeout to avoid a wrestling match, and to be able to see my food in the daylight. I was tempted to make my own wok creation, but those never come out as well as imagined, so decided to get pad Thai as a litmus test. It's not on the menu, but you can order pad Thai with tofu. Besides the standard mung bean sprouts, you'll also get a bevy of vegetables : carrots, broccoli, celery, mushrooms, baby corn, snap peas, and zucchini.

Le Shio's pad is one of the blandest I've had. If you like pad Thai funked up with fish sauce, you will not find it here. If you like pad Thai sweet and tangy, you won't find it here, either. It's noodle-y and Asian-esque, and that's about it. Now, there's nothing unpleasant about Le Shio's pad Thai — noodles, vegetables and tofu are cooked well — it's just bland.
The Balinese mango salad is advertised as coming with spicy chili dressing, but the dressing was only sweet.

It seems as though Le Shio is taking some shortcuts in the kitchen and dumbing down flavors. Reviews out there already are mixed with some in love and others not so much. My guess is that Le Shio has found favor with those who are comfortable with Asian cuisine only when it is toned down. This a strategy that will probably work for Le Shio.

Le Shio
Fairfax Shopping Center
2303 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19803
302-888-0145
Sun-Thurs: 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am-11pm

Cupcake Heaven

Oh, man, have I been sitting on these cupcake pictures from Wilmington's Concord Pike strip mall cupcake haven, Cupcake Heaven, for a long while. Like, maybe half a year! Sorry.

If you're looking for inventive flavors and a wide variety of cupcakes, Cupcake Heaven is just the place for you. With about 120 different cupcake flavors in their repertoire, and 25-30 of those available daily, you're gonna have to root around to find your favorite. Sugar-free, vegan, and gluten-free cupcakes can be made by special order, as well as larger cakes for special occasions.

With so many flavors, and, of course, personal preferences, some of Cupcake Heaven's creations are complete misses, but others are hits. I've found some cakes to have different textures and levels of moistness, too, making some perfect and others not so much.

Cute cupcakes are (were) trendy, but Cupcake Heaven missed that memo, and is operating out of passion, not fashion. The website could use an update, and the strip mall shop set up as a cafe that also offers soup, sandwiches, and coffee lacks warmth, classy decor, or any other inviting qualities beckoning customers to stay longer than it takes to order, pay, and hop back in the car. It's a shame, really, but don't let that stop you from dropping by.
This chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting and pretzel pieces was moist, rich, sweet, salty, and perfect. The French Toast cupcake reminded me nothing of French Toast and was a little dry, but that's OK, because three out of four cats prefer cream cheese frosting.
Red Velvet was underwhelming, which is on par with most, and the other cupcake (I've forgotten what it was, it's been so long, but pretty sure it was eggnog) was just spiffy.

Cupcake Heaven
2117 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19803
(302) 426-0270
Mon-Fri: 7am-8pm
Sat: 8am-8pm
Sun: 9am-2pm

El Diablo

The owner and crew behind the counter were admittedly nervous and visibly shaky while building my late morning burrito, which was probably the second or third burrito sale of El Diablo's April 9 opening day in Wilmington's Trolley Square Shopping Center, but the new, independently owned California-style burrito shop managed to wrap up a winner.

In place of what used to be a dry cleaners is now a cute and sleek little burrito shop with less than 20 seats and a small assembly line counter where you place your order for one of the five specialty burritos: grilled steak, grilled chicken, citrus braised pork, serrano braised pork ribs, or vegetarian. Three large salads are also available, and in the coming weeks El Diablo will introduce tacos and quesadillas to the permanent menu.Now, you either love big-ass rice and bean burritos or you don't. I happen to love them, but my major complaint at most places is lack of punch and zest with the flavors of the standard ingredients. I had no complaints at El Diablo! The toppings are fresh and tasty: hearty marinated mushrooms, tangy corn salsa, two kinds of pico (regular and hot), salsa verde, avocado poblano sauce, romesco sauce, three types of hot peppers, and pickled onion to name a few. It is your own fault if you walk away from El Diablo with a bland burrito. The vegetarian burrito comes with marinated mushrooms, cilantro-spiked rice, black beans, corn salsa, pickled peppers, pepper jack cheese, and pico de gallo. These ingredients are just suggestions, so feel free to eliminate some or add some of the other ingredients available. I decided to up my flavor quotient with the addition of pickled onions, cilantro, and avocado poblano sauce.

The citrus braised pork and serrano braised pork ribs offered at El Diablo are an upgrade from the usual meats at most burrito shops, but you'll pay $8.75 for these fancy meat burritos. On the lower end, the vegetarian burrito only comes in at $6.75.

I was going to knock El Diablo for not offering a non-bean vegetarian protein, but the marinated mushrooms had lots of flavor and was beyond generously portioned. Not sure if the generous portion of mushrooms was an opening day oversight, though.

El Diablo should do well in Trolley Square, where twenty and thirty-somethings gather to bar hop on the weekend. And during the week, the location is only a hop, skip and jump from the thousands of hungry downtown business workers. Because of licensing, El Diablo unfortunately can't stay open past midnight, but if the owner sets up a cart outside to cater to the after-hours bar crowd like I overheard him talking about, they should do very well.

Here's wishing you the best of luck, El Diablo. Hopefully your opening day jitters are a thing of the past, and you're rolling fat, foil-wrapped burritos like it ain't no thang.

Weird note: at one point, I was the lone female out of the twenty customers in El Diablo. Men must love burritos. Or Wilmington has a shortage of women.

El Diablo
13A Trolley Square, Wilmington, DE 19806
Mon-Wed, 11am-9pm
Thurs-Sat, 11am-10pm
Sun, noon-7pm

Bye-Bye, Wilmington

I actually haven't left. But I have. I will continue to work in Wilmington, beautifying and making y'all look awesome, but I no longer live in Wilmington. Yeah, I'm actually kind of sad about this.

This means I probably won't be eating out very often in Wilmington or Delaware. Future Wilmington restaurant reviews are now on the endangered list.

I know I've got one more Wilmington review up in here somewhere (it involves dessert). And I have friends in Wilmington that I'd race back to the state for in the event of a party or outing, so our relationship may not be completely over.

Guiltily, I feel as though I slighted Wilmington in favor of Philly in the restaurant review department, but in looking over at the side bar listing all the places I've been, I'm actually surprised at how many places in Wilmington I got to, especially considering that I rarely go out in Wilmington. Out of the 151 reviews currently listed, 37 of the restaurants are in Wilmington or right outside of Wilmington. Not bad. And, I still have about 25 Wilmington places on my to-do list.

Well, au revoir, Wilmington. I will leave you with a list of only good things...and skip the bitch-fest.

A few of my favorite things in Wilmington:Domain Hudon - A cozy wine bar that serves great food (they recently got a new chef, so I'll definitely have to make a return trip) that was right around the corner from me.

Alcohol - While not as great as states that let you buy wine and beer in every grocery store, at least DE doesn't have the asinine liquor laws that PA has.

Tax-Free Shopping - It is veeerry nice! Since I'll still be visiting almost daily, I'll be sure to stock my car before returning home.
Capriotti's - Hand's down, best veggie turkey sub in the area. I cannot believe how many times I've eaten their sub (it's a sub, not a hoagie at Capriotti's), and, mmmm, oh my god, it tastes so good. I do not intend to live without Cap's. Take-out!

Delaware Center For Horticulture - They plan, plant, and maintain some of the most thoughtful and beautiful median strips (and other public spaces) I've ever seen. Anywhere. Driving along the busy roads in Wilmington is gorgeous...if you take time to notice the small things.

Clean Streets - Litter is minimal in Wilmington. It is a wondrous thing.
Brandywine Park - The best part about this downtown park with a scenic river and canal, tall trees, picnic tables, rose garden, and wide paths is the surrealism of walking right past the llamas and birds of prey at the neighboring Brandywine Zoo. That and it was, literally, right in my backyard! It is every American family's cliche dream to live next to such a park smack in the middle of downtown with gorgeous surrounding neighborhoods. No family here, but I'm shedding mondo tears for the loss of this one.

People - There are some brave mo'f'er's in Wilmington that have de-lurked and befriended me. As in, out of the blue with no relationship to me or anyone I know, asked me to dinner or to a party. I, of course, accepted (as long as they pass the creep test and don't want me to drive more than 20 minutes to meet them), and have met some really great friends.

Tijuana Taco Shop

People in Wilmington love them some Tijuana Taco Shop, a Mexican restaurant and bar (the bar is tiny) near Wilmington's Little Italy neighborhood. I've heard Tijuana Taco Shop mentioned on multiple occasions as the best Mexican fare in Wilmington, so decided to finally check it out.
Step up the stairs past an open window with a view into the kitchen, then past the tiny bar where servers can be seen doing their homework when times are slow, and the restaurant opens up to a warm and casual dining room with bones that look like a once pizza or Italian restaurant from the 80's. Free chips and salsa are de riguer. Chips are average, but the slightly smokey salsa is nice.
Cheese enchiladas are covered in a dark brown, very chocolaty mole sauce. Mexican rice studded with peas and beans accompany, along with a side of re-fried beans.

Asked if the beans contain lard, our server said,"No." I could eat a steak and not have tummy problems, but my highly sensitive dining partner reported no problems afterward, so perhaps they're telling the truth.
The a la cart veggie burrito filled with Mexican rice, re-fried beans, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and avocado was surprisingly Plain Jane, even with all those ingredients stuffed in there. A slap of mole sauce from my partner's plate and salsa from the table livened things up.
In the veggie taco department, you can choose a mushroom, a potato, a bean, or a poblano taco with your choice or corn or flour tortillas. Above are the mushroom and the potato tacos. Savory sauteed mushrooms with raw diced onions, cilantro and cheese were my favorite. The potato taco was interesting in that the fried potatoes had the texture of a cross between mashed potatoes and grated potatoes.
Need more veggie taco options? Look under the salad section. The salty and tangy nopales salad with fresh tomatoes, onions, cheese, avocado, and cilantro comes with a stack of tortillas, and is a meal in itself.

The menu at Tijuana Taco is quite large, and even has a section dedicated to vegetarians, but look around, and I'm sure you can find something to eat elsewhere on the menu by asking for omissions and substitutions. For example, there's a Torta section with only meat options, but take the meat out and you're still left with beans, cheese, and a whole slew of veggies tucked in a roll.

And for you meat eaters, they do tacos al pastor and lengua, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I don't care enough about to memorize (tried to get a take out menu, but they didn't have any, and they have a really bad website with no menu).

I can see why people love Tijuana Taco Shop. It's solid Mexican in a casual environment. The only thing that would make Tijuana Taco better would be if it were BYOB, 'cause Mexican food is so much better with an entire bottle of Tequila. Aw, well! You'll just have to purchase your liquor from the restaurant.

Tijuana Taco Shop
1815 Lancaster Ave., Wilmington, DE, 19805
302-777-3565

Pho Cali

Did it not take forever for Pho Cali in Kirkwood Plaza (no relation to Pho Cali in Philly) on Kirkwood Highway to open up? I pretty much gave up on the place, and when it did open up about four months ago, they neglected to make a website (inexcusable nowadays), and neglected to answer the phone (because Google lists the number incorrectly...and that's why you should have a website) the few times I tried to call and ask the very most important question a Pho-seeking vegetarian has: Do you serve a Pho made with vegetable broth?

So, yeah, I wrote them off. That is until Spark, Wilmington's free weekly, reported back that the vegetable and tofu Pho at Pho Cali uses vegetable broth. Sign me back up!

Soup is the hardest thing for vegetarians to eat when dining out, because they're invariably made with meat stock, and only the most conscious kitchens offer up a vegetable-based soup. So, always a soup skeptic, I asked if Pho Cali's vegetable and tofu Pho was made with vegetable stock, and, sadly, it is not. It's made with chicken stock. Or, at least that's what my server told me, and what a person on the phone told me when I called back later to double check. Meat-stock-Pho is the norm at most Pho shops, but it sure would be nice if everyone offered a veggie option.Aw, well! I was already sitting at one of the bright green booths in the stark, white walled, beige tiled, strip mall restaurant with plasma TV's at either end of the room, so decided to order the one vegetarian Bun dish: a bowl or rice vermicelli topped with fried tofu and onions sauteed with lemongrass and chilis. Tucked on the side of the bowl are shredded carrots, shredded iceberg lettuce, cucumber sticks, mung beans sprouts, and chopped peanuts to be stirred about with the side dish of nuoc cham brought to the table, and any of the various condiments already sitting on the table, such as garlic chili paste, sriracha sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, and chilis in oil.

For $5.95, the huge bowl of veggie Bun is a good deal, and the sweet and spicy fried tofu is the tasty centerpiece of the dish, but only hints at the strong lemongrass flavors the menu alluded to. And, I would have loved to have seen some strongly flavored herbs like cilantro, basil, mint, or scallions either already in the bowl or brought out in a dish for me to add to the Bun.
The tops of the condiment bottles are a little crusty, and one hole on the soy sauce bottle at my table was clogged, so it'd be nice to see Pho Cali clean these up daily.

With no veggie Pho, or veggie egg rolls or spring rolls (I really wanted the spring roll-topped Bun), and only a fried rice dish and a couple noodle dishes for vegetarians, I can't see myself going out of my way to visit Pho Cali on Kirkwood, but if I were closer I certainly would stop in occasionally.

It's just nice to see Wilmington finally get a Pho restaurant! And Pho Cali offers dim sum on Saturday and Sunday.

Want to know what's on Pho Cali's menu? No problem! Just click the pic to enlarge.
Pho Cali
4373 Kirkwood Hwy Wilmington, DE 19808
302-999-8107
Open daily, 11am-10pm

Orillas Revisited

Wilmington's downtown Spanish tapas restaurant, Orillas, opened it's doors November 2008, and my initial visit was only a few weeks after their opening, which, admittedly, is too soon to judge. On that initial visit I noted a few things that needed changing, and it seems that with my most recent visit almost all of those changes have been implemented.Orillas revamped their menu, and even included a section listing vegetarian dishes. Before I had to quiz my server on what was and wasn't vegetarian. I still think there are some items not in the vegetarian section that can be easily made vegetarian, so don't limit yourself to this one section of the menu.

You can now order a cheese plate with just cheese on it. Before it was a cheese and meat plate, or at least that's how the menu read.

The uncut flat bread served on a curved ceramic plate that I struggled to cut with a butter knife, now comes pre-sliced on a wooden plank.

Servers are still a little odd. This go round, our server asked if we had heard of tapas before, and also explained each menu page. Um...my Mom was eating tapas in her podunk hometown before you even entered high school, and I'm quite capable of reading menu headings. Pleasant server, otherwise.

These marinated wild mushrooms were not the marinated I was thinking of -- tangy vinegar-- but were straight-up earthy with oil and balanced seasonings with a squirt of roasted pepper sauce.
The breaded and fried baby zucchini paled next to the accompanying sweet and tangy tomato mango salsa. Really can't fault the zucchini, it's just that the salsa was so vibrant. And the squirt of roasted red pepper sauce, while pretty, is unnecessary with such strong flavors from the salsa. Squirts of roasted red pepper sauce made appearances on many dishes, and is a bit overplayed.I tried the crema Catalana, a Spanish version of creme brulee. Light citrus flavors were nice, but the custard was grainy, and the caramelized top was thin and only caramelized in the center.

Sampled but not pictured:

Mushroom, roasted garlic, and Manchego Flatbread - great flavors, but melted cheese made for extremely greasy finger food.

Tomato salad with sherry vinaigrette and Cabrales - bright tangy flavors, but some of the tomatoes were grainy, and this should not be so in the middle of summer.

Patatas - roasted fingerling potatoes serving as fancy french fries. I thought they were seasoned perfectly, another thought they needed more seasoning. It's true, no one can agree on salt levels!

Rice pudding - Oh my god, this was the best thing I put in my mouth all night long! This warm, buttery, raisin and spice-spiked rice pudding might even be the best rice pudding I've ever had. Get it!

I enjoyed the food a little more than before, simply because I sampled more things. Chef Julio Lazzarini is cooking up some solid tapas, but nothing arrestingly sublime like Garces is doing in Philly with his every expanding tapas empire that currently includes Distrito, Amada, Tinto, and Chifa. It is unfortunate to be serving tapas in a town so close to Garces.

But like Garces, Chef Lazzarini will be giving Wilmingtonians more -- or so that's what he told us when he visited our table to chat. Hot off his appearance on the Food Network's chef competition show, Chopped (I missed this show in it's entirety, including Chef Lazzarini's appearance), Chef Lazzarini mentioned offering a weekend brunch at Orillas.

Yes, y'all! Brunch! In downtown Wilmington! I swear, if this happens and y'all don't go and support what will be one of only a few businesses open in downtown on the weekend, I'll stomp around and make a pissy face.

Chef Lazzarini also mentioned opening a Nuevo-Latino tapas restaurant in the future. I approve.


Update: Orillas has moved up the street to 902 Market St.

Orillas 413 N. Market St., Wilmington, DE 19801
Lunch: Mon-Fri, 11am-2:30pm
Dinner: Mon-Thurs, 5-10pm; Fri & Sat 5-11pm

Domaine Hudson Revisited

The second restaurant review to grace this blog (whoa! that was over three and a half years ago) was for Domaine Hudson, a wine bar and restaurant in downtown Wilmington that I was smitten with when they first opened in late 2005, and am still smitten with to this day. Ask me for a fine dining recommendation in Wilmington, and Domaine Hudson is the first name out of my mouth.

I don't get around to frequenting most of the restaurants I review, simply because there are so many good, new (to me) restaurants to experience, but there are a handful of restaurants that I do return to, and Domaine is one of them, although, I don't frequent Domaine nearly enough, seeing as how they are so close to my house and I enjoy them immensely. Being bone tired and unpresentable after work, and staying in Philly on the weekend are my excuses.

Of all my visits to Domaine Hudson, I've never taken pictures of their food, even for the initial review, so I thought I'd show you some of what Domaine dishes up.

In full disclosure, the owners, Tom and Meg Hudson, know me and know that I write this food blog. They did not know me when I wrote my initial review, but Meg, sharp woman that she is, recognized me the second I walked in their restaurant after writing the review, and called me out in the nicest way possible. Meg and Tom chat me up when I visit, but they do this with all of their customers.
3 wines, 3 ounces, $3 each. The glasses were fuller before it dawned on me to take a picture.

Domaine has a great daily happy hour deal from 5-7pm -- 3 wines, 3 ounce pours, $3 each. Three related wines are up for offer, and you could order just one, but the happy hour deal is a great way to compare three wines and make mental notes all wine connoisseur-like at about half price.

Domaine Hudson is a restaurant with wines as their specialty, and, surprise, they have great wines! Every time we go, we're always writing down what we drank so we can shop for it later. Chat up the server or the owners (sitting at the bar best for this) and they'll help you find a wine you like. One evening, after rating five wines and having my ratings match exactly with Meg's, I learned to just ask Meg what her favorite wine is on their ever changing wine list.

Oh, and if wine's not your thing, Domaine now has a selection of craft beers in bottle. Everybody gets a little love!

The changing menu is not vegetarian heavy, but there are a few dishes, and the chef, Jason Barrowcliff, who has been there since day one, will gladly make a veggie plate. We tend to go for the wine, cheese, and dessert because it somehow seems more decadent, but recently we went all out and had a full meal. It helps that Domaine offers a prix fixe menu of three courses for $35 all the time. And, as always, meat eaters win with the prix fixe.
This complimentary roll with a crusty exterior and soft interior reminds me of the fab rustic rolls I made a while back.
While Domaine's menu changes frequently, I don't think I've ever not seen the baked brie and arugula salad with walnuts, pears, and roasted shallot vinaigrette. It's perfect, and I think patrons would object if it went missing.
These caramelized Brussels sprouts with exotic mushrooms, micro-greens, and aged sherry vinaigrette are some of the best Brussels sprouts I've ever had. I think it was the earthy mushrooms that elevated them to the next level.
This macadamia nut and Parmesan crusted swordfish with asparagus, wild rice, and leek-saffron sauce was said by the boy to be the best cooked piece of swordfish he's ever had.The vegetarian cauliflower and chickpea stew with peas, carrots, and mushrooms in a mushroom broth, topped with sun dried tomato and olive tapenade is a hearty, mild, mushroom-y stew that draws pep from the tapenade. Oh, and it pains me that the chickpeas were undercooked on the one visit I took pictures for a "revisit" on the blog, since I've never had anything wrong with any dish at Domaine Hudson, but there it was.
"Drunken" tiramisu is a sort of deconstructed tiramisu with lady fingers and espresso with vanilla and coffee ice cream. This was the boy's dessert, and while his plate was cleaned, he confessed to preferring a traditional tiramisu.
Domaine Hudson has the best creme brulees! I mean it. The creme part is so thick, creamy and rich, and the brulee part is thick and crunchy. Never a big creme brulee person, I ordered one a few years ago from Doamine, and it knocked my socks off. Since then, I order creme brulees wherever I go, and no one has offered up a creme brulee to match. I find any combination of grainy or runny custards, and over burnt or thin and bendy caramelized sugar tops at other places. Get the creme brulee!

And that's a "revisit" to Domaine Hudson. I really need to go more often. My excuses are lame. What's yours?

Domaine Hudson
1314 N. Washington St., Wilmington, DE 19801
302-655-9463
Mon- Thurs,5-10:30p.m.
Fri-Sat., 5 - 11p.m.