Lapp's Kitchen

Update: No longer open.

Lapp's Kitchen, a restaurant and catering joint serving breakfast, salads, sandwiches, and sides, was previously located in Riverfront Market along the Christiana River in downtown Wilmington, but has recently moved up the road to the corner of 9th and King St. to fill the spot left vacant by Corner Market's shuttering almost a year ago.

I glossed over Lapp's Kitchen when I reviewed veggie offerings in Riverfront Market, but thought I'd give them a closer look now that they have new digs.

Day 1
There are no vegetarian sandwiches or wraps on Lapp's lunch menu -- not even the ubiquitous hummus wrap (not that I'd want to eat that, anyway). The only salad on the menu I can eat is the Market salad, and all the protein add-ons are meat. And that pretty much sums up Lapp's menu, in my eyes. They do have daily specials, and on this day, only the eggplant Parmesan sub is an option, and I'm just not feeling it.
I slink over to the deli case and eye the premade sandwiches to find an egg salad sandwich. Nope. Don't trust egg salad that I don't make. I eye the various salads and sides sitting in platters in the deli case to see if I can make a meal, and decide on a small serving of Harvest Ravioli with cheese and spinach-filled raviolis, green beans, asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and goat cheese in a balsamic dressing; and a small side of roasted asparagus.

I asked for small (what would fit in a small plastic container at deli counters), but the serving of two ravioli's I got was pretty skimpy; I left feeling hungry. The raviolis were nothing to speak of, but the green beans, asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, and goat cheese tossed with balsamic were actually pretty tasty. Sun dried tomatoes are great powerhouses of flavor, and I just don't see them that often anymore. Are Sun dried tomatoes passé? If so, bring them back. The asparagus were perfectly fine, lightly oiled and seasoned, roasted spears.
Just Desserts Cafe briefly partnered up with Lapp's to offer baked goods on the premises, and a Just Desserts Cafe rep was offering up cookie samples, so, duh, I took one. Very pleasant, crispy, sugar cookie with hint of almond. Just Desserts Cafe's web site, now says they are no longer partnered with Lapp's. Pity.

Day 2
There's nothing vegetarian on the specials board. I'm not feeling a salad. I've already sampled a bit from the deli case. I leave and eat some where else.

Day 3
There's still nothing vegetarian on the specials board. I'm not doing the deli case again. I rarely crave salads when eating out, but had just baked over 100 cookies (and tested a few), so a salad actually sounds attractive.
I order the only salad I can eat -- the Market salad -- which comes with assorted veggies, and, this day, came with beets, cucumber pickles, roasted peppers, and carrot raisin salad. It was interesting that the veggie toppings are piled along the rim of the plate, and not on top of the salad, but I guess this is great if you're picky and like to distribute your topping as you please.

I'm pretty sure this salad is meant to be ordered with a protein topping (additional charge), since the veggies were on the skimpy side, but there is no veggie protein option. Honestly, I would just like more veggies. The homemade bread and butter pickles, roasted red peppers, beets, and carrot raisin salad were great, but were gone before I had finished a third of the mixed greens. The salad greens were the freshest greens I've seen in a salad in a long time -- not even one little speck of rotten brownness.

As I was eating my salad, I was thinking about the pleasant demeanor of the man who took my order. In doing research for Lapp's after my first visit, I recognized that it was the owner who took my order on my third visit, and, with just the minimal interaction it takes to order a salad, I thought his business persona very pleasant, which is rare with such impersonal, brief transactions. And, as I was thinking this, the owner popped from behind the counter to ask me if everything was to my liking, and if I'd like a water (I often skip drinks when eating, because I just forget to drink them).I ordered a soft oatmeal cookie (not from Just Desserts Cafe) that was only OK -- minimally spiced, and very few raisins.

So, that was Lapp's. Lapp's serves decent lunch time eats (haven't tried the breakfast, yet) for downtown workers, but is not a dining destination for anyone outside of downtown. They could stand to offer a couple of vegetarian sandwiches or specials, if they want to attract a few more customers. Heck, I walked out on day two, and I was committed to trying them out.

Update: Chuck, the owner of Lapp's, just left a comment on this post and sent me an email informing me that they are in the process of re-tooling their menu to include a veggie wrap, and will be making an effort to have more vegetarian daily specials. They've also re-worked the oatmeal cookie recipe. Yay!

Lapp's Kitchen
901 N. King St., Wilmington, DE, 19801
302-654-8668