n Roja & Verde Taqueria next to the Newark Drip Café on North College Avenue.
When it comes to Delaware’s dining scene, there is rarely has a slow news day, and that’s been particularly true this summer.
There are new restaurants in the works, and plenty of opportunities to try new foods.
More Mexican
In fall, Greg Vogely, owner of two Delaware Drip Café locations, plans to open Roja & Verde Taqueria next to the Newark Drip Café on North College Avenue.
Vogeley named the newcomer for red and green salsas, all made from scratch. He will also feature freshly pressed flour and corn tortillas, two kinds of tamales and taquitos.
Customers will be able to order individual items or make a platter with refried black beans and rice.
There are no plans to sell alcohol.
Making the jump from French toast to tamales isn’t a stretch for Vogeley. His family has a longtime passion for Mexican food.
“We have even eaten Mexican food on the Fourth of July — every birthday, every celebration,” he said.
But that changed after tasting Maria Gonzalez’s staff meals at Drip Café. The prep cook’s cuisine is so impressive that no one else could compare.
Gonzalez, the prep cook at Drip, inspired Roja & Verde and is on the team.
, Dover is the next stop for the BurritoBar Tex-Mex franchise.
To the south, Dover is the next stop for the BurritoBar Tex-Mex franchise.
The first location opened in Toronto in 2005 as BarBurrito, and the chain quickly spread across Canada. There are more than 200 locations.
BurritoBar will be in Capital Station Shopping Center, which replaced the Playtex plant on Route 13.
Eggcellent in downtown Lewes is opening a second location on the Coastal Highway.
Brunch still big at beach
Eggcellent in downtown Lewes is opening a second location on the Coastal Highway in space formerly occupied by Fork + Flask and Nage.
Outlet Liquors and an expanded Touch of Italy are also in the center.
Eggcellent owners Elina Kamalova and her husband, Ibo Sen, opened the Lewes restaurant in June 2020 in the building many still call the old Café Azafran.
Now the Mediterranean-influenced restaurant is in Rehoboth Beach.
However, owner Richard Steele also has Olive & Oats by Azafran, which is an olive’s throw from Eggcellent in Lewes.
As for Eggcellent’s new spot, the owners gave the Rehoboth Beach location a cheerful makeover to reflect the emphasis on breakfast. Hopefully, it will open in time to capture some of the summer season.
As we mentioned last week, Nectar Cafe, another Lewes breakfast/lunch spot, is opening a second café in Millsboro in August.
Peachy keen
On Saturday, July 22, from 8 a.m. to noon, the Historic Lewes Farmers Market in George H.P. Smith Park will hold the Peach Celebration, featuring Henry Bennett of Bennett Orchards and Dru Tevis, winner of the Food Network’s “Holiday Baking Championship.”
A sixth-generation farmer, Bennett will discuss growing peaches on his First State Century Farm.
Tevis, the corporate pastry chef for SoDel Concepts, will then make drop-style buttermilk biscuits—one with peaches, blue cheese, figs and dates and a second with peaches, brown sugar and cinnamon.
While you’re at the producer-only market, pick up some of the season’s first watermelons, as well as sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes and summer squash.
Market vendors also sell oysters, crab, fish and grass-fed chicken, beef, lamb and pork.
Troisieme Café quietly opened this past May on Concord Avenue in Wilmington’s Brandywine Village.
Try Troisieme
While new coffee shops have been giving customers a happy jolt statewide, Troisieme Café quietly opened this past May on Concord Avenue in Wilmington’s Brandywine Village.
The name means “third” in French, and the owner is Atlanta-native James Bradford III.
Popular items include lattes, cold brew coffees and pastries.
Pokelicious’s Neptune Salad isn’t the only new addition to the Chancery Market.
Chancery restaurant changes
In a previous column, we noted that Pokelicious was coming to The Chancery Market Food Hall & Bar in downtown Wilmington
There have been other changes.
Agave—no relation to the Lewes or Chadds Ford restaurants with the same name—is moving into space that originally housed Fuku, David Chang’s fried chicken franchise. (The habanero-brined bird packed some serious heat.)
Earlier this year, Oath ’84 left the food hall. Owner Justin Womack had a full plate with his restaurant on King Street, and he recently signed the lease for the vacant space at 902 N. Market St.
The chef plans to operate the King Street location as an event facility, an approach that succeeded during COVID-19.
Admittedly, the North Market building doesn’t have a successful track record; at least four restaurants have come and gone over the past 15 years.
Womack, however, has the corporate restaurant background and culinary skills to flip the switch.
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