Brandon Mays and son recently opened the brick-and-mortar Coco Mango Grille in Rehoboth
For parents, August is summer’s swan song.
It’s harvest season for foodies.
And for beach locals, it’s almost the “second season,” when the weather is still pleasant, but the crowd of tourists has thinned.
Meanwhile, there are still festivals and new restaurants to try.
Put the following on your to-do list:
Blue Crab Grill’s linguini with clams
Moving in Newark: Blue Crab Grill
Blue Crab Grill, a Newark fixture in Suburban Plaza for 24 years, plans to move to a new development on Creek View Road behind Timothy’s Restaurant.
The location is on the same site as the Chapel Street Players’ new theater, which resulted from a land swap with Lang Development Group.
The old theater on Chapel Street will make room for Lang’s latest apartment complex.
Coast Rehoboth Beach’s restaurant restaurant, Sirocco, offers a Mediterranean-influenced menu.
New to Rehoboth: Sirocco
In downtown Rehoboth Beach, Coast Rehoboth Beach, part of the Tapestry Collection by Hilton, is open on SandCastle Motel’s old site. The operators also manage Hyatt Place in Dewey Beach and Hyatt House in Lewes.
A stay in the new hotel includes free parking, WIFI, and an indoor pool and fitness center.
Of particular interest to readers of this column, however, is the hotel restaurant, Sirocco, which offers a Mediterranean-influenced menu.
The menu has a selection of small plates, including flaming saganaki ($12), charred octopus ($16) and carpaccio ($18).
Mains include pan-seared scallops ($38), fresh branzino (market price) and, for landlubbers, a center-cut filet with parmesan-truffle gratin.
Keem’s Cuisine recently opened in the same shopping center as Shop Rite near the Riverfront.
New Wilm restaurant: Keem’s Cuisine
In Wilmington, Keem’s Cuisine recently opened in the same shopping center as Shop Rite near the Riverfront.
Dinner items include crab cakes with creole remoulade sauce, fried whole snapper with creole pepper sauce, jerk chicken Alfredo and a Nashville hot chicken sandwich.
Entrees range from $15 for the sandwich to $60 for lobster tails stuffed with crab.
Owner Rikeem Wilburn showcases more than a few soul food specialties, including cheese grits, yams, smoked turkey and collard greens and fried cabbage.
There is a full bar.
New to Rehoboth: Coco Mango Grille
Many beach residents know about the Coco Mango food truck, which specializes in island-inspired barbecue—think jerk chicken and pulled pork.
Brandon Mays and son Brandon Mays, Jr. recently opened the brick-and-mortar Coco Mango Grille next to the Residences at Rehoboth Bay near Love Creek. (Take Route 24 from Route 1.)
The casual eatery also steams or fried shrimp.
The Downtown Wilmington Brewfest will be upon us in little more than a week.
Return of Wilmington Brewfest
After a three-year hiatus during the pandemic, festival organizers are bringing back the Downtown Wilmington Brewfest.
The fourth event is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 12, from noon to 7 p.m., at Chelsea Tavern on North Market Street in Wilmington.
Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Restore the King initiative spearheaded by The Friends of Gambrinus Inc.
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The organization seeks to renovate Delaware’s 140-year-old King Gambrinus statue and donate it to the Delaware Historical Society.
In case you were wondering, Gambrinus was the European “king of beer,” and his statute once stood outside Diamond State Brewery at Fifth and Adams streets.
The brewfest, meanwhile, boasts an impressive list of more than 40 brewers. Entertainers and vendors will also contribute to the fun.
General admission is $50; VIP admission is $75. Tickets for designated drivers and children are $12.
All about tomatoes
August is peak tomato season, and if you need proof, remember that the Historic Lewes Farmers Market annual Tomato Festival is on Saturday, Aug. 5, in George H.P. Smith Park in Lewes.
Got a big beefsteak? Enter the tomato contest. Details here.
From now through Aug. 31, Snuff Mill Restaurant Butchery & Wine Bar in Brandywine Hundred is holding a “tomato festival” on the menu.
Special items feature produce from local farmers, including Happy Cat Farms, which has more than 200 tomato varieties.
Don Weber snapped this photo of President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden eating at Matt’s Fish Camp in Lewes.
Joe visits Matt’s
Diner Don Weber snapped a candid shot of President Joe Biden and the Secret Service dining at Matt’s Fish Camp in Lewes and posted it on Facebook.
“When Joe joins you for dinner…” Weber wrote.
The president and first lady have been vacationing in their North Shores home, and they’re not shy about getting out and about.
People have posted photographs of Biden on the bike trails—wearing a shirt with a Philadelphia Eagles emblem—and on the beach.
Weber didn’t notice what the president had for dinner, but, he added, he enjoyed his own lobster Cobb salad.
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