Looking for some new dining options?
Do you like Korean fried chicken? Pastries made by a celebrity baker? How about noshing on a duo of livers — chicken and foie gras —while sipping a glass of wine in a jazz restaurant?
We got the lowdown on a teahouse and vegetarian cafe in Historic New Castle, a new modern diner at Prices Corner, and a revamped seafood restaurant in a Maryland town not far from Middletown. And more.
Here's a look at eightnew places that have opened in the last few months, or are coming soon.
Desserts by Dana, Newark
Pastry chef Dana Herbert made a sweet start in the celebrity world of baking after competing on and winning theTLC reality TV show"Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker." Herbert's prize included working with starBuddy Valastro at his Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey, and appearing on episodes ofValastro's "Cake Boss" series.
Herbert later opened his own "Desserts by Dana" bakery at1212 Capitol Trail in Newark, which offers a wide variety of custom pastries.
The 1998 University of Delaware graduate has returnedto the Newark campus to open a pop-up version of "Desserts by Dana" in the Perkins Student Center.
Have you tried this?:
The shop is open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. throughout thespring semester. Don't be surprised if you see an occasional guest appearance by Valastro.
In November, Cake Boss, whose daughter now attends the University of Delaware, spoke to hospitality students at the school's Vita Nova restaurant. He alsohas posted photos on his Instagram page of visits to Newark.
Perkins Student Center,325 Academy St.at the University of Delaware's Newark campus;dessertsbydana.com
bb.q Chicken, Newark
One of the biggest buzzwords in fast eats in recent years has been the growing popularity of Korean fried chicken.
Spicy Korean fried chicken, flavored withKorean chili paste or gojuchang, first began picking up steam in New York City after it was introduced in 2006.
The skin has a shattering light,almost eggshell-like texturewhich is much crispier than American-style fried chicken. The batter tends to be thinner to get the proper amount of crispiness, and the chicken is often fried at a lower temperature so it stays juicy.
bb.q Chicken wasfounded in 1995 and was brought to the U.S.in 2014. There are now more than 1,000 stores and it hasgrown into one of thelargest dining franchise companiesin Korea.
There are locations in Philadelphia;Rockville, Maryland, and the first Delaware location is coming soon to South Main Street in Newark.
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The menu will include golden original fried chicken, along with flavors such as secret spicy, hot spicy, honey garlic, soy garlic, gang-jeong or a soy-based sauce with hints of cinnamon andchilis and cheesling, a coating ofpowdered mixed cheese.
Other foods includeGangnam-style wings, kimchi fried rice, ddeok-bokki or riceand fish cakes reduced in a sweet and spicy red chili sauce, sweet potato fries, fried dumplings and corn salad.
165 S. Main St, Unit 117, Newark;bbqchickeneats.com
Deep Blue at Kitty Knight House
TheJamestown Hospitality Group, which owns Wilmington restaurants TonicSeafood & Steak on West 11th Street and Park Cafe near Wawaset Park, has acquired the Kitty Knight in Georgetown, Maryland. The historic site, with views of the Sassafras River, is about a 15- to 20-minute drive from Middletown.
The 18th-century building, offering indoor and outdoor dining, lodgingand event space, is named after a woman, Kitty Knight,who was credited with saving part of Georgetown during the War of 1812.
The restaurant, open for dinner and weekend brunch, is being renamed Deep Blue. Tonic restaurant was once named Deep Blue. The kitchen is being headed by Chef Ronald Marvel Jr., who will be working under Executive ChefPatrick Bradley, who oversees all the culinary operations for JHG.
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The menu includes raw and baked oysters, broiled crab cakes, buttermilk fried chicken, sautéed rockfish and burgers.
Several events are already planned for the coming months including live music.
The restaurant is open every day for dinner, except Wednesdays when it's closed. Brunch is served at noon Saturdays and Sundays beginning at 10 a.m.
14028 Augustine Herman Highway, Georgetown, Maryland, 410-648-5200;deepbluerestaurant.com
Urban Kitchen, Prices Corner
Brother-in-laws Jimmy Nitsolas and Phil Hanos, who together have more than 40 years of experience in the restaurant industry, in early Februaryopened Urban Kitchen in the Prices Corner Shopping Center off Kirkwood Highway.
The restaurant, tucked in a corner between the GNC and JCPenney stores,has a cool wall mural and plenty of sleek booth and banquette seating designed by Moorestown, New Jersey-based Georgio Savva Interior Designs.
It offers a family diningexperience with modern, diner-like menus and afully stocked bar
Hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday throughSaturday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.Breakfast and lunch are served until 3 p.m. The dinner menu is available from 3 p.m. until closing.
The large menuincludes pancakes, six varieties of eggs Benedict, sausage gravy and biscuits, build-your-own omelets, breakfast sandwiches, "pig candy" or bacon baked with brown sugar and maple syrup, fish tacos, chicken sandwiches, Greek salad, panini, spaghetti, baked flounder, steak, and fish and chips.
The list of smoothies and shakes include those made with M&Ms, Oreos, peanut butter, Nutella, and root beer floats.
The revamped Prices Corner shopping center now has several other new dining options including Two Claws Juicy Cajun Seafood and Chick-fil-A.
3228 Kirkwood Highway, Prices Corner Shopping Center,302-647-6593;urbankitchende.com
Rosenfeld’s Big Fish Market & Delicatessen, Brandywine Hundred
Last summer, Big Fish Restaurant Groupfused together itsBig Fish seafood market andthe traditional Jewish specialties of Rosenfeld's Deli into one marketplace. The site took over theformerMcCabe's Market in South Bethany Beach.
The group is doing the same in north Wilmington with renovations tothe formerGoat Kitchen & Barand another site in the Plaza III shopping center at 1845 Marsh Road in Brandywine Hundred.
Big Fishis co-owner of Rosenfeld's Jewish Deli at1202 Washington St. in downtown Wilmington. The flagship Rosenfeld's is in Ocean City, Maryland, and another location at18949 Coastal Highway,Rehoboth Beach, is solely owned by founder Warren Rosenfeld.
Big Fish owner Eric Sugrue told Delaware Online/The News Journal he had hoped to open the Brandywine Hundred deli and adjoining fish market in January 2022.
While things are coming along, the sitehada few snags like many construction projects post COVID-19.
"Unfortunately, we’ve been hit with some equipment delays, so it looks like opening could be pushed back to approximately April 1," read a recent social media post. "We’re moving as fast as we can, but the supply side delays are out of our hands."
1845 Marsh Road, Brandywine Hundred;bigfishrestaurantgroup.com
Fuego Peri Peri Grill, Stanton
A new chicken spot has moved into the Churchmans Plaza shopping center near Christiana Hospital.
Fuego Peri Peri Grill has taken over the location of the former Viva Chicken, afast-casual restaurant concept that specialized inrotisserie chicken marinated for 24 hours in Peruvian spices that werespun in a charcoal oven. Viva Chicken operated from 2018 until closing shortly after the pandemic began in 2020.
Fuego Peri Peri Grill celebrates flame-grilled chicken flavored with thePortuguese Peri-Peri Pepper. It also hassix different sauces to put on meals including mango andlime, lemon and herb, mild, hotand extra hot. You can get in the chicken in bowls, wraps, assandwiches and tacos. Other proteins include lamb and paneer burgers.
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If the name or concept sounds somewhat familiar, for ashort time,Piree's Piri-Piri, a70-seat Pike Creek eatery that sold flame-grilled, marinated chicken, operated in the Shops of Limestone Hills off Del. 7 (Limestone Road).
Piri-piri, whichmeans "pepper-pepper" in Swahili, referred to a small, boldly-flavored chile pepper.
1103 Churchmans Road, Churchmans Plaza, Stanton,302-364-3434;fuegoperiperi.com
Zollie’s Jazz Cucina, New Castle
In case you missed it, Zollie's Jazz Cucina opened its doors in mid-October on Delaware Street in Historic New Castle. Thefusion kitchen has“a menagerie of flavors from the Americas and the Caribbean” with a background of soft jazz.
The restaurant is open from 3 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and offers brunch on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Live music is offered on Saturday and Sunday.
The menu includes "A Study of Livers," which pairs low-country fried chicken livers withseared foie gras de canard and speckled grits. There's alsoSouthern Fried Smelts and Okra,Pastrami Cured Salmon Carpaccio,Blackened Salmon Hoppin John,Duck Leg Confit andWhole Applewood Smoked Jamaican Jerk Wings.
414 Delaware St., New Castle,302-570-7419; zolliesjazzcucina.com
The Mercury Café and Teahouse, New Castle
The MercuryCafe islocatedin the William Penn House, built around1682, that sitsin the heart of Historic New Castle. It's been operating full-time since Dec. 11. It was formerlyhome to Trader's Cove Café.
Locals have been described it as a place to “relax with friends while enjoying a beverage and a small bite.”Espresso and coffee come from Newark'sLittle Goat Coffee Roasting.
The entrance to the teahouse, open only from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday,is up the steps just off Delaware Street. The entrance to the cafe, operating from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, can be found by walking down the alley next to the building.
The small kitchen has vegetarian offerings of tomato soup, vegetable and quinoa bowl salads, classic grilled cheese sandwiches, and Impossible burgers. Desserts change frequently.
The cafe also serves co*cktails, wine, beer and cider.
Free parking is available on-street or in the new public parking lot on Third Street(behind the Booth House). Electric Vehicle charging stations are available.
206 Delaware St., New Castle;themercurynewcastle.com
Contact Patricia Talorico atptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico
