Zorba's

Zorba’s is a smallish, informal Greek restaurant out on Highway 1 in the Food Lion Shopping Center. I went there with J. J has eaten at Zorba’s many times and he loves it, so I was anxious to give it a try.

I usually order spanikopita when I have Greek food, but I decided to go for something different. I had the pasticio (which I think of as Greek lasagna) which was excellent It came with a side Greek salad, which was very nice.

I thought that the food was good, and the prices were very reasonable. In addition to all of that, there was something just a little bit extra special about Zorba’s. The server really paid attention to us in a helpful but inobtrusive way. She quickly realized that we were friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time, and she encouraged us to stay and hang out at our booth, even though we had already paid our bill.

Overall, I’d say that Zorba’s is a pleasant place for a reasonably priced meal.

Go Fish!

I’m a big fan of fish and chips, so I was excited to try Go Fish in Rehoboth Beach. Go Fish is advertised as an authentic British-style shop, so M and I thought that we would give it a go. Basically, the food was fine, but nothing spectacular. However, when I think fish & chips, I’m thinking pub/street food, so for me, the $17 for a plate of fish & chips was too high. In addition, when you add if the fact that our server really pushed us out of the restaurant, it felt like we were getting fast-food restaurant treatment at fancy-pants restaurant prices. By way of comparison, M also had the fish and chips at the Blue Coast a few weeks ago, and the price was the same. M preferred the meal at the Blue Coast better, the environment is much nicer (sunset over the bay!) and the service was much more pleasant and unrushed.

We did notice on our way out that Go Fish has a take-out version of the meal that we ordered for only $10. If you are in the mood for fish and chips while you are in Rehoboth Beach, I would recommend getting the take-out platter and heading down to the boardwalk to eat on one of the benches there.

Blue Coast Seafood Grill

Blue Coast Seafood Grill and Fish Market is a restaurant (with an adjacent fish shop) just north of Bethany Beach on route 1 (southbound side). A group of 6 of us visited there a few weeks ago, and I’m sure that we will be back. Fortunately, The Blue Coast is open year round, so we will probably give it a try in the off season.

We were seated quickly, and we were given a nice table with a beautiful sunset view over the wetlands. We tried the baby spinach salad with apples, blue cheese, cranberries, pistachios, served with orange vinaigrette, which was just outstanding. For my main, I ordered the pan roasted scallops with cheddar grits, which was served with a tomato-based sauce. This dish was unbelievably good. I was so focused on my food, that I did not really get a chance to take notes on everyone else’s meals, although I do remember that everyone was very pleased with their selection.

For mains, the prices range from $18 (fish and chips) to $40 (surf and turf).

Great setting, great food, great service, and reasonable (for the beach area) prices … Blue Coast Seafood Grill was a hit with our group.

Atlantic Liquors

Atlantic Liquors on route 1 (near the Rehoboth Mall) has been the store of choice for the past 10 years or so. Until some recent changes, I thought that they had an unbeatable combination of great prices and outstanding service. In the past, when you were in Atlantic Liquors, every few minutes or so an employee would check with you to make sure that you found what you were looking for, etc.

I went into the store recently to pickup a case of beer. The case that I wanted didn't have any signs showing the price, although the price shown for another case by the same microbrewery was waaaaay out of my price range, so I wanted to check on the price before I bought. Anyway, I searched high and low and could not find any employees to help me. I finally found an employee, who was busy chatting with a friend. I waited patiently for the employee to catch up with his buddy, and when there was a break in the conversation, I asked about the price. He responded with a curt "I don't know", and went back to his conversation with his buddy. No "let me check", no "I'll find out for you", nothing. This is not the level of customer service that I had come to expect of Atlantic Liguors. Since they were not interested in my business, I headed off to the new kid in town, Outlet Liquors. Lo and behold, Outlet Liquors had the beer that I wanted, with a price clearly marked (that also happened to be in my price range).

So ... score one for Outlet Liquors. It looks like Atlantic Liquors needs to step up its game (or at least get back to where it used to be).

Tijuana Taxi - Highway One

For years, Tijuana Taxi was the best (only?) Mexican place in Rehoboth Beach. Competition from places such as Dos Locos started to damage its customer base, and it moved out to Highway One last summer, taking over the old Lazy Susan's location.

Four of us visited last week, and boy how the mightly have fallen. First, due to no fault of our server, the service was awful. He apologized profusely, but he was the bartender and only server for the entire restaurant. Then, the food. How do I describe the food? Let's put it this way ... you would be better off buying a frozen burrito and throwing it in your microwave.

If by chance you decide to go to Tijuana Taxi anyway, be forewarned about the Fajita Salad. In turns out that at Tijuana Taxi, a Fajita Salad is a plate of chili cheese fries on a bed of lettuce. Huh?

Lewes Restaurant Scene

It looks like the economy is having a big affect on the Lewes restaurant scene. Cirelli's Restaurant (formerly La Rosa Negra) is for sale, as is The Second Street Grille and Gilligan's.

The only bright spot for downtown Lewes? Kindle is moving into town (on Bank Street, next to the post office, replacing the bookstore that is there now) from its current location at Paynter's Mill.