Well, my boyfriend and I were out on Concord Pike in Delaware between Naaman's road and Wilmington on Saturday evening. The plan was to pop into one of the many chain restaurants that litter that strip of road for dinner after we'd finished up our shopping. We picked Red Lobster. At 5:00 there was an 1 1/2 wait just to sit down. The same (or worse) for everyplace else we tried. My temper and my diabetic boyfriend's blood sugar levels weren't going to handle an hour and a half wait. So we continued out the Pike towards Wilmington in hopes that we'd find a Pizza Hut, or some fast food. In a cute little shopping plaza that also had a Melting Pot, we found Vincente's. Seating was available immediately, so we let the tux-clad host lead us to a seat. While our extraordinarily pleasant waitress got our drinks I had a good chance to look around the place (since she hadn't left us menus to peruse). The decor looked just like a few hotel restaurants that I've been to. White-washed fake bamboo chairs, green-swirled glass partitions between sections and lots of tablecloth. I was a little worried. When our waitress returned, she explained that we had two menu choices: we could order from the standard menu,or have Vincente come out and walk us through developing a special order. We were more interested in eating quickly so we chose from the very large standard menu. Pasta, chicken, veal, steak and seafood were all well represented. I ordered chicken cabrietta (chicken with pancetta, mozzarella and red sauce) and he ordered salmon with creamy dill sauce and a side of fettucine alfredo. And caesar salad for two. This turned out to be the best choice of the evening. A little cart with a big wooden bowl and several small bowls of stuff was wheeled out to our table. A minute later a lovely, older gentleman (Vincente) comes out to our table to prepare our salad. " Its's been 51 years, 2 months and 27 days since I first made a caesar salad. This one might just be my best yet." And what a show he put on. He had more spark than Emeril and more charm than the Naked Chef. By the time he was winging clumps of parmesan across the room into our salad bowl to the beat of the Sinatra piece in the background, he had the attention of the entire restaurant. As my boyfriend noted later, it was the first caesar salad that we had had with "ham". After his visit I totally warmed to the place. Forget the hotel decor. Forget the overdressed waitstaff. This restaurant was the cute old man's home. He loved it so much that it made you love it. The couple next to us ordered the "walking menu" and I had a great time listening to Vincente talking them through a choice of flatfish and shiitakes with a citrus sauce and a porterhouse steak with asparagus while I was munching on my admittedly very tasty salad. We were surprised by an appetizer on the house. A few bites of flounder "Vincente" ( quality fish with a light crust and a light, olive oil sauce) and some good, crusty bread with some beer cheese. ( The host is in a tux and they're serving beer cheese. What a place!) Dinner itself was good - not spectacular by any stretch- but easily as good as any of the chains that we past. And the service was excellent. Definitely commendable. I guess overall I'd have to call the place charming. I came out feeling a little stuffed, smiling and waving goodbye to Vincente himself. Would I specifically drive out there from CC Philly? No, there are better places in town. But for Concord Pike, it's a definite must-try.
Delaware