By Laura Koster
Blazing heat, driving rain, hurricanes and an earthquake to boot … If this wild weather summer wasn’t long enough for you, there’s still time to soak in the best that the shore has to offer – especially on the food scene.
Vacationing at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware has been a part of every summer since I can remember. But visiting in the fall, when the kiddies are back in school and cooler weather abounds, the whole area takes on a more relaxing pace. And many of the great food spots and finds are still open for business (with no lines). It’s the perfect time to come down for a long weekend.
Rehoboth boasts an impressive array of chic restaurants, but I’m all about cruising around for nostalgic bites. With this in mind, here’s a round-up of treats for your weekend away:
Dolles
9 Rehoboth Ave.
With its enormous red sign looming over the boardwalk, Dolles is hard to miss. Shore-goers line up for buckets of caramel corn, brittle and salt water taffy. Stop in their shop where you can mix and match dozens of salt water taffy flavors – mango, peanut butter, molasses, chocolate – to your heart’s delight.
Gus & Gus Place
15 S. Boardwalk
Gus & Gus has been the quick eats spot on the boardwalk since most of us can remember. “Gus & Gus is an old-fashioned favorite,” said Krista Alfonse, who has spent her summers in Rehoboth for decades. “It’s one of my first destinations every year. Anything from subs and cheese steaks to their famous corn dogs are a reason to go and enjoy the salty air on the boardwalk.”
Ice Cream Store
6 Rehoboth Ave.
Even in the cool autumn breeze, this ice cream shop knocks your socks off. With over 70 homemade flavors, there are some you have to ask for a taste of, like I Can’t Decide, Viagra and Better Than Sex. Flavors that had us coming back night after night were Buttery Salted Caramel, Samoa Cookie, and Boston Cream Pie.
Café Papillon
42 Rehoboth Ave.
Be prepared to sneak over to this tiny crepe spot everyday (we almost did). Open for over 30 years, Café Papillon offers a long list of crepes made to order, as well as French pastries and croissants made-from-scratch. In the summer time, the crepe stand is manned by students from France, so it’s also a place to brush up on your conversational French. Open on the weekends through mid-October.
Claw’s Seafood House
167 Rehoboth Ave.
$16.99 early bird lobster special? Yes, please. This deal is offered to diners every day of the week, between 4-6pm, and includes a 1.25 lb lobster and two sides (corn on the cob, dirty rice, hush puppies, coleslaw). Buckets of steamed hard shell crabs are also a huge draw to this spot.
Rehoboth Seafood Market
20238 Coastal Highway
When you want to whip up a dinner at the beach house instead of going out, this seafood mart is an easy to find place for local fish and seafood. We stopped in one afternoon and made an evening feast of local mahi-mahi, scallops and briny oysters.
Fractured Prune, The Donut Shoppe
20214 Coastal Highway
Cruise on past Dunkin Donuts and head to this local create-your-own donut shoppe. Choose from specialty donuts like Black Forest (raspberry glaze, coconut, mini choc chips), French Toast or Banana Nut Bread, or concoct your own with a variety of toppings, sugars and glazes like apple butter, marshmallow and peanut butter.
