Restaurants in Delaware

Mary Kathleen Kelley-Hammond never thought she’d run her own restaurant. Not that it wasn’t in her blood. In 1945, her grandparents assumed ownership of an old pub and renamed it Kelley’s Tavern, both to stake their claim and, presumably, to remember their own name in case another plague of amnesia swept through the United States of Something. Though the tavern stayed in the family for some time, it eventually closed its doors, becoming—ironically enough—an office for Alcoholics Anonymous.

Meanwhile, Mary Kathleen’s years passed by untouched by beer taps or commercial kitchens, at least until she married Dick Hammond, a chef and restaurateur trained at the famous Le Cordon Bleu in France. After successfully running an eatery under Hammond’s name, the couple founded Mary Kelley’s Restaurant & Pub—named for Mary Kathleen’s entrepreneurial grandma—in 1998, finally acquiescing to fate. The rest of the family soon gave in too. Today, Mary Kelley’s son greets restaurant guests, and her own granddaughters work on the wait staff, prepping hand-pattied turkey burgers and freshly broiled seafood from recipes that are, after all, encoded in their DNA.

After growing up in Nazareth, Israel, Mezze owner Johnny Baransi created the concept for customizable “middle-terranean” dishes that fuse Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culinary traditions and flavors. Diners select a base for their entrées, such as a pita, rice bowl, or salad. They then add in proteins ranging from a chicken gryo to falafel. A variety of toppings and sauces, such as fresh veggies and tahini, further personalize each dish.

The cobbled stonework that comprises Coaches Bar & Grill's exterior serves as an apt metaphor for how hard it can be to turn down items from the roster of burgers, pizza, and sandwiches. This cuisine basks in the glow of flat-screen TVs that stream a steady flow of sports games. As monitors display feats of athleticism, the kitchen staff displays feats of culinary prowess by cooking half-pound patties bedecked with cheese and bacon, along with a mélange of hot subs, sandwiches, and buffalo-chicken pizzas. From behind a dark wooden bar, their bartending counterparts pour beers and cocktails, which they disseminate to far-flung diners by shooting them out of a T-shirt cannon. The team also brings its serving game to the outdoors patio, where umbrellas shade picnic tables granting clear sightlines to several televisions.

As San Su BBQ's showy chefs fricassee vegetables, seafood, and meat on inlaid tabletop grills, awed diners fleck each newly barbecued morsel with a mélange of distinctly Korean condiments plucked from small constellations of finger bowls. Sesame and mustard sauces join tart kimchi as they flavor sizzling stone bowls of bibim bap, several styles of noodles, and traditional breaded katsu dishes. Smooth black marble encircles each grill, bolstering dishes served amid wood-paneled screens and lush potted plants whose leaves change color according to the nearest Scoville rating.

Aromas of searing meats and vegetables waft from fiery hibachi grills inside Tanuki Japanese Steakhouse Sushi & Bar. Chefs dexterously slice pieces of calamari, chicken, and new york strip steak atop the grills' scorching surfaces, creating bite-sized servings for diners. Behind the sushi bar, other chefs devote themselves to rapidly assembling layered nigiri and carefully rolled maki. Besides traditional rolls, they also experiment by incorporating such flavorful ingredients as chicken tempura, sweet chili sauce, and jalapeños into their special rolls.