Delaware Restaurants

The menu at Johnnie’s Dog House reads like a map of the United States. The Chicago-style dog comes crowned in yellow mustard relish, onion, tomatoes, peppers and pickles; meanwhile, the Texas Tommy’s hot dog is wrapped in bacon, deep fried, and topped in cheese. Baked beans and chopped onions sit atop the Boston Beanie Weenie, and the eatery’s corn dog evokes state fairs nationwide without coming with a prize-winning pig to take home as a pet. The culinary team crafts hot dogs from fresh ingredients, the same process they use to create their burgers and sandwiches, stuffed with combinations of pulled pork, crisp vegetables, fish, and other delicacies.

From the strains of live blues resonating through its walls to the spicy kick of its habañero Voodoo shrimp, Blue Parrot Bar & Grille recreates the freewheeling, vivacious vibe of a New Orleans nightclub. Guests sip colorful mojitos and hurricanes as they dig into Creole and Cajun specialties, including étouffée, red beans and rice, gumbo, and jambalaya. Live bands primarily capture the gazes of diners, although the restaurant’s decor is interesting on its own. Murals, carnival masks, and posters evoke lively Bourbon Street scenes and Mardi Gras celebrations; outside, a brick patio surrounds guests with fountains, canna plants, and a large mural of a French Quarter–style inn.

Within local favorite Matilda's Pub lies mad-macs, a comfort fare haven dedicated to the chefs' gooey mastery of mac 'n' cheese with a family-friendly vibe. Among rich espresso wood fixtures, overstuffed bench seats, and chalkboard walls covered in doodles, mac masters dish out decadent lobster mac with mascarpone cheese, philly cheesesteak mac, and Cajun shrimp and crab mac, among their many rich combinations. Around the eatery, abstract macaroni art tempts hungry eyes while kids are given supplies to craft their own masterpieces or a new set of edible parents before they go up on a special display wall. Behind the bar, bartenders mix adults-only milk shakes, and in the kitchen the chefs plate their culinary works of art as customers order fresh hand-formed burgers, Aussie-style crab cakes, and steaks.

One glance at the Volcano roll and you know why it was bestowed with such a name. Clusters of fried tuna, crabmeat, and cucumber form a pyramid with bright red roe at its peak and spicy sauce oozing down the sides. This isn’t the only creative endeavor of Kenny's Pan Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar. Each of the eatery’s Chinese, Thai, and Japanese meals seems to be transformed into visually enticing masterpieces. Even, the spicy mama pizza—which consists of a tortilla-chip base laden with tuna and a latticework of sauces—looks like, well, a pizza.

But the masterminds behind Kenny’s menu don’t just stop there. Inside the contemporary restaurant, a black-topped bar sidles alongside high-backed bar chairs and dining-room tables receive a backdrop of rich, red and golden-orange walls. Modern metal sculptures, affixed with sporadically positioned lights, cast luminous glows across indulging diners as Asian-inspired paintings provide a solid canvas for creating midmeal shadow puppets.