Restaurants in Hockessin

Neither Henry nor Carol Huffman, the founders of Cheese Chalet, had any idea that their future careers would be in gourmet dairy products when they first married. Henry was teaching Spanish at the University of Delaware when their local cheese shop closed down in 1976. Though the two began joking about opening their own shop, jokes soon turned to discussion, discussion turned to planning, planning turned to knock-knock jokes, and within a few months, the pair officially opened their first shop. Today, with Henry and Carol still at the helm, their staff of seven seasoned employees prepares fresh deli-style takeout meals and catering trays as they maintain the store’s stock of bulk and prepackaged cheeses from around the world.

Caffe Gelato sates appetites with Northern Italian and French- and Mediterranean-inspired fare, house-made gelato, and vino from a 1,500-bottle cellar, all of which has amassed the restaurant an impressive collection of praise and awards from the likes of Delaware Today and Wine Spectator. Meats such as filet mignon and prosciutto-wrapped veal appear alongside a rotating collection of seafood entrees, such as pan-seared scallops, truffle maple-roasted salmon, and local line-caught rockfish. House-made pappardelle and linguine pastas entangle ingredients ranging from littleneck clams to lump crab to chiffonade-cut basil. Twenty-four rotating flavors of gelato are crafted on the restaurant’s premises, delighting tongues with a chocolate-hazelnut blend or scoops of raspberry. Sommeliers strap on their headlamps and crampons to belay into the caverns of the restaurant’s opulent wine cellar, where more than 100 varietals nestle in bottles.

Half-moon booths welcome companionable groups among sunny yellow-and-red-orange walls in the dining room, and the gleam of a granite bar inspires tipplers to toast the memory of loyal pet rocks.

At Oasis Restaurant’s sunlit, yellow-hued café, the aroma of simmering lamb and sizzling falafel drifts through the dining room and breaches the borders of the adjacent market and halal butcher shop. Chefs procure fresh cuts of the 100% halal meat from next door to prepare from-scratch Lebanese, Egyptian, and Moroccan delicacies for individual orders or the bountiful weekend buffet. Though Middle Eastern classics such as grape leaves and hummus abound, chefs also pay homage to less prevalent delicacies, such as molokhia, a thick broth made from mallow leaves simmered in garlic. Once diners have finished chewing in unison, they can peruse the adjacent grocery store for imported groceries and fresh goat and lamb.

Each day, the diligent staff at New York Bagel Cafe' & Deli fill their shop with scents of freshly brewed coffee and warm bagels straight from the oven. Seventeen varieties of the baked circles anchor an all-day breakfast menu, causing tongues to smack in approval of flavors such as plain, asiago cheese, and cinnamon raisin. Additions of meats, eggs, and cheeses transform the bagels into breakfast sandwiches, which complement stacks of pancakes drenched in sweet maple syrup.

Alternatively, customers can sidestep breakfast fare and sink into a selection of salads and deli sandwiches, including turkey melts and cubans. Gooey swiss cheese melts over classic reubens, which pile sauerkraut atop either hot turkey or pastrami. New York Bagel Cafe' & Deli can also cater events or deliver their eats directly to their customers' human-size terrarium.