Restaurants in Princeton Meadows

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.

The fiery flavors at Santa Fe Mexican Grill send taste buds on an all-inclusive south-of-the-border vacation. A house specialty here is the molcajete, a bowl of lava rock filled with steak and chicken and heated to 150 degrees. Twenty-five ingredients go into its piping-hot pepper sauce, which can be soaked up by corn tortillas or poured onto medieval knights laying siege to your corner booth. Bartenders also mix margaritas and mojitos with fresh lime juice, and they concoct bloody marys and mimosas during Sunday brunches.

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.

A trip to Matilda's takes diners through a menu of mac 'n' cheese, signature burgers, and pastries paired with frosty brews. Shared with the neighboring mad-macs, the menu boasts delicacies such as piled-high burgers made from kangaroo meat, chicken and brie puff pastries, as well as 11 types of mac 'n' cheese. The pub also takes cues from no-frills watering holes, pairing frosty beers with communal get-togethers including poker nights, karaoke, and attempts to get the bartender to crank call his middle-school principal.

In Vallé Cucina’s kitchen, chefs form fresh jumbo lump crabmeat into thick patties, pan-sear them to a golden-brown hue, and drizzle their crispy crusts with beurre blanc. The eatery’s crab cakes have been hailed by Delaware Today as the city’s best for several years running. Vallé Cucina’s classic Italian entrees are held to the same high standard: chefs hand-roll gnocchi and drizzle them with slow-simmered tomato sauce, and accent dry-aged steaks with elegant flourishes such as peppercorn brandy cream sauce and blue cheese. Servers recommend selections from Vallé Cucina’s vast wine list to enhance steaks or Trevi Fountain reproductions.