Tuesday, March 4, 2008

A couple good places to eat in Dover

I've been in Dover for a few months now, and as compared to Wilmington anyway, getting lunch down here is a bit of a chore. Rather than come up with a laundry list of the good and bad places I've found to eat, I'll highlight some of the places (non-chains) I've been to more than once that are decent.

Fancy places: Iron Gate near the Dover Air base, Cool Springs, and Michelles (at Dover Downs) are probably the top of the line places in Dover. The Buttery down at the beach is good too. Probably fancy for lunch though.

Seafood: Shuckers on 13 is pretty good and you can get lunch in a little under an hour for about $10 plus tip. Sambos is well-known as the best place to get crabs in Delaware, and in Smyrna, it's much closer than driving from Wilmington (but worth the drive in either case).

General Food: 33 West, Smithers, Lobby House, Romas all are okay. Of the three, 33 West is usually the fastest; Romas is the cheapest (and nearly as fast); and all have lunch specials that are usually around $10 including tip. There are a few other places I could lump into this list (Ruby Tuesday, TGI Fridays, Applebees, Lone Star, Buffalo Wild Wings, Olive Garden, Uno Pizzaria), but they aren't any different than any others you may have been to. Nikos is a decent pizza place that is pretty quick.

BBQ: Amish Market (Spenses) and Where Pigs Fly. The Amish Farmers Market is only open Tuesdays and Fridays, but is probably the best bang for your buck. Plus you can buy other items (ice cream, cookies, ham, cheese, bread, vegetables, etc.). Where Pigs Fly can get you in and out in an hour for around $10-12 including tip. The ribs are fantastic.

Ethnic: There is a good indian buffet place that is in a hotel, but I can never remember the name of it. There is also a great chinese takeout place on Water Street next to 7-11 near Spenses. Both of the Chinese buffets on 13 are decent for a quick buffet lunch. I'm going to lump the Dover Downs lunch buffet in this also. For sushi and other japanese foods, the Habachi and Ichiban restaurants are good times. The better sushi places (around here anyway) remain in Wilmington and the beach.

There are a few others that I'm forgetting now, but these are some that I can think of offhand. If there are others I'm overlooking or should sample while I'm down here, I'm all for taking suggestions.

2 comments:

Anonymous Delawarean said...

There is also a German bakery near the 7-11 on Water Street that is excellent and reasonable in price if you are looking for good sandwiches on homemade bread.

Romas has changed its name to the "Noble Eagle" and remains one of the quicker and affordable places to go in Dover.

La Tonelteca (the new one) is one of the best places in Dover for Mexican food.

Unknown said...

I believe Noble Eagle used to be Sorrentino's.