Page 27 - Delaware Lawyer - Spring 2019

Bardea
and New York City. Bud and I met An- toinette and Audrey, who told us how much they enjoyed their new apartments, the monthly (or more often) gatherings of residents — which include a surprising number of international residents — and their comfort with walking to restaurants downtown. The buildings have more than 200 units and are now over 80 per- cent leased. The resulting influx of people is providing clientele for the pre-existing and new restaurants downtown, as well as for a new wine shop and a coming bo- dega for groceries. As Bud and I left the Residences in awe of what has replaced a decrepit parking garage, we saw construc- tion crews building a soon-to-open beer garden that will adjoin the Residences. This definitely was not the Wilmington we had come to expect.
The renaissance has spread down Mar- ket Street with a string of new or expanded restaurants. Between 8th and 9th Streets, there is Chelsea Tavern, which now has an outdoor café beside the restaurant. It bor- ders a lighted walkway from The Grand Opera House on Market Street to Shipley Street and the entrance to the new pub-
Chelsea Tavern
Stitch House
lic parking in the Residences (convenient for performances at the Grand). Bud and I visited Stitch House, whose food is as good as the dozen house-brewed beers it has on tap. We spotted several members of the legal community sitting at Stitch’s bar, savoring some of those brews. Fi- nally, there is the creamery operated by students from the University of Delaware, open late enough for dessert after a meal.
A new restaurant star on Market Street is Bardea, which is also providing pizza at DECO. As you enter Bardea, you are con- fronted with a beautiful four-sided bar, where bottles are backlit for a special ef- fect. When Bud and I arrived, there were no seats left, and the dining room, with a long, floor-to-ceiling window along Mar- ket Street, was almost as beautiful as that bar. We found Scott Stein working in the kitchen — we forced him to pause long enough for a photo. The James Beard Foundation has named Bardea one of the 31 best new restaurants in the nation, out of 20,000 new restaurants, and the Venue Report even escalated the honors, naming Bardea one of the hottest new restaurants in the world. Bud and I hung around for
Stitch House
Bardea
Bardea, Scott Stein
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