Bringing the Mediterranean to the Atlantic

Fresh-from-the-oven pita rounds stuffed with spiced and marinated lamb, chicken or beef. Deeply flavorful dips crafted from charred eggplant or chickpeas married to garlic, lemon, and creamy, nutty tahini. Or how about loaves of seasoned lamb, beef and perhaps even chicken, slowly rotating over radiant heat? Or maybe paella, made from scratch right before your eyes and dished up after a lemony salad and a cocktail … or two. We are fortunate here in the Cape Region to have several restaurants owned by entrepreneurs who love bringing their beloved cuisine to the beach.

Café Azafrán on the ocean block of Baltimore Avenue dishes up the flavors of the northwestern end of the Mediterranean. Salads constructed à la Niçoise sport tomatoes, olives, artichokes, anchovies and who knows what else. And that’s just the beginning: Every Wednesday in season, Chef Richard Steele fires up the 4-foot diameter paella skillet to build his legendary paella. This is a Rehoboth event not to be missed.

Just around the corner from Café Azafrán is Semra’s Mediterranean Grill where the dishes are redolent of the Middle East; Turkey in particular. Semra Tekmen honors her grandmother by sharing her Iskender Platter, savory gyro sandwiches and other Turkish specialties in their tiny storefront just steps from the Rehoboth Boardwalk.

For such a small town, we’re fortunate to have two Turkish restaurants. New-kid-in-town (well, sorta) Aroma is at the corner of Second and Wilmington. Murat Tan and his daughter Yasemin team up with enthusiastic bartender Yuri Ustimenko to bring you their special Adana Kebab and in-house dips crafted from walnuts, Turkish yogurt and even pistachios. Their skillfully baked Branzino laced with fresh lemon is one of the stars on the menu. Don’t miss the Piyaz salad: plump cannellinis lounging amongst parsley, onions, lemon and sumac (a pungent, dark-red lemony spice). Not sure what to get? Order the Aroma Platter to sample some of their best offerings.

 One of the most recognizable Mediterranean favorites is the gyro (pronounced YEAR-oh) sandwich. Slices of juicy rotisserie meat are folded into a warm pita and drizzled with cacik, aka tzatziki sauce (pronounced Zat-ZEE-kee … not “ta-ziki” for goodness’ sakes). Tzatziki is all about Greek yogurt, though some may throw in a little sour cream. They’ll probably add crushed garlic. Red wine vinegar? Maybe. Definitely cucumbers – chopped or pulsed in the processor, then drained. Lemon? A little olive oil? Probably. Dill, mint or sumac? Maybe, maybe not. It all comes down to how grandma made it.

A number of local eateries make the gyro one of their specialties. Sammy’s Kitchen at First and Wilmington, Robin Hood on The Avenue and even Gus & Gus’ Place on the Boardwalk, where they celebrate their heritage with the actual vertical roasting spits like Semra’s. One of our Rehoboth sleepers is the gyro sandwich at Pete’s Steak Shop (who wooda thought?!) out on The Highway near Michy’s Relaxed Dining. (Totally off subject: start with the chicken noodle soup. Trust me.)

Speaking of new kids in town, the just-opened Kebab Falafel Addition in the Camelot Center by Stuart Kingston Gallery is finally open for business! 

One of its specialties is Shawarma, somewhat similar to gyro, but the meat (generally chicken) is marinated, grilled and sliced into strips. A popular street food in pretty much any Middle Eastern country.

Several years ago I wrote that ethnic places at the beach were few and far between. Not anymore! Give your taste buds a treat with Mediterranean tastes right here at the beach. Tell me your favorite.