Food Worth a Drive in Delaware: Beach and Scrapple

Food worth a drive in Delaware sits at both ends of a small state: a handful of restaurants in Wilmington in the north, and a beach strip of breakfast counters, pizza stands and seafood houses in the south. Scrapple, a breakfast meat of pork scraps and cornmeal, is the place to start.

In between is farmland, with sandwich shops, scrapple makers and orchard stands. Many seasonal beach places run limited hours in winter, so check before you go.

Delaware is small, so a drive from Wilmington to the beach takes under two hours. Plan the sandwich and scrapple stops along Route 1, and a seafood dinner at the end.

What is food worth a drive in Delaware?

Start with scrapple. It is a breakfast meat made from pork scraps and cornmeal, sliced and fried until crisp, and it is a staple of Delaware kitchens. Then add pizza, oysters, a sub sandwich and a beer. Few states of this size have such a clear mix of regional dishes.

The drive from Wilmington to the beach takes a couple of hours, so you can make it a day trip or a weekend.

What is Delaware scrapple?

Delaware loves scrapple, and breakfast spots from Lewes to Fenwick Island serve it. A brewery made a scrapple beer at one point, with scrapple produced for the occasion, and a Lewes restaurant serves scrapple fries.

If you are new to scrapple, order it crisp and eat it with eggs or maple syrup. It has an earthy, peppery flavor. A traditional restaurant is the classic choice for a breakfast with scrapple. Check that every place is open before you go.

Where can you find Delaware beach food?

Delaware beach food is a mix of boardwalk snacks, seafood and pizza. A pizza chain was founded in Rehoboth Beach and has spread across the state, a stromboli-style creation from a local pizzeria is a local legend and the oyster houses serve lobster rolls that locals count among their favorites.

A boardwalk walk with fries and a slice is the right way to end a beach day. Go on a weekday in summer if you can.

Which Rehoboth restaurants are worth knowing?

Rehoboth restaurants range from casual to refined. An oyster house is frequently recommended for seafood, with buttermilk fried chicken and biscuits also getting praise.

Because the town fills up in summer, make reservations for dinner. Lunch is easier.

What about Wilmington Delaware restaurants?

Wilmington Delaware restaurants include a grille noted for seafood and one noted for classic American dishes, and a sub shop chain started in Wilmington's Little Italy. A visit to the city fits on the way to or from Philadelphia.

If you are staying overnight, the city has more variety than the beach towns in winter, when many shore places close.

How should you plan the drive?

Pick a route. Starting in Wilmington and heading south along the coast takes you from city to beach. Add a stop at a farm stand or an orchard, which are plentiful in the middle of the state. Allow time for traffic on summer weekends, when the roads to the beach are crowded.

Check hours, since many seasonal places run limited schedules in winter.

Dinner is the other meal worth noting. The state's seafood houses serve crab cakes, steamed shrimp and fried oysters, and on summer nights the tables fill early. Reserve if you can, or arrive before six. Many restaurants stay open late in the high season and close early in the low season, so call ahead if you are traveling in spring or autumn. A simple plate of fried fish with a cold beer is a fine way to end a beach day, and the portions are usually generous enough to share.

What to expect at breakfast

Breakfast is a big meal here. Most diners serve eggs, scrapple, home fries and biscuits. A coffee and a plate of scrapple is a fine start to a beach day. Ask for scrapple extra crisp.

If you want a lighter breakfast, many cafes serve pastries and fruit.

What else is worth tasting?

Local beer, fresh oysters and sweet corn in summer are all part of the Delaware table. Peaches and tomatoes are in season in July and August. Farm stands sell them cheaply, and a basket of peaches is a perfect souvenir.

Ask your server what is local. They will tell you, and they often know which farm grew the corn on your plate and which boat brought in the oysters.

What else should you read around the Mid-Atlantic?

The Mid-Atlantic regional foods guide explains scrapple among its relatives, the Chesapeake fall crab and oyster season guide covers the bay next door and the Virginia wine country and Blue Ridge food guide continues south. The US guides page lists more cities.

Think of the Mosey app as a notebook that other people can read: a rating stays linked to the dish, so your note on the fried chicken or the boardwalk fries means something specific, and the people who follow you see what you rated.

How do you keep track of Delaware beach food?

Boardwalk fries, oysters and slices all want a rating. Rate each by the dish, add a Seafood or Pizza tag and write the beach town in your note.

A Delaware list for the summer, shared with the group, saves arguments about lunch.

A small state keeps its secrets in plain sight. Get the Mosey app, rate each plate of scrapple, slice and oyster you try, and build a Delaware list so that the next friend knows where to eat first.