Review: a(MUSE.)

6 November 2016

Woke up with quite a headache as apparently they poured me a quadruple bourbon before they closed up the night before…and that 1 extra hour of time-change sleep didn’t really help. I headed out of Wilmington a little slowly as I pushed towards Dover. A charming little town, I spent most of the morning there. I enjoyed the wee stop. I pushed further south, making a few stops. Ran into a Trump group rally in Georgetown (wrote this pre-election, btw…), which really sickened me… Nevertheless stopped for some barbeque in that town before I pushed further east towards the coast.

I got to Rehoboth Beach mid-afternoon. Not much going on being off season, as this place is usually packed to the brim on a weekend between Easter and Hallowe’en. A cold gust was blowing, which was perfect for me. I chilled out until around time for dinner, and tonight’s destination is the pun-ny named a(MUSE.) in the heart of the small downtown.

It wasn’t too busy, but not surprised for it being out of season. Many places shut down off-season, but — like the brave Vinland in Portland, Maine — they open year-round. They ride out the off-season somehow, and I was happy to contribute however I can. I chilled out with a cocktail and decided, for some reason, to go for the 7-course tasting.

I know I said no more after that disaster at Trentina in Cleveland (as well as Dublis in Vilnius), but I had a good feeling about this place for some reason. Not sure why, but I went with it. If this blows up, then it’ll really be the last tasting menu I’ll try from a place I’ve never been. After I finished my cocktail they poured me a glass of one of the few bubblies I like, Gruet from New Mexico. That made me smile, and then the amuse came.

No bad, though the lavash cracked a bit too much to eat this cleanly without tahini all over your hands. The roe was nice. Then a splash more of the bubbly and the first item arrived, the tartar.

Now this was just fantastic, chopped rib-eye from a local producer. One of the best tartar dishes I’ve had in many years, lovely flavours and texture. I love it when it’s not minced to pulp, and you really get the best of the beef in this method. Fantastic! I can eat this all day, really!

Pretty happy with how this dinner is starting. Then a pour of sancerre and the second dish, scallops.

Good quality scallops, broken but cooked very well. The eggplant really added a nice touch to it. Solid dish. Then a rose from Provence is poured and the next item arrived…

Whoa, it’s a creative take on surf-and-turf to say the least. Seared yellowtail and sweetbreads. The quality of the products were excellent, especially the creamy fried sweetbreads. Fabulous stuff, lovely combination. Excellent!

I’m so glad I decided to do this tasting tonight after all those recent disappointments… Sometimes there’s still surprise left to be had! Then a good Santa Barbara pinot is poured, and we have some pasta.

Excellent, boasting a healthy amount of hen-of-the-woods and bacon, as well as some lovely watercress. Pasta cooked very well, a nice tasty dish! Then a wee glass of Bordeaux and we move to the last savoury course — the short rib.

Nice stuff, with celeriac puree and adorned with mustard seeds. Very tender, excellent full flavours — from the same beef that we got the first tartar dish. This is some excellent beef.

I was a little sad the savouries ended, but those were large plates. This really puts places like Trentina in Cleveland and Piccolo in Minneapolis in their place, both in value and quality. Excellent cooking, awesome ingredients.

We move to the cheese dish and they originally were going to pour an apple concoction, but instead poured a nice Oloroso…but that also made me worry. My heart sank…

Manchego. I usually like it, but I eat it so much it’s lost its uniqueness — especially as I mentioned I crave unique, strong cheeses. I won’t say more, but I can see why they would serve this because it is a wonderful cheese. Just me being the wrong guy to be served this… But they brought out the Eden iced apple ciders too…love these things, so rare to see them!

We then shifted to the dessert, which had a nice port to go with it…

A fun combination of chocolate, caramel and apple here, and it was a nice way to close off this excellent tasting menu. I really enjoyed it, especially the savoury dishes. Obvious talent in the kitchen, boasted by understanding of the excellent ingredients this region has to offer. That beef especially was special.

I ended up shifting to the bar and drinking all night chatting with the staff until they closed up for the night. After last night’s excess I shouldn’t have drank so much again, but oh well. I was heading back home tomorrow and soon into the electoral maelstrom…(and again, didn’t know how bad it was gonna get…)

a(MUSE.)
44 Baltimore Avenue
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware