Summer House has new patio, good eats in Rehoboth Beach, George and Sons returns

Good morning, Delaware food lovers. Are you ready for the summer?

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the season and this weekend kicks things off. The Delaware beaches will be buzzing, for sure, but it doesn't get swamped with sunburnt tourists until the Fourth of July. I was recently in Rehoboth Beach and had a great late lunch at Thompson Island Brewing Co. I enjoy this SoDel Concepts restaurant off Delaware Route 1 for a casual, relaxing meal. It's open daily at 11:30 a.m., has free parking, and has plenty of space for dining inside and out.

After trying to decide between the fried chicken and the $10 burger special, I decided to go with the tuna poke, $23, served with coconut rice, miso-avocado whip, cucumbers, wakame, and sesame spice. It's drizzled with an almond butter-soy dressing and topped with crispy wontons. It was refreshing and delicious without making you feel overstuffed.

Openings/closings/changes

⛱️ Photos don't do justice to the new garden patio at The Summer House on Rehoboth Avenue. It's tranquil, beautiful, and a terrific use of space. You can relax at one of the umbrella-covered tables or the high-top chairs overlooking the town's main thoroughfare. I think this is going to be a popular spot this summer.

The Creamery of Kennett Square announced that the owners of the former Hockessin seafood restaurant George and Sons have opened a new Oyster Shack at the site formerly known as the "Bark Barn." The Shack also will be serving wine, sangria, and champagne. George and Sons closed its 1216 Old Lancaster Pike restaurant on Sept. 3, 2023. The Hockessin site remains empty.

🍽️ Check out these 10 new Delaware restaurants that offer everything from Mongolian stir-fry to takeout crab cakes.

🍝 And here are 5 new food/drink businesses including national chains that have opened or are opening soon in Dover, Camden

What I'm cooking

🍈 One of my go-to easy summer desserts is key lime bars. But I'm a big fan of lemon bars, a perfect not-too-sweet treat to bring to a Memorial Day weekend gathering.

This story from The Kitchn.com put four popular recipes from Ina Garten, Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen, Serious Eats, and Martha Stewart to the test. The winner was Martha Stewart's lemon bars.

What else is happening

💀 I'm obsessed, obsessed, with the HBO series The Jinx: Part Two. The sixth and final episode airs this Sunday. While it has nothing to do with food, it focuses on true-life crimes, a topic I sometimes cover. If you haven't watched it, go back to the beginning and watch the first season of The Jinx on MAX. It's the story of mega-rich New York City real estate heir Robert Durst who was suspected of murdering three people, including his wife. I'm going to warn you now, you'll fall down the rabbit hole after episode one. If you want to read some of the award-winning Delaware true-life murder series, Esteban Parra and I have written several. Start with our five-part series on Delaware's only known serial killer Steven Pennell and the four-part series on the murder of Adolf Czojar, which is considered one of the most perplexing of Delaware's more than 300 cold cases or unsolved homicides.

Here's more on our coverage of Tom Capano a wealthy Wilmington lawyer who murdered Anne Marie Fahey, his lover and the governor's secretary. It was one of Delaware's most sensational and dramatic court cases.

🎪 OK, back to food:

mouth-watering Delaware food festivals and events focused on food.

☀️ This Rehoboth Beach restaurant was named the most beautiful in the state for its ocean views and Victorian décor.

🐓 ICYMI, here's when the Middletown Chick-fil-A will reopen and the renovations that are being done.

📝 Have you scanned the Delaware Online restaurant inspection database? It's updated every 24 hours and lists recent inspections and current violations as they are reported. Delaware has more than 3,500 food establishments — not just restaurants but anywhere from bakeries to church kitchens to school cafeterias that prepare food — inspected twice a year.

If you want to read more stories from Patricia Talorico, click here. You can find her on Instagram, X and Facebook. Email ptalorico@delawareonline.com or leave a message at 302-324-2861. Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.