Delaware Wine Spectator Award winners, 'Real Housewives' stars coming to area restaurant

Good morning, Delaware food lovers.

Are you harvesting tomatoes or buying them from a local farmers market? Savor the season; it doesn't last as long as most of us would like.

One of my favorite recipes for fresh tomatoes (besides the ole' tomato sandwich — two slices of white bread slapped with Hellman's mayo, big slices of tomatoes, and salt and pepper) is gazpacho. But I'm no fan of gloppy gazpacho that's the consistency of salsa. I want a gazpacho similar to what is served in Spain. The best recipe I've found is this one from The New York Times. It might require a subscription, but the NYTimes cooking subscription is worth it.

The recipe is from Seville, Spain, and is more like a drink than a soup. It's a keeper.

Wine Spectator Awards

Wine Spectator, a leading wine authority, has unveiled the winners of its 2024 Restaurant Awards, which honor the world’s best restaurants for wine. This year’s awards program recognizes 3,777 dining destinations from all 50 states in the U.S. and more than 75 countries internationally.

Here are the Delaware restaurants honored with Wine Spectator's 2024 Restaurant Awards:

Bar Reverie, 4017 Kennett Pike Greenville. Wine Strengths: Californian, French

Bardea Food & Drink, 620 N. Market St. Wilmington. Wine Strengths: Italian

Bardea Steak, 608 N. Market St., Wilmington. Wine Strengths: French

Benvenuto Restaurant, 249 N.E. Front St., Milford. Wine Strengths: Italian.

Blue Moon Restaurant, 35 Baltimore Ave. Rehoboth Beach. Wine Strengths: Californian

Blue Coast Seafood Grill & Raw Bar, 30904 Coastal Highway, Bethany Beach. Wine Strengths: Californian

Blue Coast Seafood Grill & Raw Bar, 30115 Veterans Way, Rehoboth Beach. Wine Strengths: Californian, Italian, French.

CS Brazilian Steakhouse, 600 S. Center Blvd., Christiana. Wine Strengths: French, Spanish, Californian, Argentine

Caffé Gelato, 90 E. Main St., Newark. Wine Strengths: Californian, Italian

Catch 54, 38931 Madison Ave, Fenwick Island. Wine Strengths: Californian

Eden, 23 Baltimore Ave, Rehoboth Beach. Wine Strengths: Californian, French

Lupo Italian Kitchen at the Hotel Rehoboth, 247 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach. Wine Strengths: Italian

Trash it!

The City of Rehoboth Beach knows its visitors order a lot of pizza. But those bulky square boxes holding pies take up a major amount of space when tossed in trash cans. (And, please, dispose of your trash.)

To alleviate a pizza box overflow, the town recently set up pizza box disposal bins on the boardwalk at Baltimore and Rehoboth avenues. Kind of clever. Enjoy your pies from Grotto or Louie's or wherever, and then toss the cardboard boxes in the pizza box bins.

What else is happening

📺 Melissa and Joe Gorga, two stars of the Bravo TV reality series "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," are hosting a "meet-and-greet" on Sept. 26 at the Chesapeake Inn Restaurant & Marina in Chesapeake City, Maryland. If you're fans, well, sorry to say, you're too late to get tickets. It sold out fast. What are the Gorgas doing in Maryland? Their daughter is a University of Delaware student and the restaurant isn't too far from the UD campus. (The Chesapeake City owners also have a family member at UD.) Looks like the Gorgas will likely be in the Newark area for UD's annual Parents and Family Weekend celebration taking place Sept. 27-Sept. 29. Word on the street is that the future of Bravo series, now in its 13th season, might be doubt.

🍷 5 Wineries to try: A Delaware winery tour, from wine slushies near the beach to structured reds

🎡 What's new at the Delaware State Fair 2024? What to know before you go

🏊 Booze in a pool? Yes, please. A viral video highlights the only swim-up pool bar in Delaware. Shannon Marvel McNaught has more on this pool bar.

🍳 What time is breakfast at McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and more? Read all about it here.

📝 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.