Ramen coming to Wilmington food hall, and new French-inspired eatery opens in Greenville
We're playing catch-up on a new restaurant that opened over the summer and a new food business that's coming soon. Keep reading:
Rebel Ramen
DE.CO Food Hall, 10th and Oranges streets, Wilmington; decowilmington.com
Downtown Wilmington's first food hall has seen a few changes since its opening in April 2019 in the DuPont Building.
Some of the eight, original chef-led stalls in the renovated bottom-floor space, which can be accessed at 10th and Orange streets or through the Hotel du Pont, have come and gone in the past three years.
The departed include an Indian street food operation known as The Verandah and Phubs, an offshoot of a Baltimore restaurant that served pho, salads, and bánh mì sandwiches
Stripp'd, another inaugural stall that offered cold-pressed juices and acai bowls among other items, also opted to vacate the downtown Wilmington site after the food hall reopened following the pandemic. It was eventually replaced by Eat Clean, which offered healthy comfort foods and juices.
Now, according to Claire Nester, corporate marketing director for the Buccini & Pollin Group, which owns the building, Eat Clean's owner Kamil Bass-Walker has left the stall between Stu & Sammy's and Al Chu's Sushi to concentrate on his brick-and-mortar location on North Market Street.
Coming soon in its place is Rebel Ramen, a kiosk that will offer versions of the Japanese noodle dish and bubble tea options. Operators are the same Buccini & Pollin team that runs Stu & Sammy's; Starbucks; I.M. Coffee; and Makers Alley, the beer garden at 804 N. Orange St. where food and drinks are made in the kitchen of a 1964 Airstream travel trailer.
Ramen has become a hot concept in recent years. Since at least 2017, Delaware has had several ramen restaurants including Ramen Kumamoto in Newark and Miyagi Ramen Bar in Rehoboth Beach.
Other newcomers include Yokai Ramen Bistro, which recently opened on Concord Pike in Talleyville; Kanji Noodle Bar, which took over the spot of the former Naf Naf Middle Eastern Grill in the Metro Centre across from Delaware Technical Community College in Stanton; and Kumamon Ramen, which is replacing Hachi Japanese Restaurant in Stanton's First State Plaza Shopping Center.
Richard Snyder, the Buccini/Pollin Group's director of food and beverage, said the name Rebel Ramen is a play on getting "a little rebellious" with food.
Rebel will offer five different 44-ounce bowls of ramen, or customers can build their own by selecting different toppings; mix-ins such as red curry or black garlic oil; and proteins like chatsu pork, shredded chicken or tofu.
The cost of a bowl will be about $15.
Flavors of broth include pork, vegetable and miso. Toppings are soft-boiled eggs, fish cakes, lotus roots, leeks, bok choy, butter, nori, corn, bamboo shoots, pickled ginger and watermelon radishes.
Honeydew, brown sugar, kiwi-guava, cookies, and cream and vanilla are some of the bubble tea flavors that are planned. The kiosk also will have Japanese beers and sake.
A grand opening is set for Aug. 23, but don't be surprised if the ramen stall quietly opens a few days earlier.
Hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
In case you haven't visited lately, DE.CO also has permanently added another stall, Delectablez. The food business from Chef Tamara Earl that showcases plant-based alternative dishes was initially a "pop-up" vendor, but it has proven to be so popular, it is now a permanent tenant.
Earl's vegan-friendly pizzas also are sold at some ShopRite stores.
Bar Reverie
4017 Kennett Pike, Greenville; (302) 315-3663; barreverie.com
BBC Tavern and Grill owner Dave Dietz has hit on a very cool concept: a French-inspired cafe and bakery that becomes a sleek dining and wine bar spot at night.
The new restaurant, which has been open daily since June, is next door to BBC and takes over the former spot of Elle, a women's boutique.
The lustrous decor was inspired by "Alice in Wonderland," according to Bar Reverie's social media sites. Floors are black and white, and green doors lead to the restrooms, which have very distinct designs. We'll let you discover them yourselves.
Bar Reverie Creative Director Lauren Golt collaborated with nearby Houppette to create the restaurant's signature scent for its hand soaps that mix together aromas of suede, tobacco, brown sugar, pink peppercorns and pineapple "with notes of crushed mint and zesty lemon." You can buy the hand soap and lotions at the restaurant.
The restaurant, like its sister operation BBC, has expansive outdoor seating.
Pastry chef Gretchen Sianni, the chef/co-owner of the now-closed two De La Coeur Café et Pâtisserie cafes, is creating the restaurant's breads and sweets.
Sianni has brought back a breakfast sandwich she made and sold at De La Coeur and is making custom cakes. She also sells boxes of house-made pastries. Email bakery@barreverie.com or visit the website to see the flavors, sizes and options available.
Chef Manisha Collet-Govinden who trained and lived in Paris, has such lunch options as burgers, Croque Monsieur, and a "Provençal" plate of three kinds of cheese, sliced house-made bread and accouterments served with a glass of rosé.
The dinner menu has fresh oysters, lamb lollipops (for two or four), "Bougie" deviled eggs (three or five), pan-seared halibut and an 8-ounce Filet Mignon Au Bordelaise.
The wine bar has more than 100 bottles, along with 24 bottles on the cruvinet and 15 different house pours.
The cafe has service from 7 to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 to 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays, and brunch is offered from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Dinner service starts daily at 5 p.m.
Contact Patricia Talorico at ptalorico@delawareonline.com and follow her on Twitter @pattytalorico Sign-up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Greenville welcomes French cafe; ramen coming to Wilmington food hall
