Out & About Magazine February 2014 by Out & About Magazine

Also In This Issue Six Romantic Hot Spots The Oddity: One Strange Bar Why is Italian Food So Popular? OFFICIAL PROGRAM INSIDE (Pages 40-50)

Modern Love Technology and shifting realities have changed the landscape

FEBRUARY 2014 CO M P L I M E N TA R Y VOL. 26 | NO. 9

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THE GRAND ALWAYS LIVE IS

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During Woody’s centennial, son Arlo (a perennial Grand favorite) and family perform best-loved songs and stories of several generations of Guthries

Grammy award-winning soft rock balladeer (“How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”) makes Grand debut

Co-Sponsored by

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An Evening with

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Explosive, unpredictable comedian returns to The Grand

ROXY & ELSEWHERE 40th Anniversary Tour

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The iconic rock music of Frank Zappa in a special 40th Anniversary tribute led by his son Dweezil “incredibly complex, oddly beautiful music” Buffalo News

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Arden Concert Gild, The Green Willow, Brandywine Friends of Oldtime Music, and the Latino Community Advisory Council are valued partners for many performances in the 2013-14 season.

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4 FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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2 INSIDE

magazine

our staff

Publisher Gerald duPhily • jduphily@tsnpub.com Contributing Editor Bob Yearick • ryearick@comcast.net

Director of Publications Jim Hunter Miller • jmiller@tsnpub.com Director of Sales Marie Graham Poot • mgraham@tsnpub.com Creative Direction & Production Management Matthew Loeb, Catalyst Visuals, LLC. matt@catvis.biz Graphic Designer Tyler Mitchell, Catalyst Visuals, LLC. tyler@catvis.biz Contributing Writers Matt Amis, Krista Connor, Mark Fields, Pam George, Rob Kalesse, John Leyh, Robert Lhulier, Allan McKinley, J. Burke Morrison, John Murray, Larry Nagengast, Ciro Poppiti, Scott Pruden Contributing Photographers Joe del Tufo, Tim Hawk, Les Kipp, Lori M. Nichols, Danielle Quigley, Matt Urban Special Projects John Holton, Kelly Loeb Intern Kim Narunsky

what’s inside

FEATURES

START

DRINK

7 War On Words

57 After-Dinner Drinks

9 FYI

59 Spirited

11 By the Numbers

60 Sparkle of Champagne

13 Worth Trying 14 The Best Ambassadors

68 Tuned In

20 That Special Someone

69 Shine A Light III

20 That Special Someone Technology, shifting realties have changed the landscape of romance. By Scott Pruden

26 First-Date Disasters

WATCH

27 Turning Up the Heat

72 Winners That Won’t Win

EAT

73 Love Is Strange

47 Dessert Secrets

PLAY

50 Buon Appetito! 55 MidAtlantic Wine + Food

SPECIAL SECTION:

Working for minimal wages, AmeriCorps volunteers are an invaluable community asset. By Krista Connor

LISTEN 65 The Oddity Bar

FOCUS

14 The Best Ambassadors

50 Buon Appetito! The Small Wonder simply can’t get its fill of Italian food. By Pam George

77 Dead Presidents 81 The Blue Parrot

WILMINGTON

(Pages 31-46)

For editorial & advertising information: 302.655.6483 • Fax 302.654.0569 Website: outandaboutnow.com Email: contact@tsnpub.com

69 Ready To Shine Popular benefit concert provides major boost to Light Up The Queen’s musical outreach programs. By Matt Amis

FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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Valentine’s Day 2.14.14 • 6 PM – 10 PM • LIVE MUSIC • FREE FOR MEMBERS • $8 In adVanCE, $10 at thE dOOR FOR nOn-MEMBERS Grab your main squeeze or mingle if you’re single! Enjoy live music by Michael Hunter, listen to stories of romance, find your perfect artwork match, and make your own Valentines! Chocolate fondue, champagne, beer, and wine will also be available for purchase.

2301 Kentmere Parkway Wilmington, Delaware 19806 302.571.9590 | delart.org

Arthur Cleveland, 1946. Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009). Egg tempera on Masonite, 42 x 30 ¾ inches. Delaware Art Museum, Special Purchase Fund, 1951. © Andrew Wyeth. Photograph by Alessandra Nicole.

6 FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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2 START 2

A writer/editor’s slightly snarky and relentless crusade to eliminate grammatical gaffes from our everyday communications

Compiled from the popular column in Out & About Magazine

THE WAR ON WORDS A monthly column in which we attempt, however futilely, to defend the English language against misuse and abuse

Literally of the Month A reader quotes Samantha Brown, speaking about France on the Travel Channel: “While in Paris you can dine in restaurants that literally wrote the book for the rest of the world.” Restaurants that write? Only in Paris, apparently. That’s All, Folks Using word search, careful writers scour their manuscripts for the word “that” and delete all they deem unnecessary. Generally, this is a good idea. But sometimes a missing “that” can be more annoying than one that’s simply superfluous. Take, for example, this excerpt from a News Journal editorial: “. . . we have to accept [that] the next couple of months will be troubling.” Soon Will Suffice Sooner rather than later is a cumbersome, redundant phrase that has become unaccountably popular. Not only that, it’s illogical because the comparison is never completed. Sooner rather than later than what? What’s wrong with a simple “soon”? If that doesn’t satisfy, how about before long, shortly, sooner than expected, in the near future, very soon, as soon as possible, and now? Department of Redundancies Dept. • Have you noticed the new go-to phrase of football officials: “The play is under further review”? Meaning it’s been reviewed previously? I think not. • From a story in USA Today on Alabama quarterback A. J. McCarron: “He has grown in size and mental acumen.” (Acumen: the ability to think clearly and make good decisions.) Nomenclature It always surprises me when professionals misuse the basic vocabulary of their professions. For instance: • Chefs who spell “palate” pallet or palette. • Restaurateurs who don’t know the difference between “complimentary” (free) and “complementary” (used to describe items—a dish and a wine, for instance—that go well together). • Winemakers who say, “It’s meant to be drank slightly chilled.” The verb is “drunk.” • Sportscasters who say, “He should have ran.” The verb is “run.”

By Bob Yearick

I before E, Except . . . Remember that old saw? Reader Nancy Wingate says she gave her daughter a t-shirt for Christmas that read, “I before E except when eight feisty neighbors seize a surfeit of weighty heifers.” How Long, Oh, Lord, How Long (In which we record the mistaken use of the apostrophe to create plurals) OK, show of hands: How many of you got Christmas cards that were signed by, for example, “The Smith’s,” “The Miller’s,” or “The Turner’s”? Lots of you? Thought so. Peeves • Rob Beatson, Brandywine Hundred, laments the use of “flush things out” when what is meant is “flesh things out.” Rob says the former is spoken frequently in the workplace by otherwise intelligent people, as in “Let’s flush out some ideas …” • So much for Rob’s peeve. Here’s my current one: “I’m bored of this book.” This is common, especially among the unlettered. But it is incorrect. You can be bored with or by, but you can’t be bored of. Media Watch All News Journal: • “The officer tried to diffuse the fight. . .” Diffuse means to spread or cause to spread over a wide area, which is pretty much the opposite of what was intended here. The word the writer was groping for: defuse. •In letters to the editor, a former teacher wrote: “That was a hardship to we, seniors, on fixed incomes . . .” Apparently she wasn’t an English teacher, or she would’ve known that the preposition to requires the objective pronoun us. She also would’ve dropped those commas. • An article about a bus accident included a comment regarding the restaurant where passengers planned to gather. One person is quoted thus: “A lot of these students buss as staff here.” Maybe students do kiss there, but we’re thinking the person was referring to busing tables.

Seen a good (bad) one lately? Send your candidates to ryearick@comcast.net Word of the Month

ineluctable

Pronounced in-i-LUHK-tuh-buhl, impossible to avoid: inescapable.

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it’s

Quotation of the Month adjective

meaning

“The fact that an illiterate mistake may become the correct form . . . is no reason for not combating it in its beginnings.” —Jacques Barzun, French-born American historian.

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O&A FITNESS CHALLENGE: Our man cuts his mile time by almost five minutes In the second month of the O&A Fitness Challenge, Ryan Warner did a sixmile run at a 9 1/2 –minute-per-mile clip. Two months ago, he says, “I started at 14 minutes, and I couldn’t breathe at the end.” The 32-year-old Warner committed to the challenge in December, and now he’s preparing for the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon on March 23. “I’ve got the countdown on my phone: 66 days,” he said on Jan. 15. The father of a 17-month son, with another child on the way, Warner says “the holidays were tough” when it came to training. “I ate a lot of junk,” he says. But now he’s back on the nearby outdoor track at the Delcastle Recreation Area, running 15-20 miles a week. “And my wife is fixing me smoothies.” Although he says he feels better, he hasn’t stepped on the scales since starting the challenge, but he told us he plans to weigh himself soon. We’ll have that number for you in next month’s update. If you want to join the O&A Fitness Challenge, send an email to Jerry duPhily at jduphily@tsnpub.com, and let us know what you hope to accomplish fitness-wise in 2014. — Bob Yearick

8 FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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SEASIDE FUN IN FEBRUARY Point-to-Point preview at Dogﬁsh Head Brewpub

F.Y.I. Things worth knowing

Compiled by Kim Narunsky

CALLING ALL POETS Jackson Inn hosts Second Saturday Poets event

he Delaware Literary Connection hosts Second Saturday Poets every month at the Jackson Inn on the outskirts of Wilmington. A featured reader is scheduled each month, but the mic is open for all those who want to read their poetry. On Saturday, Feb. 8, Charlie Bondhus will be featured. His second poetry book, All the Heat We Could Carry, won Main Street Rag’s Annual Poetry Book Award for 2013. His poetry appears or is set to appear in numerous periodicals. Bondhus holds an MFA in creative writing from Goddard College and a Ph.D. in literature from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He teaches at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey. On March 8, the DLC will hold its second annual Haiku Night. Each poet can read up to 10 of his or her haiku. Bring only haiku, no tankas or other longer poems based on traditional Japanese forms. Lisamarie McGrath, professor of flute at Bryn Mawr Conservatory of Music and winner of the National Flute Association’s Orchestral Competition, will improvise musical interludes with her classical silver flute and Native American flute. Questions? Contact Bob Davis at rhambling@verizon.net. After the haiku readings, there will be an open mic for short poems and prose of any format.

ead down to the beach on Wednesday, Feb. 12, as Dogfish Head Brewpub, on Rehoboth Avenue at Rehoboth Beach, hosts an evening featuring Brewpub exclusive beer, a specialty cocktail, live music and guest bartenders. From 6 to 9 p.m., enjoy complimentary specialty menu items that will be offered in the Dogfish Head Hospitality tent at Point-to-Point in May. Guests may also purchase $5 raffle tickets throughout the evening for a chance to win two pairs of tickets to the hospitality tent, a Dogfish Head music basket, or a Nage gift card. Tickets to the Hospitality Tent at Point-to-Point can be purchased on Friday, Feb. 14 through Dogfish Head’s Facebook page and website. For more information, visit dogfish.com.

APPETIZING MONTH AT DELAWARE ART MUSEUM Art Is Tasty kicks off a busy February

he Delaware Art Museum will host three events this month. “Art Is Tasty,” on Friday, Feb. 7, from noon to 1 p.m., will include lunch in the Thronson Café and a discussion of a work of art. The fee is $12 for members, $14 for non-members. On Friday, Feb. 14, “Art is After Dark” will include live music, special performances, various studio activities, films, gallery games, tours and much more. The event, from 6 to 10 p.m., is free for members, $8 in advance or $10 at the door for non-members. During the evening, snacks can be purchased at the Thronson Café. On the same day, from 7 to 9 p.m., “Clay Date” will give attendees a chance to get acquainted with the museum’s ceramic studio. Led by the museum’s studio instructor, guests can create a piece of ceramic art in a relaxed environment. Supplies, beer, wine and light snacks will be provided. Must be 21 and over to participate ($30 for members, $35 for non-members per person/session). For more information, visit delart.org.

CITY THEATRE COMPANY BEST OF: 2.0 CTC offers rapid-ﬁre laughs with tribute shows

elaware’s City Theatre Company will present Best Of: 2.0, a collection of 10-minute comedies that have been previously performed by the company. Actors, playwrights and directors from the past 20 years will help fill OperaDelaware's studios with laughter. Join them at 8 p.m. on Jan. 31, Saturday, Feb. 1, Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday, Feb. 8. For more information, visit city-theater.org.

WOO YOUR SWEETIE WITH SHAKESPEARE Philly theater company to produce Feb. 12 show

n Wednesday, Feb. 12, the Delaware Shakespeare Festival will present Love’s Labour’s Won: An Evening of Scenes and Sonnets for Valentine’s Day. The evening of poetry, romance, spite, jealousy and love conquering all will take place on stage inside OperaDelaware’s studios. The show is produced by one of Philadelphia’s most dynamic new theater companies, Revolution Shakespeare, and directed by Associate Artistic Director Jared Michel Delaney. The cast includes DSF veterans Sean Bradley (A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Winter's Tale), Clare O’Malley (Shakespeare/Poe) and audience favorite Griffin Stanton-Ameisen. Tickets to Love’s Labour’s Won are $18.50. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 inside the renovated Rehearsal Hall at OperaDelaware, 4 S. Poplar St., Wilmington. Parking is ample and always free. Wine and light refreshments will be available for purchase. You can reserve a front-row table for two in the very limited VIP section, and receive a bottle of wine, a red rose on the table and a sweet surprise, along with 5-10 minutes of personal, professional coaching on a romantic Shakespearean text of your choosing. VIP tickets are available in pairs, for $42 per person. FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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tart working on that summer body while helping raise money for the Boys & Girls Club as it hosts its third annual Fitness Challenge Event. The Boys & Girls Club is part of a nationwide movement whose mission is to inspire and enable all young people. The Club serves more than 25,000 children in all areas of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;about one out of every five school-aged children in Delaware. The Fitness Challenge event will take place from March 15 through June 15, and will benefit the Club as well as participants, by helping them get and stay in shape. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re interested in joining the challenge or want to get more information, contact Scott Ciabattoni at scottchab@gmail.com.

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by the numbers A few Valentine's Day facts worth noting

13.19 The number, in billions of dollars, that consumers spend on Valentine’s Day.

The percentage of pet owners who give a gift to their pet on Valentine’s Day.

61.8

The percentage of American men who buy flowers on Valentine’s Day.

1,000 The average number of letters sent on Valentine’s Day to Juliet in Verona, Italy—the city in which Romeo and Juliet lived in Shakespeare’s story.

The number, in millions, of heart-shaped boxes of chocolate sold for Valentine’s Day each year.

The percentage of people who celebrate Valentine’s Day in the United States.

FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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Thursday, March 13 6 PM –9 PM

The Delaware Zoological Society

supporting the Brandywine Zoo and the BBC Tavern and Grill invite you to a Guest Bartender Night at BBC on Thursday, March 13 from 6 pm till 9 pm. Join the BBC and Guest Bartenders to help raise money for the Brandywine Zoo. BBC Tavern and Grill 4019 Kennett Pike, Greenville, DE

brandywinezoo.org • 302 . 571 . 7747 The Brandywine Zoo is managed as part of Wilmington State Parks by the Division of Parks and Recreation, with the support of the Delaware Zoological Society.

12 FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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Worth Trying Random suggestions from our staff and contributors

Asian House A bit off the beaten path, Asian House is located in Beaver Brook Plaza, on Route 13 south of the 13-40 split. This is one of the best restaurants in Delaware, period. The Chinese fare is fresh and not soaked in oil. The sushi is spot on. The best deal is the "buffet.” It is not a traditional, get-up-and-load-your-plate buffet. Rather, you order any and everything from the menu, receiving generous sampler plates. Consequently, your dinner is not lying bare under heat lamps for hours. They’re family friendly and sensitive to food allergies.

— Ciro Poppiti, O&A Contributing Writer

Pesto Gouda Cheese at Trader Joe’s A friend recently brought a hunk of Trader Joe’s pesto Gouda cheese to one of our gatherings, and this fromage quickly became the star of the soiree. It’s a pleasant, mild cheese spiked with the fresh hint of basil pesto. And it adds a nice pop of springy green color to a normally bland cheese tray. Sometimes it’s hard to find — grab it when you can.

— Michelle Kramer-Fitzgerald, O&A Contributing Writer & Arts Maven

Oddity Bar

Brunch at Corner Bistro

The newest establishment to grace 500 Greenhill Ave., Oddity Bar has already become a beacon for people looking for an eclectic variety of craft beer and something, well, a little odd. The friendly bartenders serve up selections from a beer list that will contend with any other craft list in the city amid weird décor. On most nights there is a good chance you will be able to catch original live music ranging from local punk and rockabilly acts to an old school funk DJ. If there is no band, you’ll be entertained by several televisions screening movies similar to those in the “Troma” archives rather than the ubiquitous sports event. These are reasons enough to make this my new favorite bar in town, but they really melted my heart by making every Monday night “Industry Night” with discounts for people working in the hospitality industry. (For more on the Oddity, see pg. 65.)

I had brunch at Corner Bistro last Sunday with my family and I can’t believe that was my first time. I had the breakfast tart: ham, lightly fried egg, fontina, and arugula with hollandaise. My husband had the biscuits and gravy (Careful—they’ve got quite a kick), and my son had the yogurt with strawberries and granola. The food was delicious, our server was friendly and attentive, and the prices were very reasonable. Great coffee and Bloody Marys too.

— Marie Graham Poot, O&A Director of Sales

— Paul Egnor, Executive Chef at Pizza By Elizabeths Note: In our January issue, a Worth Trying item indicated that Brandywine Conservancy owns Stroud Preserve. This is incorrect. Natural Lands Trust is the owner.

Have something you think is worth trying? Send an email to Jim with your suggestion by scanning this QR code ► (jmiller@tsnpub.com)

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L to R : AmeriCorps members Anthony Gibbs, Matt Gabel, Kyle Richardson, Beth Miller, Jacquie Sanders, Kerry Davies Dunning (Habitat for Humanity staff member), Vania Lopez (homeowner), AJ Brighton, James Mohr, Melissa Korik, and Emily Beck at a newly-built Seaford home last October.

The Best Ambassadors Working for minimal wages, AmeriCorps members are an invaluable asset to scores of the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nonprofits, schools and public agencies By Krista Connor photos provided by Habitat for Humanity

14 FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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hree years ago, Christina Saadeh stared at her computer screen and scrolled through pages of job listings. A recent graduate of the University of Delaware, Saadeh had decided she didn’t want to pursue a career in her major, athletic training. Instead, she says, she was looking for a job “with purpose.” Then, on Idealist.org, she started to run into AmeriCorps programs seeking members. She applied to one and was brought on board at Connecting Generations, a Wilmington-based youth mentoring program established in 1990. Through AmeriCorps, she became a CG mentor coordinator at Richardson Park Elementary School for one year. A federal agency, AmeriCorps annually connects more than 80,000 Americans with year-long service opportunities at nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and community and faithbased groups across the country. Since the program’s founding in 1994, more than 800,000 AmeriCorps members, from ages 17 and up, have contributed more than 1 billion hours of service. Many of Saadeh’s days started at 7 a.m., when she prepared for 80 high school students, split into three groups that arrived at three times during the day. She’d oversee the sessions and interactions between mentors and students, making sure the experience ran smoothly for both. During her year she worked more than 40 hours each week while earning a living allowance that was less than minimum wage. But the financial shortfall, however burdensome, wasn’t what stuck with her. “You’re not putting anything into savings,” says Saadeh. “But it ultimately didn’t feel like too much of a sacrifice, seeing the difference it was making in the climate of the school. You realize that this is the one life that you have and you can do anything in it, and I wanted to make a difference.” Influencing People’s Lives AmeriCorps was a good starting point to launch her into other areas, Saadeh says. After her term ended in 2012, she headed to Kenya for a year as an English and math volunteer teacher. She sees herself continuing in the humanitarian or non-profit sector, which is a 180-degree turn from the health and medical field in which she started out. “I knew throughout the course of that year and when it was done that I could never just have a position that didn’t directly influence the lives of people for the better—specifically kids,” Saadeh says. Saadeh’s story is just one of countless inspiring AmeriCorps experiences from around the state and the country. The rewards are not without great personal sacrifice and challenges to most members, but their unrelenting passion and diligence have helped dozens of successful nonprofits to thrive and survive. “The idealism and commitment to serving the community that our members bring to Delaware helps Delaware get things done that may not happen otherwise,” says Gene Danneman, AmeriCorps program officer at the State Office of Volunteerism. “They do it with enthusiasm, hard work, sacrifice, and bring us their energy, talents, ideas, and organizational skills.” AmeriCorps members are required to serve 1,700 hours per year, which equals a fulltime job, although most willingly volunteer far more time. They catch what Nancy Greene, programs manager at Sussex County Habitat for Humanity, calls “Habititus”—seeing a need and filling it, regardless of the fact that they’ve put in more than the required hours.

AJ Brighton, a 2013-2014 AmeriCorps member, measures plywood onsite at Georgetown Point in Georgetown. Of the 36 homes in the community, 22 will be Habitat homes.

Benefitting Four Nonprofits There are currently about 100 Delaware Corps members in state-supported AmeriCorps programs at four nonprofits: Connecting Generations, Habitat for Humanity, Ministry of Caring and Teach for America. Benefits to AmeriCorps members include student loan forbearance, and those who complete their year of service receive an education award scholarship, which this year is $5,550*. Nationally, depending on the program, members typically earn a living allowance of around $12,100 for the year—less than minimum wage. (Each nonprofit is expected to match AmeriCorps funds— which come through grants from the federal Corporations for National Community service—by at least 26 percent, and Connecting Generations and Habitat are both at a match of more than 40 percent). This leaves Corps members eligible for social services and state benefits, like food stamps and healthcare assistance. “We definitely lived more simply,” says Saadeh, who roomed with UD students in Newark during her term. Other members live in shared housing, or at home, while some try to make it on their living allowance. “It’s just not enough money to survive on,” says Tara Wiggins, Connecting Generations’ AmeriCorps Youth Ambassadors program director. “It’s a difficult adjustment from typically being a college student, and now having to figure out how to provide food, shelter and transportation and all that on this modest living allowance.” Organizations utilize AmeriCorps members, Wiggins says, because they offer an opportunity to provide additional support services to the community, without having to sap their resources. Schools are not likely to have a fulltime person dedicated to being a mentor coordinator, which means the only way that most participating schools are able to have somebody come in and provide mentoring to their students is to have an AmeriCorps member on staff. In turn, schools are asked to give a $10,000 matching cost to support members. ►

FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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Asked if it’s fair for a government institution to offer so little to people who selflessly give themselves to idealistic causes, Danneman says, “We all make choices in life and prioritize different things. For one year or more some people choose to live very frugally to serve their community and receive their education award.” Greene says people at Habitat call this “living in poverty as those they serve.” While acknowledging that it’s a huge sacrifice to serve for a year, Greene says it’s not really service if you’re not giving up something in order to serve. “I had heard that before: ‘Why don’t you pay them more, they’re that valuable.’ Yes, they are valuable,” Greene says. “But it’s the same thing as volunteering, basically—a living allowance that can facilitate that volunteerism. But I don’t think a whole lot of people volunteer for the money.” Green is delighted to point out that Sussex Habitat has been able to bring onto staff 25 percent of AmeriCorps members who have served in her program, and 36 percent were able to find jobs in other nonprofit areas. Greene notes that AmeriCorps members are asked to perform at a professional capacity almost instantly, since many nonprofits are run by fewer than a dozen fulltime staff members. “We need them to step up and to provide us with a professional level of service,” says Greene, who says Habitat has 21 members state-wide. Connecting Generations, for example, currently has 13 AmeriCorps members—called Youth Ambassadors— who run 18 sites throughout the state. The nonprofit can afford only six fulltime staff members, so it’s clear just how necessary Corps members are. Youth Ambassadors like Saadeh manage volunteer mentors by recruiting them, interviewing and matching mentors and mentees, scheduling, and supporting mentors through their yearlong journeys. Youth Ambassadors also host service projects in schools, support volunteerism within the community, and attend monthly meetings and training with other members, and help to spread the word about AmeriCorps and the Youth Ambassador program.

16 FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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Wiggins, who started out as an AmeriCorps member, is personally familiar with the drive that pushes these relentless, seemingly inexhaustible people. “It’s this amazing thing that you can see in a person,” Wiggins says. “This passion for service and this passion for youth development. There’s no way that you could do this position and not have this passion.” She says having direct contact with the children every day also helps to keep members motivated; they see the grades change, the personality and behavior change, the attendance improve. “The look in those children’s eyes, saying, ‘This is someone coming to spend time with me, this is my special time to have attention and to feel loved’—those moments can never be taken away,” says Saadeh. At Teach For America, AmeriCorps’ largest program nationally, Corps members are the sole people onsite teaching in an area’s highest-need schools. Currently, nearly 60 AmeriCorps teachers and 13 alumni serve more than 7,000 students in 23 district and charter schools across six districts in Delaware.

I know that the young men and women I work with every single day prove that there are altruistic people out there who want to better their community, and they're working hard to do it. — Nancy Greene, Programs Manager at Sussex County Habitat for Humanity “Every time I see stories about this ‘entitled generation,’ I wish they had worked with my AmeriCorps team for just one day,” says Greene. “I know that the young men and women I work with every single day prove that there are altruistic people out there who want to better their community, and they’re working hard to do it.” Greene says that when members move on after their term, they have experience well beyond their counterparts in a first-year job situation. Running family services, working at build sites, or as volunteer coordinators, AmeriCorps members are on the front lines of making Habitat’s mission a reality: creating a world where everyone has a decent place to live. “It’s amazing and very heartwarming to me,” says Greene. “That’s what has kept me in this role for five years. I would rather make less money serving here alongside the AmeriCorps members because they’re what gets me up in the morning—their enthusiasm and sacrifices. We want them, when they leave, to be professionals and to carry the message. They are our best ambassadors.” At 53, Jacquie Sanders thinks it’s the right time for her to be giving back to society by serving as an AmeriCorps member at the Sussex Habitat. She began as a volunteer more than two years ago and came on as a Corps member last summer, currently serving as the Theme Build Coordinator. The Theme Build program was created last year by 2013 AmeriCorps member Lyndsay Humphries, who is now on staff as Volunteer Coordinator. (Members frequently build programs, Greene proudly notes.) Sanders oversees themed projects like Veterans Build, Women Build, Home Builders Blitz, Walt Jones Memorial Golf Project, and Dogfish Head Day of Benevolence, to name a few. ►

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It’s a “pay it forward” philosophy, the way Sanders explains it: “You see what you’ve been able to do with your life and you know that if you can give other people the same opportunities, then perhaps they’re going to be the next person to do something amazing with their life.” One misconception members have, she says, is that people often don’t realize they don’t get paid, that it’s just a living wage. Work schedules are never normal, events are at all hours, and members do everything at poverty level. “AmeriCorps members do it with an open heart,” Sanders says. “You give a lot of time, because you believe it’s the right mission.” Sanders, who previously worked as a director of operations for a retail company, is inspired by stories of families she works with, like those whose children are beating the odds and starting college. “That isn’t what you get in the profit world,” Sanders says. “You don’t see the smile on the faces of the kids picking out their bedroom colors before they’re even in their house.” Steffi Holmes, a Corps member who served with Connecting Generations from 2012-2013, says that although she still intends to pursue her initial career in singing and teaching music, she also plans to work with youth and in volunteerism and community involvement. “AmeriCorps gave me a perspective that I cannot ignore. I believe in service and helping our fellow man,” says Holmes. “We are all neighbors, whether or not we know each other, and I know that kindness can change a person's life.” For those interested in serving locally or nationally through AmeriCorps, go to www. nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps for more information. For volunteer information or to learn more about Connecting Generations, Habitat for Humanity, Teach For America, and Ministry of Caring, visit their websites at www. connecting-generations.org, www.habitat. org, www.teachforamerica.org, and www. ministryofcaring.org. Connecting Generations is always searching for volunteer mentors. *For those who serve in AmeriCorps and are over 55 years old, the education award, if not used by the individual, can be used by a child, grandchild or foster child.

18 FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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Finding That Special Someone Technology, shifting realities have changed the landscape of modern romance By Scott Pruden

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am a 45-year-old father of two who’s coming up on 13 years of happy marriage. My most recent dating experience was circa 1998—very much prior to the age of selfies, Facetime, mobile phone sexting and non-stop documentation of just about everything. Thus it would seem that I would be among the least qualified to go in search of the state of romance as we approach Valentine’s Day 2014. But since getting married in 2001, I’ve continued to follow with interest not just the challenges and travails of singles—whether unmarried, divorced or widowed—in my own age group, but also of, well . . . everyone. I’ve discovered that there’s a lot of information out there about how people are pairing up and plenty about how they should pair up (not all of it reliable). What’s more, I feel that my marital status gives me a certain objectivity compared to those who are actively engaged in finding a partner. So with that disclaimer, let me forge onward.

Lots of Options

Today, there seem to be as many ways to pair up as there are items on a Chinese restaurant menu. You have the old standbys like the random (or not-so-random) bar encounter; coming together through shared interests; and, my personal favorite (because it worked out well for me), the introduction through friends or relatives. But more and more in today’s romantic landscape, those seeking the affections of another are going online. The digital dating explosion strives to fill nearly every niche of our companionship needs. There are dozens of ways, from Zoosk to eHarmony to Match to Plenty of Fish, to meet the prospective Mr. or Mrs. Right. Got a specific religion, ethnicity or region in mind? The dot-coms JDate, ChristianMingle and SingleMuslim promise to find you the appropriately faith-observant life partner. Adultery facilitator AshleyMadison.com even promises to hook you up despite the fact that you’re already married. For some, though, the prospect of online dating is overwhelming. Dating sites—free or paid— want lots of information, with seemingly endless online forms to fill out before they can assess your wants, desires and preferences with a magical mathematical algorithm. Just listen to Karen*, a 40-something Delaware native who returned to the area from northern California in 2012. “I went through lots of dating startups when I was in California because they were all based in Silicon Valley and it was the thing to do. But before long I realized it was like a job interview every day,” she says of filling out online dating profiles. “[ Job search site] Monster.com and Match.com are almost the same—you fill out a profile and people look at it.” Once that profile is complete, there’s the management of your profile and those who visit it. For Karen, it can be a frustrating case of bait and switch, or in her case, wink then ignore. On Match.com, someone who finds you appealing is invited to “wink” at you, an electronic way of letting you know they’ve checked out your profile and liked what they saw. But not every wink leads to a date. “I’ve been on Match.com since I moved back to Delaware, and people wink and like your picture then don’t ever send you a message, and then I get bored with it,” she says. “Or I’ll read other people’s stuff and say, no, too many selfies, too many pictures of yourself in the car, too many pictures of your dog. The whole process is weird.” ►

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FINDING THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE continued from previous page

And once you find someone and make a date, there are no guarantees that there will be sparks. Warren*, a 40-something New Castle native whose work has taken him up and down the East Coast, has ended up in New York City, where he’s essentially given up on online dating for lack of satisfactory results. “I just really didn’t have a great experience with it, even with eHarmony, which is supposed to have this in-depth connection,” he says. In the course of his six-month run with eHarmony, he agreed to go out on three dates and never got past the second one. “There just wasn’t an attraction,” he says. That doesn’t mean, however, that dating services don’t work. Rich*, who lives in New Castle, had perhaps the best possible experience one can have with an online dating service. He married one of his online matches in January of last year. Rich was 40 years old and had been divorced for a few years before he took to Match.com at the suggestion of some male friends. He wanted to expand his dating pool, which had been limited to women he knew long before his first marriage. “I’m not a going-out guy, I’m not a bar guy, and that’s not how I like to meet people, so I said why not?” he says. “I’m certainly not going to meet anyone sitting around my apartment.” After signing up for the Match.com free trial and being as brutally honest as possible in filling out his personal profile, he selected three possible matches out of the many invitations to connect (both real and spam) he received. That initial honesty was important, he says, especially considering all the people who misrepresent themselves in the online dating world. “I was 40-some pounds heavier at the time, but I didn’t want to show up for a date with someone and have them say that my profile picture wasn’t the real me,” he says. “I was honest. I didn’t like it, but I was honest.” Among the three women he chose to contact himself was the one he ended up marrying. He and his future bride communicated by phone, email and text for weeks before they agreed to a casual meeting at a bar. Rich waxes romantic about the occasion: “I ended up down the bar from her and she was wearing a red dress. What lights were on in the bar looked like they were aimed directly at her.”

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You may feel like rocking it old school, in which you and another human meet—in person—find one another attractive and decide to move on from there. If so, your options are almost as broad as those in the digital world. MeetUp.com features a huge variety of groups based around shared interests, social activities, athletics and the arts, with many geared toward singles in particular. In addition, bars and restaurants around Delaware regularly host singles events and “speed dating.” Participants sign up, meet at a designated spot, and the organizers arrange for each person to spend a specific (and usually short—as in minutes) period of time chatting up another participant, then move on to the next. The concept is to cut through the small talk and get right to what attracts people to each other.

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Churches, always looking for new and younger members, have created singles ministries that aim to give the faithful a place to convene with God and possibly meet a future mate. But in almost every case, standard practice would suggest you arrange to meet again later, with more dates to follow if you and another person happen to hit it off. More dates and a blossoming relationship might result in in a long-term monogamous relationship or traditional marriage. This does still happen, but it’s not unusual for relationships among younger adults to begin with—rather than progress to—sex, says Delaware sex therapist Dr. Debra Laino. While she doesn’t see many young patients as part of her clinical practice, Laino does teach undergraduate courses in psychology at Philadelphia University, which puts her neck-deep in the steamy cauldron of young adult romance and sexuality. And what she sees there reflects some of what shrill news stories fret about when describing what has become known as “hook-up culture.” The term is somewhat ambiguous and is used a bit indiscriminately (particularly by daytime talk shows and local news broadcasts), but the explanation is simple. Hooking up typically applies to engaging in romantic or sexual behavior with someone with whom you don’t necessarily intend to have a committed relationship. And according to at least one recent study from the University of Portland, it’s not even more sex. The study polled a sample of 1,800 students from across the U.S. who attended at least one year of college between 2002 and 2010, and compared the results to a sample from students who attended college between 1988 and 1996. The amount of sex was relatively the same, as was the number of sex partners since turning 18. What changed ever so slightly was the number of regular partners modern respondents reported having in the past year, and who those partners were. According to the study, slightly more students reported having had sex with a friend, casual date or other non-regular partner in the past year. So even though it’s not the “death of romance,” as some would have us believe, what emerges is a tendency in adults toward what Laino calls “stayover relationships.” “That’s when someone says, ‘We have sex on the weekends, but I want my independence during the week, and I’ll fit my sex life in with no commitment,’” she says. ►

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The Changing Role of Women

And because women are frequently the sexual gatekeepers in a heterosexual relationship, this changing perspective has much to do with a new female take on romance—one that hews much closer to what we have traditionally expected from men. That’s in large part because the economic necessity of coupling has diminished for women. While past generations of women were raised to seek men who could support them and any children that resulted from a union, these days it’s much easier for a single woman to get a well-paying job and finance her own life. This change gives women much more freedom to wade into waters more traditionally occupied by men – in the boardroom, on the dating scene and in the bedroom —Laino says. “There’s no doubt that women are taking more masculine roles in a career sense, and that’s causing some level of confusion as to what the man or woman is going to do [in the relationship],” she says. “Women are really taking the lead in regard to what they want, and I think men really are confused and are going to get more confused as to how this levels out.” This seismic shift in what were considered traditional gender roles has sent ripples through all areas of romance, Laino says, and it’s something that now has to be addressed from the earliest stages of a love affair all the way through an established, long-term relationship.

Navigating the New Landscape

When it comes to standard dating, it’s sometimes a toss-up as to what rules still apply. For instance, is a man still obligated to pay for a date, even if the woman he’s asking out earns significantly more than he does? And how does that fit with a woman’s desire to maintain some vestige of oldschool dating and marriage?

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“Society and culture are sending messages, but others come from past generations,” says Laino. “You take a woman and the values that have been put in her head by her mother and her grandmother and then the values put in her by this modern world, and there are all these competing messages. I think a lot of women are confused by the way they’re supposed to behave.” Karen, our frustrated Match.com user, agrees, noting that in spite of her successful career, the fact that she makes her own money and doesn’t have to depend on her date to pay for dinner, those old gender roles still emerge in her mind. “It just confuses how things should work,” she says. “I don’t know that there are norms anymore. I don’t want them to pay every time, but I also don’t want to insult them.” On the guy’s side, different expectations can cause tension. “I’m in a very odd spot where I’m a very intellectual, artistic person who makes no money,” says Warren. “And even women in my profession don’t want to date me. They want to date up. They want to date rich.” Such bumps in the romantic road are indicative of the changes couples will have to adapt to in this modern age, says therapist Laino. “Those couples that aren’t successful, it’s almost like they’ve been existing together and then problems arise and it comes down to, ‘Oh, my God. We really don’t know each other,’” Laino says. “Growth and transformation in relationships are important. The healthiest relationships are those that explore.” *Names of some sources have been changed to protect their privacy.

DON’T GET HOOKED BY CATFISHING Any Internet-savvy person knows that the online world is rife with fraud and deception. Somehow, though, many online daters give those they encounter a pass on nefarious intent. But there are plenty of criminals and imposters posting on dating sites who might seem at first to be Prince or Princess Charmings. Online dating fraud is known as “catfishing,” a name derived from the 2010 movie Catfish in which a young man develops an online relationship with a woman who is a complete fabrication. The practice was made even more infamous by the case of former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o, whose “girlfriend” proved to be an online hoax perpetrated by a friend. Since it’s impossible to know who’s really on the other end of that dating profile, use some discretion when revealing personal information before arranging an in-person meeting. Also, of course, sharing racy or explicit photos with someone you don’t know is not advisable. If you’re getting serious about someone you’ve met online, it never hurts to take advantage of the many available background check services to make sure the person is legit. For instance, if you believe he or she is using a fake photo in a dating profile, programs like TinEye can track the origin point of a photo.

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FIRST DATE DISASTERS Three initial romantic encounters that were embarrassing, but not catastrophic STOPPED IN HIS TRACKS Shortly after I graduated from high school, I went on a date with a young lady on whom I’d had a crush for a long time. She graduated a year ahead of me, and was home from college for the summer. This girl always had seemed out of reach for me, yet here she was in the passenger seat of my car. I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. I can remember my hands beginning to sweat on the steering wheel as we headed into town for dinner at a popular Italian restaurant. Just seeing her again seemed to heighten the level of everything going on in my teenage system. Yet despite the overload, I managed to navigate through dinner relatively smoothly (for a recent high school grad, that is). In fact, it felt as if everything was moving along just right. Then, as we left the restaurant and began walking back to the car, she told a story while I did my best to listen and keep eye contact with her. Eye-contact – I had been told this is very important. Suddenly, I was stopped in my tracks. Painfully so . . . I had just walked into a parking sign. We both laughed about it, of course. But in retrospect, I don’t think the impression I made with her that evening was nearly as significant as the one that parking sign left on my forehead. Ah, the scars of young love. —Jim Miller, O&A Director of Publications

AMBULANCE ROMANCE In the mid-1990s, I met a woman at a murder mystery-themed fundraiser for a local theater group in which I was a member of the cast. When we finally arranged to go out on an official first date, it was to see a movie at a theater about 30 minutes away. All was going great until the ride home. It was late at night and had been lightly raining, and as I approached an intersection with a green light, I saw a taxi coming along the cross street with what looked like no intention of slowing down. I hit the brakes hard, but because of the wet street the car slid into the intersection just in time for the cab to crash into us, totaling the car and sending both of us to the emergency room for the remainder of the evening. We were just banged around, but the medics strapped us to backboards and took us away in an ambulance. Whee! So romantic! Still, I suppose I made a satisfactory impression, because we continued dating for about four months thereafter. —Scott Pruden, Contributing Writer

PLEDGES STOLE MY DATE While a freshman at Penn State, I went on a date with a nice fraternity guy (who shall remain nameless), who took me ice skating at the Penn State Pavilion. We were having a totally chill time for about 30 minutes when we were overtaken on the ice by a roaring, obnoxious gang of his fraternity’s freshman pledge class. This ridiculous mob grabbed him—still in full ice skates —tied him up with bungee cords and dragged him off the rink, effectively kidnapping him for their annual pledge retreat. I was left on the ice solo—no goodbye, no date, no ride home! I had to call his buddies at the fraternity and describe the whole deal. Luckily, one of them was nice enough to drive me back to the dorm. There was no second date, but I did marry his fraternity brother. —Michelle Kramer-Fitzgerald, Contributing Writer & Arts Maven 26 FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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T URNING UP THE HEAT Here are six area spots where you can kindle or re-kindle romance this month By Pam George

icture a romantic restaurant and you’ll likely imagine white linen tablecloths, ﬂowers, candlelight and soft music. There might be a ﬁreplace and distinctive décor—perhaps Victorian or Colonial. At one time, couples looking for such a spot had several from which to choose. Things, however, have changed. In response to a more casual society, many restaurants have whisked away the trappings and turned up the volume. Open kitchens are bustling and dining rooms are buzzing. But happily, there are still places where a romantic meal is on the menu. Here are some favorites.

The Green Room Hotel du Pont Wilmington www.dupont.com/hotel.dining.htm 800-338-3404 or 594-3154 When Darren and Karen Wright decided to get married seven years ago, they toured restaurants that could handle up to 50 people. As a shot in the dark, they called the Hotel du Pont to check on prices for a small banquet room. Turns out, the staff at that hotel had decided to test The Green Room as an option. The Wrights served as happy guinea pigs. “It was just beautiful,” says Darren Wright. “We had a singer and pianist in the balcony and amazing food.” The couple celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary in the restaurant.

Hayes Roberts from Garnet Valley and Andrea Halko from Wilmington enjoy drinks before dinner in booth 13 at Moro in Wilmington. Photo Tim Hawk

While you may no longer be able to marry in the opulent space, you can still savor fine cuisine in one of the region’s most distinctive restaurants. The jewel in the 100-year-old hotel’s crown, The Green Room could set the scene for a Downton Abbey episode. Crystal and gold chandeliers—weighing 2,500 pounds each —hang from the two-and-a-half-story coffered ceiling. Arched windows sweep upward on fumed oak-paneled walls. Tables beside the windows are in high demand. Tables are well spaced, so you won’t feel as though a party of five is intruding on your quiet conversation, no matter where you sit. Servers have delivered desserts with “Will You Marry Me?” written in chocolate. Or they’ll whip off a domed lid to reveal a ring. According to lore, one man stood on the minstrel’s balcony, commanding the room’s attention while he addressed his date. (The hotel is discreet, so always check with management before trying such a performance.) ► FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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Sit back in the comfortable wingback chairs, which take some muscle to roll over the plush carpet, and tuck into Hudson Valley foie gras, Verlasso salmon, or a surf-and-turf of filet and lobster. Always order dessert. In The Green Room, resistance is futile. The Fountain Restaurant The Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia 215-963-1500 www.fourseasons.com One of the country’s only Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond awards recipients, the Fountain Restaurant consistently racks up accolades. And according to fan JB Braun, it’s well deserved. He surprised his wife by stopping here for brunch after they spent an anniversary weekend at a New Hope, Pa., B&B. “We arrived at 10 a.m., left at 2 p.m., and treated ourselves to gastronomical delights at a brunch that has never been equaled,” he says. “It’s romantic because nobody pampers or caters to your every whim like the Four Seasons. The ‘bride’ said, ‘This is what it’s like to be waited on!’” The most desirable tables are beside the windows overlooking Swann Memorial Fountain, a colossal sculpture of three verdigris gods, each of which represents a river. The Delaware River is a robust male, attended by leaping fish. The Schuylkill is a woman with a mature form. The Wissahickon is a sinuous female reclining against a swan. The fountain punctuates Logan Square—which is actually a circle. While the Fountain Restaurant, which opened in 1983, is less opulent than older special occasion restaurants, it is still refined. There’s a sommelier, for instance. But don’t worry: the restaurant is far from stuffy. Relax and enjoy this room with a view. Dilworthtown Inn Dilworthtown, Pa. 610-399-1390 www.dilworthtown.com When Stephanie and Vinny Baffone want a special night out, they travel from their Pike Creek home to Dilworthtown, located just off Route 202 across the state line. With its roots dating back to 1780, when the house that James Dilworth built became a tavern, the restaurant exudes a Chester County ambiance. There are three floors and 15 rooms, all with Colonial appeal—walk-in fireplaces, wide windowsills, plaster walls. “Our home is a reproduction farmhouse and we’re drawn to the historical setting,” says Stephanie Baffone. But she didn’t feel warm and fuzzy on their 15th anniversary. It was a rainy August day, and Baffone didn’t intend to go to the hairdresser let alone out to dinner. Her husband, however, insisted on both. Off they went. “I was cranky the whole way,” she recalls. “I didn’t have an ounce of makeup on.” Once at the restaurant, the couple headed to a room downstairs, where about 50 people waited to surprise her with an anniversary party. “It was just so sweet. I was shocked,” she says.

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Dilworthtown Inn over the years has seen more than its share of such celebrations, and it’s frequently the site of proposals – up to 10 on Valentine’s Day alone. But things didn’t go quite as planned on one occasion, according to co-owner Jim Barnes. He presented the ring box on a white pillow under a domed lid, and the exuberant woman cradled the box in her palms. Then she lifted the lid on an empty box. To add insult to injury, the box was equipped with an automatic pin light that showcased absolutely nothing. She burst into tears and the man grew apoplectic. Turns out the jewelry store salesman neglected to put the ring in the box before wrapping it. Now Barnes opens each box and photographs the ring before keeping it in the safe, where it awaits the mealtime presentation. When the Baffones dine at the inn, they frequently splurge on steak and a Caesar salad, prepared tableside. Other couples opt for the Chateaubriand for two, a menu staple for decades. The Baffones visited Dilworthtown last Valentine’s Day. “It’s a really special place,” Baffone says. And because she remembers the wonderful night of her 15th anniversary each time, the restaurant has become all that more special. Moro Trolley Square 777-1800 www.mororestaurant.net There are few restaurants that can be chic, sophisticated, and yet undeniably romantic at the same time. Moro is one of them. Maybe it’s the circular booths that curve throughout the two floors. Or perhaps it’s the warm yet stimulating colors: burnt orange, gold and a flash of crimson.

Table 13 downstairs apparently bucks the unlucky number stereotype. “It’s very romantic,” says Edwardo Requena, general manager. He also recommends table 52 upstairs. Couples come here to celebrate, canoodle and reconnect. One man hired a violinist to serenade his date. After a while, Requena put the kibosh on the musical interlude. “The violinist wasn’t very good,” he explains. “The other guests were getting irritated.” For the proposal, most men go the traditional route and get down on one knee, he says. Or they ask servers to put the ring in a champagne glass. While the menu changes, there are always decadent selections for couples, who tend to indulge on a romantic date. Foie gras and oysters rule. And for dessert? “Usually something chocolate,” Requena says. If the lady says “Yes,” the restaurant presents a complimentary glass of bubbly. “And if they say ‘No,’ I give the guy a shot,” Requena jokes. Krazy Kats Montchanin 888-4200 krazykatsrestaurant.com Part of The Inn at Montchanin Village, this restaurant has had couples purring for years. The feline-patterned upholstery brings out diners’ wild side, even in such a refined environment. Alessandra Nicole and boyfriend Dennis Degnan visited the restaurant on their shared birthday, which was also the anniversary of their first date. They’d had a tiff earlier, but it wasn’t long before the dining room worked its magic. “I warmed up to the guy again by the time our first course arrived,” she recalls. It helped that he wore a jacket just for her. (Jackets, by the way, are not required.) ►

and

taste

sea

Sunday: LobSter day lobster specials all day

Monday: aLaSkan king Crab LegS

$15 for 1/2 lb or $30 for 1lb tueSday: new orLeanS Seafood day and HaLf-PriCed oySterS

$8 apps and $25 entrées wedneSday: Stone Crab CLawS

HaRRY’S WInTER

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Daily Specials for the whole month of February visit us at www.HARRYSSEAFOODGRILL.com for more information

101 South Market Street · Wilmington DE 19801 · 302.777.1500

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$5 a bowl friday: SHriMP boiL & SteaMerS

$14 / $10

Saturday: Surf & turf

$35

FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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FOCUS TURNING UP THE HEAT continued from previous page

CELEBRATE

“It was my first visit...and we had a phenomenal meal and enjoyed wonderful treatment,” Nicole says. Couples like to warm their hearts by the fireplace, and during the day, they bathe in the sunshine that floods the “annex,” which adjoins the main dining room. Proposals involve the usual props: a champagne glass, an empty soup bowl. No matter the platform, the ring seems to possess its own energy as it passes through the restaurant. “When it comes out, everyone in the dining room seems to know that they’re going to see something special,” says Vera Palmatary, general manager.

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Harry’s Savoy Grill North Wilmington 475-3000 www.harryshospitalitygroup.com Despite a recent cosmetic redo, a hip menu in the grill, which sports a communal table, and a new, more low-key ambiance, Harry’s Savoy for many folks remains a go-to spot for romantic dinners a deux. A table by the fireplace in the grill is a popular place for doe-eyed couples. “There’s just something about fireplaces,” says owner Xavier Teixido. “You feel like you’re by yourselves.” Couples also ask for booths in the Bacchus Room, a separate section in the back of the restaurant. “You can be really focused on each other,” Teixido says. “You won’t be distracted.” For proposals, the restaurants has done everything from sending flowers to the table to serving the ring with a course. The proposal also has been delivered on the menu. In one instance, a horse and carriage pulled up outside the restaurant portico to take the couple on a spin around the parking lot. And when it’s time to get married? Harry’s Savoy Ballroom is right around back. From proposal to wedding to anniversary celebrations, Harry’s Savoy is a one-stop shop.

WVUD.ORG 30 FEBRUARY 2014 | OUTANDABOUTNOW.COM

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Wilmingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art Loop February 2o14

On the Town

ALSO IN THIS SECTION: This Month at Theatre N Letter from the Mayor Small Business Success Series

THE CITY OF WILMINGTON

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Summer Youth Program

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a glance!

On the Town

Friday, February 7, 2014 5:30 - 9 p.m.

(Individual show times vary by venue, please see venue listing for details.)

Step-by-Step Guide to the 1 2

Review the shows listed in this issue of Art on the Town magazine and choose the opening receptions you want to attend. Map-out choices for the Art on the Town by using the bus schedule and venue. Choose your method of transportation:

Choice A: The Art on the Town shuttle is a free service that offers riders the convenience of a continuous downtown bus that connects the Riverfront, 2nd & Market and 9th & Market areas of the Art Loop. Choice B: Self-guided tours are a go-at-your-own pace option and offer more freedom to visit openings in multiple areas of the Art Loop such as downtown, Trolley Square and off-the-loop locations.

Finish off the evening by enjoying one of Wilmingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s many excellent restaurants. For suggestions please visit the food and drink section of inwilmingtonde.com

Repeat the first Friday of every month!

art Loop.

Downtown Bus Schedule: DCCA