‘Wilmington’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Review: The Skrimp Shack {Williamsburg, Virginia}

August 18, 2018 · Narrative

Looking for an authentic food experience while visiting the South? Look no further than The Skrimp Shack in Williamsburg, Virginia.

One of my best and fail-safe tips of finding solid places to eat while traveling is to ask the locals where THEY eat, NOT where they send tourists. We’ve used this successfully while in Nashville, Wilmington, Canada, Massachusetts, and countless other places and it’s the best way to find good local food at reasonable prices without the bonus of tourist crowds.

And that’s exactly how we discovered The Skrimp Shack. I was talking with a hotel front desk clerk (and, surprisingly, not from the hotel where we were actually staying), and she gave me several excellent restaurant recommendations during our Spring trip to Virginia. She introduced us to Craft 31, and also The Skrimp Shack.

Before we left the area, I wanted to make sure we had a chance to chow down on some authentic Southern food, namely hush puppies and collard greens, and this place fit the bill.

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Review: Delaware’s Big Fish Grill {Wilmington, DE}

October 18, 2017 · Narrative

Looking for casual dining in Delaware? Let’s visit Delaware’s Big Fish Grill in Wilmington.

Although we only planned to visit Delaware for a whirlwind day trip in August, I wanted to make sure to squeeze in a meal at a local restaurant, and my requirements were simple. I wanted the place to be on the water (or at least super close to it) and to have seafood on the menu.

I did a quick search on a few different sites, scanned some reviews, and found Delaware’s Big Fish Grill. It was only a few miles away from the DuPont Environmental Center that we had visited, which was perfect because we arrived for lunch a little after 3 pm and our crew was STARVING.

The restaurant was very easy to find, and it has an ample parking lot. Because I had pored over the menu already at home, I knew exactly what I wanted to order.

The Chesapeake Bay Fried Oyster Sandwich.

The kids settled into our booth, and figured out what they wanted and our waitress came over.

Which is exactly when we found out that the lunch menu selections stop being available at 3 pm (it was currently 3:10 pm). It doesn’t note it on the menu or on their web site, and had I not already scoped out the menu, I might not have even noticed the differences between what I had seen online and the menu the waitress had handed us. The lunch and dinner menus are reasonably similar, except there are less sandwich options on the dinner version, and, most notably, no fried oyster sandwich.

She offered to get the manager for me, and he came over. I explained that the hours for the lunch menu weren’t noted online (and 3 seems awfully early to think about dinner), and it was only ten minutes past 3 … could he help us out and rustle up some fried oysters? He was completely amenable and agreed right away.

The kids menu has a good variety, is reasonably priced and, perhaps just as important, it had non-seafood selections for my fish haters.

While we were waiting for our food, the kids kept busy with the puzzles on the placemat and checking out the decor. It’s a pretty large restaurant and bright and airy, with a full bar and music playing in the background

Our food arrived within about twenty minutes or so, which gave the kids exactly enough time to visit the nearby restroom some 23 times.

My sandwich came with a choice of a side item, and I went with Neva’s Potatoes. I honestly didn’t even ask what they were; I just saw potatoes and was looking for something different. The next day, a friend up the street told me she dreams about those potatoes, so I clearly made the right call. They were kind of like a mashed potato casserole with a slightly crispy topping. So good, and my mouth is totally watering now just thinking about them again. Apparently the Neva’s Potatoes are a pretty hot item – just look at what a quick google search turns up (and now I’ve added “make a copycat recipe” to my list of things to do).

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Visit: DuPont Environmental Education Center {Wilmington, Delaware}

September 24, 2017 · Narrative

Looking for a fun place to visit in Delaware? We stopped at the DuPont Environmental Education Center, and found it’s quite the little treasure trove in Wilmington.

When we made a whirlwind day trip to Delaware last month, I had our day very carefully planned so we could make the most of our time there. The DuPont Environmental Education Center in Wilmington came up as one of the “Top 10 Places to Visit,” and I quickly added it to our list for the day. We drove there right after our visit to the Brandywine Zoo, and it was pretty close by.

It’s located in a sort of industrial park area, and I kind of thought we were lost as the Waze app was directing us. As we went under an overpass, scenes from Law & Order flashed in my mind … like if I go missing, they should start the search here. But never fear, we continued to follow the directions and then we saw the center. Phew.

The parking lot isn’t huge and was already full when we got there, but we parked on the street easily enough. There is no admission cost, but donations are, of course, always appreciated. As we walked to the center, we meandered through the gardens and the pathways, taking our time to enjoy the scenery along the way. The property is situated on the Wilmington riverfront, and is 212 acres of marsh, gardens, ponds, and home to many different animals. The gardens are kind of amazing in and of themselves, with so many different plants and flowers that we’ve never seen before.

Once we got through the gardens near the parking lot, we climbed the stairs and followed the bridge to the environmental center. Three stories tall, there is a little bit to explore inside, including a baby turtle and clean restrooms, and the history of the property and what you can see. Along the perimeter of the center, there are outside balconies so you can get panoramic views of the marsh and pond areas….

Visit: Brandywine Zoo {Wilmington, Delaware}

August 3, 2017 · Narrative

If a zoo could be described as cute and cheerful, the Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington, Delaware would totally fit the bill.

Delaware has always been one of those states that we drive through on our way to get somewhere else. A blink-and-you miss it, quick passage on our journey elsewhere, for some reason, we’ve never made Delaware our actual destination.

Until this past weekend.

After getting a small work obligation out of the way, we grabbed breakfast and hit the road. A mere two and a quarter hours later, we had arrived. Really, there are parts of our OWN state that take longer to get to than crossing the Delaware border does!

When I was planning out our day’s activities, I focused largely on the Wilmington area, and the Brandywine Zoo was one of the places that kept popping up. And if you’re a regular reader here, you know how much my kids love a good zoo visit.

Although the zoo itself was very easy to find, once we were in the parking lot (free parking btw), I found it a bit of a challenge to find the actual entrance to the zoo. There are a few signs, and they’re a bit small, and I swear we walked around in circles for a few minutes before we ended up going in the right direction.

The admission prices are super reasonable … $7 for adults and $5 for kids (and even cheaper from October through April, and actually free from December through February because you won’t see as many animals). Once we paid, the staffer gave us a map and away we went.

The first exhibit was a condor, a crazy large bird that I don’t think I’ve seen before. There was an employee right in front of the exhibit that gave us a quick run-down on the bird’s background and had a few feathers for us to touch (so soft!).

As we wandered around the zoo, employees were nearly around every turn, and quick to answer any questions the kids had, which was awesome.

You can walk right into the goat exhibit and mingle and pet them freely, which I loved, and that’s where Madeline took her “goat selfie” from this weekend’s photo round up – love it!

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