Experts at Harvard Conclude: “The World Does Not Need Another Sports Bar”
(Or, “Chelsea’s, How I Mourn Thee”)
Last night my friend Jeremy and I were wondering around in downtown Wilmington, thinking about where we wanted to have dinner. Somewhere on the river, we thought. Or at least, somewhere with both good beer (for him), and good wine by the glass (for me), and something resembling “small plates” in the way of food, which ain’t so easy to find in Wilmington. Eating this way is perfect: you get to sample many wonderful things, don’t have to commit to a full-on entrée-sized portion of anything, and don’t get too full. Which leaves a lot of room for the important stuff. Namely, more wine and beer. (I look forward to your letters. . . Er, comments.)
So as we trolled the choices, I found myself missing Chelsea’s something fierce. This place — on the corner of Front and Market, no longer in existence — was damn near perfect. A great wine list, many, many choices by the glass. Great beers of all varieties. A lovely atmosphere. And oh-my-god amazing small plates — the best hummus I’ve had in this town, a cheese and meat plate to die for, awesome panini, and beef carpaccio that was heavenly. But then, in someone’s finite wisdom, it was changed to a SPORTS BAR.
Which did not last, and is no longer in existence either. So now it is something else again, what, I don’t know. As my friend and I passed by it last night, I told him how sad I was that Chelsea’s was gone, and asked, “does the world really need another sports bar?” Our mutual feeling was, definitely not. So we thought, if only someone from The Onion could write a funny piece about how experts at some prestigious university had done an exhaustive study, and determined that the addition of yet another sports bar in our universe is most emphatically NOT needed, and is, in fact, a danger to to our well-being as a country, well then, that would be fabulous!
Le Catalan, Water Street on the Boardwalk
We ended up going to Le Catalan, which I always love and is great, but what I would really, really love in Wilmington is another place like Chelsea’s. Insert frowny face here.
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