EatingOUT: 

If you’ve strolled down Baltimore Avenue, and who hasn’t?, you’ve probably noticed Café Solé, and may have stopped to read over its outside menu. You shouldn’t stop there—go in and enjoy one of the best meals you’ll find at the beach. You just might snag an outdoor seat on their prettily situated terrace, edged in plants and flowers, and featuring a lovely wall fountain that incorporates three suns.

Suns are the decorative theme, and the inside is awash in a palette of blues and gold, complete with a blue ceiling splashed with golden suns. When Susan and I were there the mixed media, bright paintings of Patti Shreeve adorning the walls added a lot of visual interest. This is the seventh season for Café Solé, owned and operated by what may be Rehoboth’s only mother/daughter restaurateurs, Bev and Lauren Cox. Even husband/dad Bob pitches in during the day. A genuine family restaurant with the feel and food of an upscale eatery.

We were seated by Penny, one of the warmest and friendliest of wait persons anywhere, who made an instant hit with me when she actually asked if we wanted our water with or without lemon. I really don’t like lemon in my water, and it always comes as an unpleasant surprise when it arrives unannounced on my table. In addition to that auspicious beginning, Penny was truly a great culinary guide and wealth of information.

Specials of the day included potato/lima bean soup and a fresh, Panko seared (that’s a form of Japanese breadcrumbs) halibut topped with goat cheese and pesto. Among the goodies on the regular menu were the featured cream of crab soup, and an interesting sounding housemade paté. Susan decided on the paté, and I the queen of moderation, asked if it would be possible to have a half cup of both the crab and potato/lima soups. It was, and they both were superb (souperb?). Susan’s paté came in three layers: chicken, pork tenderloin, and chicken liver sandwiched in between. The accompanying crostinis were the perfect plate-to-mouth conveyance. Wonderful to look at, amazing to taste. When we had finished those, Penny arrived with a plate bearing a crab cake that is also listed on the appetizers. She said it was a house specialty, and the chef really wanted us to try it. Wow, and double wow. This may be, outside of the ones I make, the best crab cake I’ve ever tasted. High praise, and well deserved.

Those same crab cakes are featured as an entrée, along with offerings such as spice rubbed tenderloin of beef, cornmeal seared salmon, pan seared breast of duck, and other fine sounding main courses. Unusual for me, I decided to order the angel hair pasta with shrimp and scallops. It all but floated in a cream sauce of basil/goat cheese, pesto, plum tomatoes, and pine nuts. The amount of shrimp and scallops almost equaled the amount of pasta. If you’re going to waste carbs, this is the way to do it. Susan asked for the whole grain mustard marinated pork tenderloin, which came with a grilled pear vinaigrette, gorgonzola, port-walnut glaze, the creamiest of garlic mashed potatoes, and the most tender of green beans. The pork was fork tender, and had the hearty flavor that pork was meant to have before some misguided soul invented "healthy" pork.

Café Solé’s lunch menu is also quite extensive, and features a large selection of vegetarian dishes and sandwiches. Chef Lauren got tired of going places where vegetarians are ignored and wanted to make sure her menu celebrated non-meat selections. In fact, all the platters listed on the lunch menu have no meat with the exception of the chef’s salad, which has ham. Carnivores are not ignored—why not ask for the Cuban mix sandwich with Cuban pork, ham, cheddar, lettuce, tomato served on focaccia. The lunch menu has been voted Best of Delaware by Delaware Today magazine for the third year in a row.

A truly great meal should end with a truly great dessert. Café Solé does not let you down. All desserts are made by chef-owner Lauren Cox and they are all stars: pies of Key lime, coconut custard and peanut butter; chocolate-chocolate chip cake; croissant bread pudding, and an intriguing sounding chocolate silk. Susan didn’t hesitate a heartbeat to order the bread pudding—buttery croissants, brandied raisins served warm and topped with whipped cream. I thought I was going to have to twist her arm to give me a taste. Old-style bread pudding will never taste the same to me. Delicious isn’t a strong enough word. Penny recommended the chocolate silk. This is a Chocolate Festival prizewinner, and Penny said it was so good she could take a bath in it. After that testimony how could I turn it down? Glad I didn’t. The menu says it’s one of the best reasons to "save room for dessert," and that’s sooo right. This fudge-like torte sits on a toasted walnut-pecan praline crust, and dares you to eat it all. I surrendered, and left two bites. I think back on that and wish I hadn’t!

Café Solé is, simply put, a wonderful restaurant with fantastic food, service and ambience. It shines!