EATING Out: Celsius - A Mediterranean Delight in Rehoboth Beach

Celsius (50-C Wilmington Avenue, Rehoboth Beach) is a delight in every word, from the colorful painted walls, murals, and color scheme to the comfortable booths and private little tables. But this is all just a backdrop for the incredible and creative food that will certainly tantalize your palates from start to finish.

As with every great restaurant, everything sounded so good on the menu it was difficult for my friend and I to settle on anything, because, well, we wanted it all.

We finally opted for the Wild Mushroom Pasta Purses served with truffles and white truffle oil, and topped with shaved Parmesan for an appetizer. These were sinfully rich, delicate and delectable spinach pasta purses with the most delicious mushrooms tucked inside, and the truffles and cheese made them even more flavorful and outrageous. This is now one of my favorite new taste treats in town.

We also split a Celsius Field Green salad, a creative mix of greens with smoked apple wood bacon, dried cranberries, spiced walnuts, and a honey poppyseed dressing. The salad was popping with great textures and flavors, and was perfect with the warm bread served with it.

For entrees we tried one of the house specialties, just because it seemed like the thing to do, and because it just sounded so outrageously good. And it was! The Bouillabaisse Marseillaise could not possibly have more fresh seafood in it, and it could not possibly be better. It’s a huge oversized bowl of shrimp, scallops, mussels, red snapper, cod, salmon, cold-water lobster tail, and calamari in a saffron broth with saffron potatoes. All the fish was fresh and delicious, the bowl bursting with seafood and shells full of gifts from the sea, the broth light and perfect. If you love seafood, this is the ideal dish for you. It sure was for us!

We had the Rack of Lamb Tagine, which is a Moroccan-style lamb served with sun-dried plums, couscous, and seasonal vegetables in a Harissa Demi Glace. The vegetables were adorable Parisian carrots (little round carrots! who knew?) and salsifis, a French root vegetable like a white asparagus that was deliciously different. The lamb was tender enough to cut with a fork, perfectly done, with great Moroccan spices that were a terrific complement to everything else on the plate.

Also on the menu are twin pork chops with sautéed apple and a calvados sauce, seafood crepes, grilled Black Angus NY strip steak, Muscovy duck breast with wild mushroom risotto, rare ahi tuna….in other words, many great sounding dishes to go back and try-and I will!

Surprisingly, we did save room for dessert. The warmed pear port tart was scrumptious with a maple walnut dressing. The Grand Marnier crème brulee was perfect, too, with just the right thickness of crust to crack through to get to the rich dessert beneath.

Make sure Celsius is on your list of great restaurants to visit in the coming weeks. I’m sure I’ll see you there!