The upcoming holidays bring once-a-year seasonal foods to area shops and businesses that are sure to feed a need for tradition and nostalgia.
These treats come around just once a year, so it’s worth taking a moment to pay notice.
Here are seven places, including some hosting upcoming events, where you can indulge in Delaware favorites:
610 N. Union St., Wilmington
The iconic Wilmington stand in Little Italy that has been offering lemon-flavored shaved ice on and off since 1957 is generally closed during cold weather months.
In December, owner Joseph Staffieri will open the stand temporarily for a few days to offer a couple of Christmas season specialty items that are perfect for fans of this very Delaware water ice.
Sorry, it’s not water ice itself, but it is something that won’t melt.
More:‘Same family, same recipe’: Wilmington water ice stand reopens after a 7-year absence
Staffieri is selling Christmas ornaments that depict the landmark red, white and green Fusco’s stand for $40. Customers also can purchase gold tumblers printed with the Fusco name for $30.
The glass-blown, hand-painted, made-in-Poland ornaments, as well as the special edition Fusco’s gold tumblers, are available only by ordering through an online holiday store. Visit fuscoswaterice.square.site/
Items can be picked up at the Fusco’s water ice stand on several different dates throughout December. The first will be this Friday, Dec. 2 from 11 a.m. until noon. Check the Fusco’s Italian Water Ice Facebook page for more information.
101 S. Boardwalk, Rehoboth Beach
Holiday pop-up bars with kitschy decor aren’t new in Delaware − Blitzen in Wilmington and Sleigh Bar at Klondike Kate’s in Newark have been operating for a few years now.
But now Sussex County is in on the fun. Rehoboth Beach has just added Miracle at Above the Dunes restaurant (formerly the Greene Turtle).
More:Delaware has six new Christmas pop-up bars. And two are only 100 feet apart.
Since Nov. 21, the restaurant has been decorated with over-the-top Christmas decorations and is selling themed cocktails such as Christmapolitan, Christmas Carol Barrel, Snowball Old-Fashioned, Jingle Balls Nog, Nice Shot, and Grandma Got Run Over By A T-Rex.
The holiday decorations are up through Dec. 31.
42 W. 11th St., Wilmington
The Hotel du Pont has bought back its famed afternoon tea program for the holidays.
Le Cav, the downtown Wilmington restaurant at the Hotel, now offers a modern twist on the time-honored tradition with a mix of pastries, hors d’oeuvres and custom tea blends.
Menu highlights include cucumber and tzatziki tea sandwiches, cornets with foie gras mousse and squash marmalade, olive oil cake with Meyer lemon agrumato, and, of course, the hotel’s famous macaroons.
Guests can add a splash of sparkle to their experience with champagne, natural wine or craft cocktails.
The prix-fixe meal will take place on Friday afternoons through Friday, Dec. 16.
Reservations can be made on Resy The cost is $65 per person and free for children under 10.
Church Cookie Walks
A cookie walk is a fundraiser where visitors pay a set price for an empty box. They’re then handed gloves and walk around various tables in church halls, filling boxes with cookies usually made by parishioners.
Some churches charge by the weight of the cookies, while others have set fees for different sizes of boxes.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church at 200 Marrows Road in Newark will host its 33rd annual Cookie Walk and lunch on Dec. 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Homemade cookies are $6 for a small container and $15 for a large container. Visitors can select their own cookies or pick up prepackaged boxes. Quarts of vegetable and chicken corn soup will be available for $8. And a lunch, eat-in or take-out, for $12 will be available that day that includes soup, a sandwich, chips and a drink.
Some other churches are also hosting cookie walks. They include:
Aldergates United Methodist Church at 2313 Concord Pike in Brandywine Hundred. Its annual cookie walk on Dec. 10 begins at 9 a.m. and goes “until the cookies are gone.” Fill a box of Christmas cookies for $14.
More:9 Delaware New Year’s Eve bashes to ring in 2023 include EDM concert with Firefly alum
Epworth United Methodist Church at 19285 Holland Glade Road, near Rehoboth Beach, holds its cookie walk at 9 a.m. on Dec. 10 and will continue while supplies last. The price for cookies is $10 per pound.
The cookie walk at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lewes will be in the parish hall at the intersection of Second and Mulberry streets. The doors for the Dec. 17 cookie walk open at 8:30 a.m. and run until 11 a.m. or until the cookies run out. Masks are encouraged and gloves will be provided. A limited number of people will be permitted in the Parish Hall to promote social distancing. Small containers are $10 and large containers are $15
253 E. Main St., Newark
Bing’s, an old-school bakery founded in 1946, is a short hike from the University of Delaware’s main campus. The downtown Newark landmark is the state’s longest-running bakery. Russell and Selena Bing began running it in 1946. The Guzzi family took over the business from Selina Bing in 2005.
Bing’s has a wide variety of holiday confections ranging from Danish wreaths and Christmas trees to delicate petit fours to cakes topped with snowmen.
A longtime favorite seasonal confection is the Yule Log ($29.95). You can get a chocolate cake filled with mocha buttercream or a sponge cake rolled around vanilla buttercream.
It serves 10 to 12 people, but there are never any leftovers.
1910 W. Sixth St., Wilmington
Wilmington’s Little Italy neighborhood has been home to Papa’s Food Market since 1927.
Papa’s Food Market was founded by Pietro Papa, who was known by his affectionate nickname “Peter Pop.” Members of the Papa family are no longer behind the counter, but the store traditions continue on thanks to manager Luis Pelaez, whose stepfather Umberto Gomez bought the property and business in May 2019.
The store still carries traditional holiday Italian staples like anise oil for pizzelle cookies, panettone, sweet loaves of bread, and confections such as panforte.
Pelaez has an Italian culinary background. For eight years, he worked with the Martuscelli Restaurant Group at its La Casa Pasta restaurant in Glasgow and at the Chesapeake Inn Restaurant in Chesapeake City, Maryland. He was a prep cook and did catering for the restaurants.
If you’re looking for old-school Papa products, like its liver sausage, don’t worry, it’s still produced in-house.
Production of the seasonal sausage usually begins after Halloween and it tends to be available through the end of January.
318 Eighth Ave., Wilmington
Standing in line at Delaware Provision Company, Inc. in Wilmington’s Browntown neighborhood is a longtime Delaware tradition.
The business opened in 1976 as a wholesale supplier by Kathleen and Sam Lavery and in 2000, their nephew William Hayes acquired the company. Hayes kept the old-school products but now also offers new dishes and full-service catering.
Customers, especially those of Polish heritage, travel here for their holiday food must-haves: Homemade fresh and smoked kielbasa, stuffed cabbage known as golabki, sauerkraut, a blood sausage known as holiday kiszka and puffy loaves of babka and chrusciki, the Polish cookies sometimes called “Angel’s wings.”
This is not a business that hides in plain sight. You really have to know where you’re going. Finding the tucked-away warehouse at 318 Eighth Ave. can be like going on a treasure hunt. Customers have to navigate winding one-way streets to get to the good stuff.
Latkes and doughnuts for Hanukkah
Chabad of Southern Delaware is hosting its annual menorah lighting at 5 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Baywalk in Dewey Beach off Del. Route 1 (It’s behind the Hyatt.) Admission is free to the event which includes hot latkes, doughnuts, festive music, and even a fire juggling performance.
Latkes served with sour cream and apple sauce, braided challah, and other foods traditionally served during Hanukkah also are always available at the three Rosenfeld’s Deli locations in Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach and Ocean City, Maryland.
Contact Patricia Talorico at ptalorico@delawareonline.com and follow her on Twitter @pattytalorico
