Casual Restaurants

Just east of Racine on Eastwood Road is one of Wilmington’s newest restaurants, Chris’ Cosmic Kitchen. Owned by CIA-trained Chris Lubben (that’s the good CIA – Culinary Institute of America), diners can choose fluffy omelets, homemade, very light biscuits and delicious gravy, eggs served the way you order them, and really fresh fruit, among many other choices. At lunch and dinner they serve terrific seafood bisque, crisp salads, overstuffed sandwiches and the best cheesecake you’ll ever find. Unlike so many of the leaden cheesecakes that feel like a stone when you’ve eaten them, Lubben’s are wonderfully flavorful yet without the denseness of so many others. Try the pumpkin, white chocolate, Andes mint, or any of the other varieties – they are superb. The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The newest restaurant in Mayfaire, opened in February 2008, is Main Street Brewery. Featuring the handcrafted beers made in downtown Wilmington at Front Street Brewery, the casual restaurant offers soups, sandwiches, salads, seafood platters and desserts in ample portions. There are more than 35 televisions, foosball and pool tables, so there is ample entertainment while you wait for your meals to be prepared. The non-smoking restaurant also features a full bar. Be sure to check out the saltwater aquarium as you enter.

You’ll find authentic Reuben sandwiches on delicious rye bread at the New York Corner Deli in Surf City on Topsail Island. A large selection of delicious deli meats and all the salads you’d expect, including excellent egg salad, macaroni salad, potato salad, etc., all homemade, are served. Upstairs you’ll have a view of the ocean if you can turn your eyes from the New York memorabilia that graces the walls. Be sure to try the rice pudding – it’s the best you’ll find south of the Carnegie Deli in Manhattan. The New York Corner Deli is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner year-round.