Fresh, fun finds at The Front Door Café

For those who attend the St. Patrick's Day parade in Wilmington each year, a steady diet of beer and whiskey all afternoon might make it somewhat difficult to piece together the day's events the next morning.

As a group of us stumbled away from the church parking lot at 15th and King Street this past March, we spotted a little café that advertised breakfast and lunch hours, and the first thought that came to mind was stopping in for lunch sometime in the near future.

"Near future" turned into "about five months" (thanks, Guinness) when, while driving down King Street on a recent assignment, there the little eatery called The Front Door Café came into view at the corner of 13th Street.

Last week we stopped in to gather a meal for everyone at the office. The hidden lunch spot is fairly unassuming, with scattered tables and chairs for 18 patrons to sit and eat, and a deli counter where you place your order based on the sandwiches and salads on the blackboard.

Parking is available on the street, if you go at the right time. The rate of the meters out front is 15 minutes for every quarter. Considering our lunch order took about 20 minutes to fill, 'ya might want to drop in 50 cents there.

Back at the office, we busted open the bags of sandwiches and started in on their two soups of the day, the chicken and dumpling and the gazpacho ($2.75 for a cup, $3.75 for a bowl).

The gazpacho, though a little on the thin side, consisted of some very ripe tomatoes and an abundance of cucumber slices you could smell before even tasting. The resulting flavor was fairly mellow, but with a nice tangy zip.

The chicken and dumpling soup was more like a cup of thick noodles with tender chunks of chicken and a broth that was thick as gravy. It tasted like Thanksgiving dinner, but with chicken instead of turkey.

As for the sandwiches, there were about 10 cold creations and 10 hot selections, all of which came with a small bag of chips. One of the best we ordered was the turkey club ($5.75), a triple decker piled high with fresh, roasted turkey.

Though it was sliced neatly like lunchmeat (rather than shredded), this wasn't your average deli meat. It was seasoned and fresh-roasted, topped with crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato and a side of honey mustard (our choice).

Continuing the hot trend, we also ordered the tuna melt ($5.75), which came with melted provolone on a kaiser roll. The addition of basil made all the difference here, bumping it a step above normal.

Both sandwiches included the same tomatoes they used in the gazpacho. They were fresh and ripe, and bright red, rather than pale and pink, like you might find elsewhere.

The hot roast beef sandwich ($5.75) was also a winner. A manageably-sized sandwich (unlike the huge 9-inch roll you get at some other places), the roast beef was served dripping in its own jus, with melted provolone and horseradish.

My choice was the corned beef reuben ($5.75), a not-so-sloppy sandwich with melted swiss, cole slaw and 1,000 Island dressing. Though the toasted rye was a nice touch, the bread tasted a little on the stale side.

Overall, the food was tasty and the prices were what we expected. The breakfast menu includes muffins and bagels for $1, and the big breakfast grinder ($3.25) comes with scrambled eggs, choice of breakfast meat and cheese on a roll.

If you live, work or just happen to find yourself on the north end of King Street, an area where dining options are limited, the Front Door Café is an affordable diamond in the rough.

Getting there: If you're not totally familiar with the area, coming from I-95, hop on Delaware Avenue toward the city and make a left on Market. Head all the way up Market to about 15th Street, where the road wraps you around to the light at King Street. Make a right and the Front Door Café will be up on your left. There is a parking garage between 13th and 14th streets if you stop by during lunch and all the metered spots are taken.

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