Park Café: tasty new neighborhood retreat

 

Park Cafe and Tonic Executive Chef Patrick Bradley

You don't have to tell neighbors in Wilmington's Wawaset Park where to find the tastiest meal just down the street. 

Tucked behind Catholic Charities and steps away from the Wawaset community, the new Park Café at 2510 W 5^th Street opened just last month. It’s been a welcome site to many who missed the gourmet bites and take-home fare served by Moveable Feast, which closed in that same location two years ago.

However, the somewhat hidden spot can be hard to find for others who don’t live in the beautiful nearby neighborhood.

“You couldn't find Moveable Feast when you knew where it was. Now we’ve got to teach them again,” quipped Park Café owner Paul Bouchard.

With a gleaming new interior space and an entirely new outdoor dining patio, Park Café is exactly the spot you’ll want to frequent time and time again because it has a creative lunch and dinner menu, dozens of delicious take-home options, and special menu items that are prepared fresh daily.

And for those who want to start the weekend early, Park Café also offers a selection of beer, wine and specialty cocktails.

“I call it honest cooking, because 95% of our offerings are made from scratch,” said Bouchard.

Coconut Curry Chickpea Cakes

“This morning our kitchen staff was working on lobster with Pesto Linguini with oven dried tomatoes. We also had Bacon-wrapped Scallops and we had some Coconut Curry Chickpea Cakes," said Bouchard.

"And (we had) a variety of vegetables, like sautéed haricot vert, roasted Brussels sprouts and grilled asparagus. The case looked really great today, with lemon bars and the flourless chocolate torte that we serve at Tonic.”

Bouchard is also the owner of Tonic Restaurant in Wilmington, an eatery long familiar to downtown diners. His team at Jamestown Hospitality Group also manages the kitchen at Braeloch Brewery in Kennett Square.

Bouchard said Park Café, named as an ode to the surrounding neighborhood, isn’t trying to replicate the old Moveable Feast. But the restaurateur is aware that loyal customers are looking for their old favorites.

“Obviously we want to be accommodating. So, we’ve started bending a little and bringing back a thing or two that people just loved,” said Bouchard. Just this month they reintroduced the classic tuna fish salad.

Executive Corporate Chef Patrick Bradley, who runs three dining operations managed by Bouchard, agrees. “We want to have enough comfort food to appeal to people and make them feel they have great choices when they come here. But we’re also looking to add the ‘wow factor,’ things that allow us to share what we know and take each dish up a level,” he said.

Bradley says several of the Park Café offerings, like Octopus Salad and Coriander Seared Tuna “gear toward the vegan side since that’s big and popular now.” 

The Octopus Salad is one of several creative entrees and side dishes featured in the ready-to-go case that are not listed on the menu.

And the delicious elements of greens like the Wheatberry & Beet Salad – spinach, leeks, grilled eggplant, oven-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette – can be topped with all sorts of proteins.

Pastry chef Adam Johnson, who studied under Michele Mitchell at the Hotel DuPont and baked bread at De La Coeur, fills the case each day with fresh desserts and countertop goodies like chocolate-macadamia nut cookies, scratch brownies as well as homemade caramels and macaroons, which will be available next month.

Park Café even offers homemade Parker House dinner rolls that are made for Tonic.

Spinach and Fennel Salad

Without changing the footprint, Bouchard managed to find more space by raising the ceiling a full 10 feet, giving the restaurant an airy feel. Attractive chandeliers, the old bluestone wall, and fresh paint in cool white with a pop of turquoise, make this little oasis in Wawaset Park a most welcoming spot.

Once the weather warms up, the all-new patio, designed by DiSabatino Landscaping, will serve as a neighborhood sanctuary and a relaxing place to linger over lunch or dinner. A new heated pergola, stretching over the entire patio, is due to arrive this week.

Before the Covid pandemic struck, Bouchard operated a brisk catering business out of Tonic, using the same small kitchen that would crank out 150+ meals most nights. The tight quarters at the downtown restaurant led Bouchard to take the space at the former Moveable Feast, which had an enormous prep and refrigeration area, though it required a full transformation.

“Our new, state-of-the-art kitchen, with top-of-the-line commercial equipment and space to spare, makes all the world of difference for our off-premise catering. Before Covid, we were handling multiple large and small catering orders on a daily basis, but it wasn’t easy. Now our crew has the proper space to lay things out properly,” said Bouchard.

Park Café is open 11 am to 8 pm Monday through Saturday.