Rehoboth Beach's Henlopen City Oyster House is lunch choice for President Joe Biden
It's not so easy to get a seat at Rehoboth Beach's popular Henlopen City Oyster House.
During the summer months, there are almost always diners elbowing for room at the bar or filling the sidewalk benches and milling outside of the Wilmington Avenue seafood house waiting for open tables which fill up fast.
It doesn't get that much easier during the beach town's winter and shoulder seasons even though the usually dinner-only restaurant is open for lunch.
There are no reservations or calling ahead. It's first come, first served.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill, visiting their Rehoboth home in North Shores for President's Day weekend, didn't have a problem. They lunched at Henlopen City Oyster House on Saturday afternoon. It's their second visit to Rehoboth so far this year.
The Bidens, longtime Rehoboth visitors, obviously know what locals and sand town tourists alike have known for years: Henlopen City Oyster House is one of Rehoboth's best places to dine, especially for seafood lovers.
Joe Baker and Chris Bisaha, owners of Henlopen City Oyster House in Rehoboth Beach, were named Delaware Restaurateurs of the Year in 2016 by the Delaware Restaurant Association.
Baker and Bisaha, in the restaurant business since their teens, have operated Henlopen City Oyster House since 2010. The lobster roll is terrific, It's a huge sandwich with large chunks of lobster lightly blended with mayonnaise and scallions served on a toasted roll. It comes with one side.
Other wins are the lobster macaroni and cheese, crispy fish sandwich, herbed grilled Maryland Rockfish and the fried oyster dinner. Landlubbers can get the Chicago-style hot dog at lunch or the Delaware rabbit trio or the Delaware lamb ravioli at dinner.
The restaurant's main attraction is its raw bar. Selections of oysters come from Rehoboth and Maryland's Eastern Shore, as well as Rhode Island, Washington state, Massachusetts and Canada.
Biden briefly posed for photos outside of the restaurant with a small group of children and later attended Mass at nearby St. Edmond Roman Catholic Church.
The President lunched with his sister Valerie Biden Owens at Wilmington's venerable Mrs. Robino's restaurant when he was back at his Delaware home on Friday, Feb. 9. In December, the president and his son Hunter went "old-school" Wilmington and lunched at Rocco Italian Grill & Sports Bar at Seventh and Union streets in the city's Little Italy neighborhood that's run by Susan Rocco.
The president and first lady also have dined at the Quoin hotel in Wilmington (it's owned by longtime family friends Rob and Chris Buccini), Bardea Food & Drink in Wilmington, as well as Matt's Fish Camp and Egg, both in Rehoboth
The Bidens were expected to depart Rehoboth Beach and return to the White House on Monday at 9:30 a.m.
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: President Joe Biden, wife dine at popular Rehoboth Beach oyster house
