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USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION
DELAWARE | FOOD
State Dining Discover President Biden’s favorite Delaware treats
CLAYMONT STEAK SHOP Biden is known to celebrate his Claymont roots. Maybe he’s sending someone for takeout cheesesteaks from the original Claymont Steak Shop on Philadelphia Pike? If you stop by, you’ll spot several pictures on the wall alongside a note signed by the president.
GIANNI’S PIZZA Pizza is another of Biden’s go-to foods. In April 2019, after his early-morning announcement that he would run for president in 2020, he dropped into Gianni’s Pizza in Trolley Square for a few slices.
By Patricia Talorico
T
HOUGH THE 46TH PRESIDENT was born in Pennsylvania, he’s lived in Delaware since he was a teenager, moving to Claymont and later to Wilmington. When he became senator, he raised his children there, commuting home each night from Washington, D.C. You can sample a few of the president’s regular haunts in and around the state’s urban hub, including one restaurant he’s been loyal to since high school:
PICCOLINA TOSCANA
PROVIDED BY PICCOLINA TOSCANA
The Bidens have been known to frequent Piccolina Toscana in Trolley Square. Owner Dan Butler even catered daughter Ashley Biden’s 2012 wedding reception at the Bidens’ Greenville home. The meal — fresh tomatoes, arugula and house-made mozzarella, seared salmon and quinoa, and roasted chicken breast with grilled vegetables — included penne with pomodoro sauce made especially for the then-vice president. “Joe always eats pasta when he comes to Toscana,” says Butler.
JACQUELYN MARTIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARCOAL PIT A longtime Biden haunt is the Charcoal Pit, known for its award-winning burgers. The president has been going to the original location on Concord Pike since his Archmere Academy high school days for milkshakes, grilled cheese sandwiches and cheesesteaks.
CAPRIOTTI’S SANDWICH SHOP The president’s favorite Capriotti’s sandwich is the Bobbie (also known as Thanksgiving on a roll). The restaurant has locations around the country, but Biden has been a patron of the flagship store on Wilmington’s Union Street for more than 40 years. And, yes, in Delaware they are called subs, not hoagies.
BARDEA FOOD & DRINK The president and first lady have both dined in and picked up takeout from Bardea Food & Drink in downtown Wilmington, a James Beard Award semifinalist. Owners Scott Stein and Antimo DiMeo say they’ve tried to entice Biden with some of their modern Italian dishes, but the president has simple tastes. DiMeo instead has made him a special off-the-menu dish of spaghetti and meatballs.
RICHARD VERNICK
Patricia Talorico writes for the (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal.
