Review: Hotel du Pont's Green Room still an elegant lady

WILMINGTON - The gorgeous majesty of the Hotel du Pont’s Green Room never fails to impress.

If you’ve lived in Delaware for any length of time, you probably already know the first-class, Old World restaurant at 11th and Market streets as a must-visit gem.

Oozing with grand European opulence and sophistication, it makes all who enter feel like an honorary du Pont family member. Or, at least, you’ll spend money like one.

In the evening, the dining room is stunning. Walk through the etched-glass doors into the gleam of the 2,500-pound, Spanish-made gold chandeliers and the soft lighting reflecting off the persimmon-hued fabrics flatters.

Guests can sink into lush, crimson chenille wing back chairs that look lived in, but not worn, like those in the home of a very wealthy maiden aunt.

In March, for the 30th year in a row, the Green Room received a four-diamond rating from AAA Mid-Atlantic.

It’s the only restaurant in the state to receive the honor that’s given to restaurants offering a “distinctive fine dining experience, highly creative chefs, complex menus, fresh top-quality ingredients and knowledgeable staff,” according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

And the national reputation of the Hotel du Pont’s Green Room has long held its own. The first time I met the late New York Times political/food writer R.W. “Johnny” Apple Jr., he asked me: “How’s the Hotel du Pont?”

When I did an onstage interview at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center with Food Network star Ina Garten, I gave her a tin of the Hotel du Pont’s famous macaroons. She cooed in delight and couldn’t stop eating the chewy, almond-flavored cookies.

While the Green Room has long been considered the hotel’s main dining facility, for years, weekday lunches and dinners also were held in the walnut-paneled Brandywine Room.

But dining trends have changed, and the lights are turned on in the Brandywine Room now only for banquets, meetings and special functions. Visitors sometimes stroll through to view the artwork from three generations of the Wyeth family. (Seriously, do this. The collection is impressive.)

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Oh, and don’t forget to check out the nearby black-and-white photos showcasing the 1913 hotel’s history. It’s funny to see the hat shop from the 1920s, the original room “tariff” – a room for two persons with a shower was $3 – and the austere lobby furniture from the 1950s.

Former General Manager Jacques Amblard, who retired in 2003 after nearly 30 years, told me it was once difficult to get a seat in either the Brandywine Room or the Green Room if you didn’t book a reservation well ahead of time.

I wish I could hop into Mr. Peabody and Sherman’s WABAC time machine and see those salad days because it’s hard to imagine the bustling of the two rooms now.

The 97-seat Green Room was about half full – or less – during my three recent visits, though staffers said on theater nights at the Playhouse, and also at the nearby Grand, they do get a good-sized crowd.

Holidays also are special occasions at the hotel. You’ll need to call well in advance for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day seatings as well as the Sunday Mother’s Day brunch buffets.

Over the past few months, I decided to revisit the Green Room, especially as the murmurs have grown stronger about a possible sale of the hotel. Word is that the Wilmington-based Buccini/Pollin Group, who bought the Hotel du Pont’s parking lots last year, has apparently purchased or intends to purchase the DuPont Building, which also houses the hotel and the Playhouse.

Talk of changes have been swirling since last July when the DuPont Co. moved its headquarters from the downtown building to its Chestnut Run Plaza location. The DuPont Building is now owned by Chemours, a separate company, which had formerly been DuPont’s Performance Chemicals segment.

After a lunchtime visit, a dinner for four costing more than $400 (including alcohol and gratuity) and a very lonely Thursday afternoon tea (a colleague and I were the only patrons), I was left wondering: Was a Green Room dining experience worth it?

For a step back in history and a deep appreciation for an iconic, beloved Delaware landmark, yes, it is.

As a stellar, splurge-worthy, four-star culinary experience, the answer, right now, is dishes can be hit or miss. While there were touches of excellence, some flaws could not be ignored, especially given the cost.

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I’m no stranger to the Green Room. I’ve been there many times, sometimes on my own dime, sometimes with The News Journal footing the bill, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon tea and Sunday brunch. So, full disclosure, the staff knew I was in the dining room.

While I’ve found that the Green Room’s food has ranged from adequate to excellent, to me, seldom has it been the place for a mind-blowing meal, though the spectacular desserts from hard-working pastry chef extraordinaire Michele Mitchell always provide much-appreciated fireworks.

Dining at the Green Room has never been a bargain. It shouldn’t be a shock to see dinner entrées starting at $28 for the chef’s vegetarian selection of the day and soaring up to $46 for surf and turf or grilled barrel-cut rib-eye and butter-poached lobster. The dinner menu does have deals on Sunday nights. There are now $13 oven-roasted turkey sandwich plates, $15 hamburgers and a grilled 6-ounce filet for $35.

Love trophy wines? Yes, you can drop $2,500 on a bottle of 1982 Château Haut Brion. But the 3,000-bottle wine cellar includes $30 bottles of California Sauvignon Blanc. The dining room also has a good craft beer list. Further reaching out to beer lovers, the hotel recently hosted a well-received Dogfish Head Beer Dinner.

Green Room service, professional though not as formal as I remembered, comes at a leisurely pace. Some servers, especially those who have been there for 20- and 30-plus years, know when to bring warm rolls and plates containing scalloped-shaped butter sprinkled with salt and pepper. They’re also savvy enough to know when to hang back and let patrons have conversations without interruptions.

The few minor quibbles? At lunch, one plate went to the wrong diner, and we had to flag down our server to ask about dessert. On other visits, bottles of wine, including a 2012 Louis Michel & Fils Chablis ($65), could have been served colder.

Given the somewhat intimidating elegance of the room, there tends to be a quiet, hushed, be-on-your-best-behavior tone. It would be nice if it could feel a little bit less stuffy and old-fashioned. During one dinner, a pianist, playing in a musicians’ gallery above the restaurant, went through a set that ranged from “Lara’s Theme” from the 1965 movie “Doctor Zhivago” to the 1980s Burt Bacharach-Carole Bayer Sager hit “That’s What Friends are For.”

We thought it was fun and retro, though the 13-year-old with us asked if the songs were “from the olden days.” Ouch.

Plate presentation is pleasing, but all is not what it seems. It reminds me of John Koch’s painting “Garden at Wilmington” that hangs on one of the walls. It’s an absolutely lovely depiction of a mother and two children picking flowers. However, if you look closely at the inscription, you’ll notice something is amiss – the Wilmington garden is actually in Vermont, not Delaware.

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The feeling that something is slightly off is how I feel about the sautéed salmon ($35) served with red quinoa, duck fat-roasted winter vegetables, shaved lemon and olio verde.

It was a good-looking plate until you forked through fish, which was dry and overcooked. Same goes with pan-seared scallops with blue prawns ($38). This nice presentation, including spicy black rice and asparagus, was marred by too much salt on the scallops. The prawns were very good though there was not enough of the tart citrus hollandaise sauce.

The Green Room does shine when it comes to classics, such as its crab cakes. At dinner, the towering crabby patty ($12), all sweet meat with little filler, did justice to this Delaware favorite. At lunch, the same perfect cake ($13) was excellent over a crunchy Caesar salad dressed with brioche croutons and Spanish boquerones anchovies.

Another favorite? The tender, hunky and deeply flavored braised boneless beef short rib ($30) with mushroom risotto and baby carrots. The pan-seared foie gras ($21) also was a winner, though we were less crazy about the duck fat-fried old-fashioned doughnut.

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At lunch, get something other than the grilled chicken sandwich ($15), a lackluster offering with French fries that, frankly, were really not great.

As mentioned before, the most memorable part of almost any Green Room meal is the dessert. Mitchell is a master with unexpected flavors. The 13-year-old wasn’t sure she was going to like the mandarin souffle glacé ($10) with rosemary meringue sticks, candied kumquats, orange black pepper coulis and pink grapefruit caviar, but after one bite she wasn’t willing to share.

But the best bite of the night, hands-down, was the amaretto White Chocolate Raspberry Napoleon ($10), thin layers of dark chocolate between white chocolate amaretto mousse with fresh raspberries and berry coulis. Get it, along with a good glass of port (about $10) and enjoy the live piano music.

Pure class, all the way.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: Hotel du Pont Green Room offers elegant, first-class dining.

WHERE: 1007 N. 11th St., Wilmington

WHEN: It’s open for 6:30 to 11 a.m. breakfast for Mon.-Fri., and 7 to 11 a.m. Sat.; and 7 to 9:45 a.m. Sun. Lunch is served 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mon.-Sat. Dinner is 5:30 to 9 p.m. Sun.-Thurs. and 6 to 9:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. Sunday brunch is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Afternoon tea also is available daily at 3 p.m..

INFORMATION: Call (302) 594-3100 or visit www.hoteldupont.com

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico