Did you enjoy Doy?

Well, there I am on my 40th b-day which was yesterday. I must admit I had a very fun, though somewhat laid back time with George and some close friends (Sharon, Michael, Justin, and Henry).

George and I started the day by having lunch at one of Rehoboth's relatively newer restaurant, Nage ( pronounced Nosh).

OK, the atmosphere is great and the food is tasty, but the menu is ABSURDLY overpriced and pretentious for what you get. Check out the web site here:
NAGE but be prepared to turn off the obnoxious rubber band sounding riff and drum kit that will play through your entire visit to the sight.

It was a very lovely gesture on my partner's part to take me out to lunch on my 40th as I loved to be winded and dined. So, the first thing that I do is order a glass of white wine.

The price per glass of wine started at 6 and went up. I opted for a $7.00 glass of wine.I opted for a $7.00 glass of wine. When I received it, my initial thought was " perhaps they ran out of this particular vintage" because this was most definitely an UNDER POUR. I know this because I was once a bartender and waited tables on and off for over 10 years. My partner George was also a bartender in his younger days and also waited tables. There are pours, over pours and under pours. This was an under pour for 7 dollars a glass.

I knew it and George knew it, but we decided to say nothing as it was our first time at the place and I wanted to see how it would play out ( meaning that if it were the norm, we would learn from the event and not come back). Based upon other under pours that I saw at other tables it was not a mistake. Now, what George and I realized is that a few years ago, at least in larger cities here in the East Coast, restaurants and café’s began to pour what would look like an under pour of wine, but in reality was not because they were using LARGER bowled glasses. Nage was using a traditional sized white wine glass.

So, believe it or not, I quietly got over the under pour and realized that it would be my one and only glass of wine at lunch for I was not going to pay 14 dollars for two under pours. ( I have literally had more wine in a glass at wine testing). So, on to the menu. I chose the crab cake for 15 dollars and George choose the Steak Frites for 16.

When there “entrees” arrived and I saw the size, I was certain that they had been lovingly prepared in the kitchen by the chef with an Easy Bake Oven.


I won’t go on with this, because it is tedious. Needless to say, I was disappointed, not with the experience of being out for a special lunch with my partner of 12 years mind you - but with the ridiculous cost for lunch entrées which were barely passable as appetizers. The website for Nage uses the term “award winning”. This award is not mentioned on the site. Perhaps it is the “Emperor’s New Clothes” award

for newest restaurant. Also, it is worth mentioning that even though they state on the web site that they are “located on Highway 1 in the beautiful summer resort town of Rehoboth Beach on the Delmarva peninsula”, they are in actuality nowhere near the “beautiful summer resort” area of Rehoboth, even though they are officially within the town limits. In fact, they share a large parking lot with the Salvation Army and a Cigarette Outlet!
It really is outrageous.


I will say though that the rest of the day was wonderful and I really did have a great time later in the evening which included some lovely and thoughtful gifts, many cocktails, a hilarious dining experience at a Tokyo Steak House (our chef’s name was Doy - and at one point our server - asked us quite seriously - “Did you enjoy Doy”) with wonderful sushi, and much laughter….. I mean, really, what else could a guy like me ask for?



Um...I mean besides that.