Agave
Agave is a genus of plants native to the Americas, including Mexico and the Caribbean, which produce nectar and syrup, 80% fructose and 20% glucose. The nectar is often heated and concentrated into a syrup, drizzled over pancakes or used in baking desserts, and it is frequently added as a sweetener to cocktails, tea, smoothies, and even coffee. Lewes and Rehoboth Beach’s Agave restaurant has plenty of desserts which may include agave sweetener, but they are known for classic non-agave infused Mexican food including nachos, chips, empanadas, various guacamole dishes, quesadilla and fajitas, and enchiladas. Most, but not all, of the dishes are prepared cuisine style, not fast-food Tex-Mex as is common with Delmarva Mexican restaurants catering to flocks of tourists. It would be convenient for Agave - Rehoboth Beach’s expansive kitchen to produce cafeteria style Mexican food, especially at its cavernous location, which packs in crowds nightly and is a fun, entertaining, lively eating experience with plenty of dishes being delivered every moment to hordes of patrons. Indeed, Agave’s Rehoboth Beach location is in the business of selling not only lunch and dinner, but also scale, spectacle, and Agave itself. Alas, the chefs take their time, focusing on limited options in the various Mexican food categories rather than offering every version of every dish possible, a common approach to family-friendly Mexican restaurants. Sure, there is a gift shop in the Rehoboth Beach location, and sure, this is a family and large gathering place (curiously, no highchairs), but the food does not suffer from so many meals emanating from an efficient kitchen, as cooking with love and art seems to surpass cooking for the masses. Cocktails are fantastic and generous, and the bar life at Agave-Rehoboth Beach is hopping, especially given that its bar tenders ignore the strict one-shot per drink maxim; these bar tenders are generous with the alcohol content. No matter the culinary instincts of your group, there is something on the menu to satisfy even the most cautious Southwestern food appetite. Agave-Lewes is much less of a machine, but, still, a fine-tuned operation offering a more quaint experience and better authentic Mexican food. Beware, some dishes disappoint such as undercooked and over-sauced fajitas and undercooked quesadillas, but mostly, Agave offers a pleasant experience and fun vibe, for everyone in the family, even if there are no high chairs for the little diners.