John and Jackie are always willing to try new restaurants, so we recently went to the 1808 American Bistro in downtown Delaware, Ohio. They have a brunch menu that is served on Sundays from 11 until 2, so we went there after church.
Getting to the restaurant was easy, but the parking was not. We couldn’t find any parking that wasn’t metered, even on a Sunday. They might not enforce the meters on Sunday, but the parking meters don’t say anything about it. Fortunately I had some quarters so I could feed the meter. You can park a couple of blocks from downtown at the library, which has a large, free lot. That is where John and Jackie parked.
Jackie made reservations ahead of time because you can never tell how busy a place will be. Life skill hack – if they take reservations, make them! We were shown to a table as soon as we arrived. 1808 American Bistro has a kind of woody, industrial vibe. The restaurant was open, but the dark wood made it feel more intimate.
1808 American Bistro takes its name from the year Delaware was founded. The restaurant opened in 2008 and the current executive chef is Ian Walker. The owners of the restaurant have several other restaurants in the area. They sometimes open a concept restaurant in Delaware, and if it does well, open another in Columbus. The restaurant is open for dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Although the brunch menu was small, there was plenty to choose from with a variety of breakfast and lunch foods. I ordered the French toast, John got Shakshouka, Jackie got an omelet, and Tom ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. The omelet and French toast were both normal items that were prepared much as any restaurant would prepare them. The grilled cheese sandwich had gouda, white cheddar, and ricotta cheese with spinach.
John’s food was the most interesting. Shakshouka is a Maghrebi (North African) dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic. It was served with pita bread. I am trying to be more adventurous in my eating, so I tried a little of it. It was good but a little spicier than I usually like. John enjoyed it but said it wouldn’t be his new favorite dish.
We all enjoyed our food very much and the service was good. 1808 American Bistro is a good place to eat for dinner or for a delicious Sunday brunch.
After we ate, we walked around downtown Delaware for a while. The downtown was busy with lots of students from Ohio Wesleyan enjoying the beautiful Sunday afternoon. Most of the restaurants were open and about half the shops. We browsed in a couple of shops and did some window shopping at others. It was nice to see a vibrant and busy downtown.