This article appeared in the July 16th Issue of TV Times
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By David Maull
TV Times

Rehoboth Avenue and its surrounding side streets were a state of controlled chaos.

Beachgoers and tourists packed sidewalks and businesses, bicyclists maneuvered through heavy traffic and motorists drove in circles searchinging for parking spaces.

A few blocks north, however, all was calm.

Large trees blocked out the hot midway sun, few cars traveled up and down the gravel street and it was quiet enough to hear the birds singing.

Such is life at the Corner Cupboard Inn, located along a heavily wooded section of Park Avenue in North Rebohoth.

"It's considered by many an oasis," inn keeper Leslie Vining said. "It's a very unique setting. It's one of the few unpaved streets in town."

The 18-room inn and accompanying restaurant offer visitors the chance to escape the summer crowds without being far from the town's center of activity. The beach is only a block and a half away and the boardwalk three blocks.

"It's a step back into old Rehoboth," Vining said. "You don't even have to go downtown."

The inn first opened in 1935, making it one of Rehoboth's oldest businesses.

And the restaurant offers one of the most peaceful dining experiences in the resort. Tree-shaded porches and patios flank the interior dining rooms and guests are encouraged to bring their alcoholic own beverages.

The dinner menu features "Eastern Shore cooking with a southern flair" and places a heavy emphasis on seafood, Vining said.

"That's what they're looking for," she noted.

Entrees include crab imperial, crab cakes, fresh fish, lobster and scallops. There is also prime rib and roast turkey.

"It's a good home cooking kind of feeling," Vining said of the menu. "You can't go wrong."

Another house specialty is the homemade pecan pie.

The Corner Cupboard also serves breakfast Monday through Friday and brunch Saturday and Sunday.

Its unique breakfast and brunch menus feature homemade waffles, fried tomatoes, grits, kidney stew and kippers.

"People come here for kippers," Vining said.

There is also live music Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings and during Sunday brunch.

With its relaxed and elegant atmosphere far removed from the hustle and bustle of the summer season, the Corner Cupboard often prompts guests to compare the inn with a visit to "grandma's house."

"This morning someone said it," Vining said with a laugh.

Just another contented guest at Rehoboth's oasis.