Sheepshead, Fried Chicken and Flounder
RX is a new addition to the Wilmington restaurant scene that’s getting lots of notice since its soft opening in early July, 2012. Located in the former Halls Drugstore on S 5th and Castle Street, it adds a much needed element to that renewing neighborhood.
We visited after they had been open about a week to see what Josh and James were doing. Their simple design is minimalist leaving the focus on the food.
We began with two appetizers. The melon balls with salt were interesting but we generally avoid salt so it wasn’t the right choice for us. The Pork Belly with Grits is a dish to reorder. It also tells us why the shrimp and grits are getting such attention.
The Bride ordered the fried chicken. A neighbor enthusiastically recommended the dish on the way in. Our guest ordered the Sheepshead which is a type of white fish. And I had the Flounder.
The flounder was good enough that I asked for more bread to soak up the juices. It comes with corn and okra in a tomato based sauce. The Sheepshead was also two forks up. It’s a thicker fish than the flounder and comes with a fried okra. She ate every bit of it. The fried chicken was okay but the smashed potatoes that the chicken rests on were smashing.
Our server, Jason, was very attentive. He got answers to the questions he didn’t know the answers to.
As a new place, it does have opportunities for improvement. Folks with any hearing disminishment will have a problem. With all hard surfaces every noise bounces around adding to the background din. They’ll need to do something to dampen the noise. A number of wines were ordered and they were out of them. That seems odd for a place that has been operating for less than two weeks. The wait staff needs to be more familiar with the menu. Bread is inconsistent. Ours came out at room temperature, 2nd batch was much better as warm. Another table with eight guests reported that they only got four pieces of bread. But they were also happy with their meal. The bread is important as many of the dishes merit having the juices mopped up afterwards. These are all issues that will be easy for Josh and James to fix.
The bottom line is that quite a number of folks have already tried RX, enjoyed their meal and plan to go back.
The Star News has also done a review of Rx. You can find it here.
Find all of our restaurants at www.capefearpassport.com/wtd.php or find all our great fun at www.EnjoyWilmington.com