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Aubrey Plaza praises Rockford Park & ​​Trolley Square

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Aubrey Plaza praises Rockford Park & ​​Trolley Square

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Wilmington may no longer be a secret now that a sitting U.S. president has already resided here, but Delaware's largest city just got an even bigger star cast.

Actress and Wilmington native Aubrey Plaza was recently featured in The New York Times for an article in which she listed her five favorite places in her hometown.

Aubrey Plaza's Wilmington, published Friday, details how “the acerbic star of 'The White Lotus' and 'My Old Ass' delights in her oft-overshadowed hometown of Delaware, which she describes as 'magical.' “little jewel.”

Those of us here in the First State know firsthand Plaza’s love for Delaware. Her family still lives here and she visits them regularly. She was recently spotted before embarking on her media tour to promote three new projects: Megalopolis, My Old Ass and Agatha All Along.

Over the years, she has appeared in Wilmington at fundraisers, dining out, volunteering, weddings or just strolling.

New York Times writer Steven Kurutz reports that Plaza was “an enthusiastically earnest guide” when it came to Wilmington, “even though there is no theme park, no professional sports teams (and) no famous regional cuisine to require a pilgrimage. “”

What locations did Plaza highlight for The Gray Lady?

Here's their list, which our “magical little gem” introduced to the newspaper's more than 8 million subscribers worldwide.

One of Wilmington's nicer spots was first praised by Plaza when the star revealed her family once lived nearby.

“It’s one of Wilmington’s landmarks,” she says of the Rockford Tower, “but the park itself is so beautiful.”

The community theater where Plaza got its start should come as no surprise. She often mentions the name of the Lea Boulevard Theater in interviews and returned in 2017 to be part of the 85th anniversary fundraiser.

In the entry, which included a New York Times photo by Neal Santos of WDL production manager Kathy Buterbaugh, Plaza recounts how she first discovered the theater.

“I just thought, 'Wow, what guts these kids have to get up and perform in front of other kids,'” she says.

So which locations in Trolley Square have received the Plaza Seal of Approval?

Café Verde, where she enjoys pizza slices and ice cream, was listed, while Plaza eliminated Gianni's Pizza, Café Verdi's rival across Delaware Avenue. (However, Gianni's appeared in a photo of the area included in the entry.)

Catherine Rooney's and Kelly's Logan House were also considered popular bars among the younger crowd, although it was unclear whether Plaza himself specifically mentioned them.

“This little square is where I go every time I go home,” she says.

The famous cobblestone street that runs from Brandywine Park past the Brandywine Zoo to West 18th Street is home to the Monkey Hill Time Trial at the annual Wilmington Grand Prix, but Plaza cites more personal memories for the entry.

Kurutz writes, “The very old, very bumpy road was like an amusement park ride for Ms. Plaza and her cousins, who rode their bikes on it as children.”

“It's steep, so it's like a roller coaster ride on the bike,” she tells him, before mentioning nearby Brandywine Creek. “We used to swim in it. Rope swings from trees. Anything you read in a book.”

The only commercial business to receive its own listing is a neighborhood bar on Union Street in Little Italy.

Best known for pairing its Buffalo Chicken Tenders, Chicken Nixon sandwich and Irish Nachos with cold drinks and a local bar crowd, the haunt has also been the site of plaza sightings over the years, usually around the holidays when she stops by with friends and family.

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Plaza told the Times that she grew up in the city's Irish Catholic community, spent part of her childhood dancing Irish, and that Dead Presidents was “a central gathering place for my friends and family.”

She adds: “It’s your neighborhood pub. Everyone there knows your name. We went to the pub. Then we ate a Yuengling. Maybe two. Maybe three.”

Not mentioned in the article: Dead Presidents is now owned by Plaza's uncle Brian Raughley, who bought the popular watering hole back in 2009.

Do you have an idea for a story? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at [email protected] or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).

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