FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Jada Villa

Jada Villa (***)

353 Independence Blvd Virginia Beach, VA 23462

 
 

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a Lunar New Year-inspired Coastal Virginia (CoVA) Yelp Elite event at Jade Villa. From top to bottom, it was a grand event. While Hampton Roads, VA is not NYC, I will say that I have been impressed with the various culinary options that we have in our area. Maybe if these options were available, I might not have left the area in 1998 to pursue my educational dreams. I’m lying, Actually, leaving the area is one of the reasons why I’m now so experimental with my culinary delights.

 
 

Prior to attending this event, I had no idea that there were authentic Dim Sum places in the area. Actually, I think there are only one or two places. Most of our Chinese restaurants are more of the Chinese-American take-out spots where everything on the menu is $8.95 and comes with pork fried rice rather than authentic Chinese restaurants. Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with the Chinese-American take-out spots . . . especially when you are hungover. Another reason why I enjoyed this event: there was SOOOOO much food, and it was all very yummy.

THE FOOD:

Unfortunately, I could not get a photo of all of the food because it was coming out so fast, but it’s the thought that counts. I think this is one of the few Yelp events (regarding NYC & CoVA), where I told myself that I’m coming back to this spot. As a matter of fact, I’m gonna ask the hubby if he would like to get Dim Sum from Jade Villa this weekend.

THE FOOD GENERAL YELP ELITE THOUGHTS:

This event was my third (or fourth) event with the CoVA Yelp Elite group, and I kind of prefer this group over the NYC Yelp Elite group. Don’t get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with the NYC Yelp Elite group, but the CoVA group is a more friendly group compared to the NYC group. Perhaps, it’s the Southern hospitality. Also, the CoVA group is a bit more diverse regarding age, race, and sex/gender. This observation is kind of interesting considering that NYC probably is more diverse than CoVA, and one would assume that this would trickle into social groups.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Tulu Seaside

Tulu Seaside (***)

4201 Atlantic Ave, Va. Beach, VA 23451

 
 

I guess almost every city now has Restaurant Week. The hubby and I checked out Tulu Seaside, and I gotta say that we both enjoyed the restaurant (not because it was Restaurant Week). While we had a nice spread of food, I cannot wait to return to try more things on the restaurant’s menu. To be perfectly honest, I was a bit more interested in the non-Restaurant Week menu items.

While we were fortunate to get a view of the Atlantic Ocean, it was unfortunate that the weather was kind of crappy.

 
 

THE FOOD

The food (left to right): Crisp Chicken Kofta, Adobo Pork Tenderloin, and No More Thym (some thyme-infused gin-based cocktail)

 
 

While everything was oh-so delicious, I will say that the Apple Fritter Bread Pudding was worth the 1000+ calories.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Bay Local Eatery

Bay Local Eatery (***)

72 Laskin Rd Virginia Beach, VA 23451

What an amazing brunch joint. This spot definitely is on the top of my list for weekend brunch excursions. The only issue: the place is super popular so wait times can be a bit long, and the place does not take reservations. Fortunately for us, we had to wait about 30 minutes for a table. You know how I am . . . I don't believe in waiting more than 45 minutes for a table. Actually, that was my rule for NYC dining. Perhaps, I might have to update this for my suburban life in Virginia.

Great Advice, Bay Local Eatery.

As some might know by now, I love Eggs Benedict, and I love oysters. . . so of course, my brunch dish was a combination of the two. Overall my dish was pretty delicious. Although the prep crew could have worked on the plating just a little bit. ;)

A slight rant:

Before I begin, this rant more or less is about dining in the mid-Atlantic region (specifically SE Virginia) and not about Bay Local Eatery.

Ok, I get that particular regions, states, and/or cities want their claim to fame in terms of cuisines. For example, N. Carolina and Texas, BBQ; NYC and Chicago, hotdogs and pizza; Southern California, fish tacos, etc. This region is known for crabs (and other shellfish delights) from the Chesapeake Bay, which is fine. BUT, here is what bugs me. Why do restaurants in the area have to put Old Bay Seasoning on EVERY GODDAMN THING?

Even in the picture of my food, you can see some Old Bay Seasoning on the lemon wedge. During brunch, my aunt and I were discussing this. I had to ask her to refresh my memory on whether this was a thing back in the day because I only remember having Old Bay Seasoning whenever we had steamed crabs. I never recalled seeing beverages with Old Bay Seasoning rims. Now, we have Bloody Marys, mimosas, margaritas, mojitos, and plain old glasses of water accompanied by Old Bay Seasoning.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO PUT OLD BAY SEASONING ON EVERYTHING because it really doesn't elevate the taste of eggs . . . or water.

Ok, rant over

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Park Lane Tavern

Park Lane Tavern (***)

1250 Fordham Dr Virginia Beach, VA 23464

I came for a beer but stayed for the fish n chips.

I will say that enjoyed my experience at Park Lane Tavern, which is a British-inspired pub. The hubby and I had to lol for a little bit because the ceiling of the tavern has a huge painting of the European Union’s flag.

was like, I thought that the UK was not a part of the EU any longer. Perhaps, Park Lane Tavern did not get the memo, or they are hoping that the UK will rejoin the EU. Actually, maybe the physical vibe of the restaurant is British, but they have cuisines from other EU countries.

Anywho, on to the food. While we were deciding on what to eat, the waitress told us that the day’s special was fish n chips. Once I heard that I was sold.

I’m gonna say that this was the BEST fish n chips that I have eaten in a very long time. OMG, the fish was fried perfectly (ie the breading was not soggy as hell and the fish was nice and flaky) and the fries had just the right amount of salt on them. I’m glad that I gave Park Lane, as an establishment, a second chance. A couple of months before this visit, the hubby and I had brunch at the other location in Hampton. That experience was a hot mess for the following reasons:

  • The food kinda sucked. I get really annoyed when restaurants screw up simple things like eggs.

  • The Hampton location is way too large for the amount of staff they have. As a result, the service was very slow.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Mel’s Place

Mel’s Place (***)

5020 Ferrell Pkwy Virginia Beach, VA 23464

Nothing too fancy . . . or even near fancy with this entry.

At this point, I think Mel’s Place is our local watering hole, especially since most of the bartenders know our names. Mel’s Place was the first bar that the hubby and I visited when we moved to Va Beach back in July. We came here immediately after unpacking the UHaul truck because 1) it is within walking distance from the house and 2) I did not feel like driving that damn truck anywhere else for the next 24 hours.

Mel’s pretty much is a come as you are and no frills type of place. Oh yeah, the food . . . pretty general bar/pub delights. Also, I had no idea that Virginia still allowed smoking in bars as long as there is a non-smoking area that is closed off from the smoking area. It’s funny how the smoking area/room is a smaller room in most places. Nope, not at Mel’s. At Mel’s the smoking room IS the main room.

The picture below is from our visit after I ran 16 miles for the (virtual) Crawlin Crab Half and NYC Marathon Training long run. Normally, my go-to, post-long run meal is more on the brunch side of things (ie some sort of meal with eggs). However, I did not really feel like driving anywhere, and the hubby still does not have his driver’s license, so we settled on Mel’s.

 
 

Here we have a screwmosa (mimosa plus vodka), lumpia, and chicken waaaaaangs. If you eat anything at Mel’s, you gotta go with the lumpia. Hell, Mel’s lumpia tastes a bit better than the ones served at the Filipino restaurant a couple of miles down the road. Oh, lumpia is like the filipino version of spring rolls. Oh (part II), since we made this visit on a Sunday afternoon, the wings were only 50 cents for Sunday football.

Also, it was here that I learned that there is no such thing as the Washington Redskins anymore. Now, they are the Washington Commanders. Sorry, I only watch football during the Superbowl.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Tiki’s Bar & Grill

Tiki’s Bar & Grill (***)

4312 Holland Rd Ste 107, Virginia Beach, VA 23452

Man oh man, it has been a long time since my last FPOTW.

Word on the street says that Tiki’s Bar & Grill is the only AUTHENTIC Tiki bar in Virginia Beach. . . And by “word on the street”, I mean the restaurant’s website.

I will say that Tiki’s might be my new go-to place for exciting cocktails. Also, it helps that the restaurant is a 10 – 15 minute drive from my house. While one probably should have eaten S. Pacific food in a place with Tiki in its name, I decided to go with a burger. Hey, we visited the restaurant on a Wednesday, which is ‘build your burger’ night. Hey (part II), I did add grilled pineapples to my burger so that should count for something. Boy, did the folks take the tiki theme to the max because the entire bar was staged as if you were sitting in a tiki bar. The restaurant even had a ‘soundtrack’ of birds chirping and waterfalls & waves crashing as background noise.

Hands down, I will say that my burger was one of the best that I’ve eaten since returning to the area.

 
 

Of course, a FPOTW would not be complete without some cocktails.

 
 

LOL: the frowning mug on the right kind of looks like me when I have to wake up at 4/5 am for a morning run.

Since I have a feeling that I will return to the restaurant in the near future, I would like to make it a goal to try all of the restaurant’s cocktails at least once.

 
 

Looking at the cocktail menu, there are 22 cocktails. With about 2 cocktails per visit, that means I will have to visit the restaurant at least 10 more times. Cocktails aside, I definitely want to return to at least one more time to try its Loco Moco, which was one of my favorite dishes while traveling in Hawai’i.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - The Atlantic on Pacific

The Atlantic on Pacific (***)

3004 Pacific Ave., Virginia Beach, VA 23451

Since the hubby had the day off, we hit up The Atlantic because we were feeling fishy (or rather, “shelly”). An old friend from high school recommended the spot, and I am so glad that we took her up on her suggestion. The place is awesome because they have a very generous happy hour, which has $1 for all types of oysters and some pretty cool cocktails from $3 to $8. The only drawback to this deal is the restaurant’s happy hour is from 3 to 6 pm. I guess this makes sense because the restaurant is located on Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront, which is very popular with tourists and locals. I guess if you are already in that part of town, you probably have the day off or took an early day. Note: that these pics are just a taste (no pun) of what we had.

 
 

Our nibbles from left to right: 1. Fried Oysters 2. Oyster Chesapeake (mushrooms, garlic, and fontina) & Roasted Oysters with chili butter; 3. Oyster Rock (bacon, parmesan, cream cheese, bread crumbs, and spinach); 4. Raw Oysters; 5. Hushpuppies; and 6. A few glasses of white sangria to wash it all down.

Because of the yummy and multiple varieties of oysters, I have a feeling that the Atlantic will definitely go on our favorite restaurants list.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK

Captain Groovy's Grill & Raw Bar (***)

8101 Shore Dr., Norfolk, VA 23518

This will be a quick and simple Food Pics of the Week entry. The husband and I stopped by the place for a quick lunch before I had to drop him off for one of his job interviews. We stopped by this place because it was near the place where the hubby's interview would be conducted.

I gotta say this was the best bread pudding that I've ever had in my life.

 
 

No, I did not have only dessert for lunch. For my regular lunch, I had a crab cake sandwich with french fries. Honestly, the crab cake sandwich was a bit mediocre - especially for an area that is known for crab dishes.

It's kind of funny that I did not care for bread pudding growing up, but now it's my crack . . . when done properly.

FOOD PICS OF THE WEEK - Oyster Time

We have TWO restaurants for this week's Food Pics of the Week.

The Rustic Spoon (***)

1658 Pleasure House Rd Ste 101, Virginia Beach, VA 23455

The hubby and I hit up this spot for a late breakfast on his birthday. Last year (or was it the year before last?), we visited this place right before driving from Va. Beach to NYC because the restaurant is on the way to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunel (US-13). This visit was a bit better (for me, at least) because I did not have to worry about driving for the next eight hours.

For my dining pleasure, I enjoyed the Fried Oyster Eggs Benedict.

 
 

I have a feeling that The Rustic Spoon will be one of my favorite go-to spots for brunch because everything always has been on point . . . at least for the last two visits.

A small LOL moment.

Since it was the hubby's birthday, I secretly asked the waiter to bring out a slice of carrot cake after our breakfast. In the middle of our brunch, the waiter came to the table and told us that the computer "lied", and the restaurant did not have any more carrot cake. UMMM DUDE! It was supposed to be a surprise. Since it was not a big deal, the hubby ordered an apple bread pudding. About 15 minutes later, the waiter came back to the table to tell us that the computer "lied" again, and the restaurant did not have the other dessert. Sounds like the restaurant needs a new computer. ;) All was not lost because the manager gave us two desserts (a strawberry cake and some chocolate Oreo cake) on the house.

Orion's Roof (***)

4201 Atlantic Ave., Va. Beach, VA 23451

After our massages, we hit up Orion's Roof based on a friend's recommendation, and I have to admit that I was quite blown away by this restaurant.

 
 

Or course, we started off with a round of oysters for appetizers. Then split quite a few sushi rolls. I wanted to try a few more things from the menu, but I was still kind of full from breakfast.

Normally, I 'm not a huge fan of rolls with a whole bunch of frills (just give me rice and ONE fish), but I gotta say that I ABSOLUTELY loved the restaurant's Triple Spicy Tuna Roll (spicy tuna, black pepper tataki tuna, red onion, serrano chili, cilantro, and ponzu). Man, I could have eaten six of these.

In addition to the yummy food, the restaurant has amazing views of the Va Beach Oceanfront. . . Well, with the exception of the construction at the hotel next door.