Cheap and Cheery - May 2013

Cheap & Cheery at Grape & Gourmet this past weekend.

5th East Coast She-Crab Soup Classic

I can’t believe I didn’t post some of these photos here! Sorry! A few weeks ago we attended the 5th East Coast She-Crab Soup Classic in Virginia Beach, VA. There were 19 completing restaurants working for a Critic’s and People’s choice award. If you check out the close-up shot just above you’ll see this years winner — Mannino’s. Here are the results:

2013 Winners

Critics’ Choice Award

1st Place: Mannino’s Italian Bistro

2nd Place: Blue Pete’s Restaurant

3rd Place: Murphy’s Irish Pub

Honorable Mentions: Lynnhaven Fish House, Passion the Restaurant, and Tradewinds

Peoples’ Choice Award

1st Place: Mannino’s Italian Bistro

2nd Place: Rockafeller’s Restaurant

3rd Place: Blue Pete’s Restaurant

Honorable Mentions: Freemason Abbey Restaurant, Murphy’s Irish Pub, and Sofia’s at the North End

I really think Whole Foods should have placed, I was honestly surprised that they didn’t even get a mention. Better luck next year guys, everyone did a great job! Can’t wait.

Milo's 1st Birthday

Recently we were invited to our friends’ son’s 1st Birthday Party. Ken’s family is Filipino and that means tons of food! It was all so good that I told Ken if they don’t quit feeding me like this I’ll never leave. He said welcome to the family.

i<3food

The Ten Top

After running by Local Heroes Comics in Norfolk, VA we ended up stopping by The Ten Top for dinner. I usually think of sandwiches when I think of this shop and I wanted something meaty—I had a hard time picking something out. For Shelby it was easy, he favorite lamb sandwich is here, the Greek Lamb Hoagie. Looking over the menu she noticed the BBQ Braised Berkshire Pork Shank and suggested I try it.

We ordered and sat down. We’ve done take-out before so this was the first time we had the chance to check the place out. Small with a lot of character. The decor was cool with a working pinball machine people were actually playing.

Our food and came out and we were both surprised by the size of my meal. The pork shank reminded us of the ham hocks we would order in Germany at the fest tents. They French cut the shank so the bones were exposed and charred. Rustic and smelling delicious, I dug in. The sauce was great with a little bite from the vinegar and the pork cooked perfectly. I ended up taking half home with me.

Very nice, relaxing…happy we stopped by.

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Pho 79 at Hilltop

Phở 79 at Hilltop, Virginia Beach, VA. We ordered the Bún bò xào - Stir fried lemongrass beef with vermicelli and Phố đặc biệt - flank steak, brisket, soft tendon, and tripe. People keep asking why my phở was so red. I put everything in it :)

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Handsome Biscuit

When Handsome Biscuit opened in Norfolk, VA several months ago reports started to trickle out about these amazing sweet potato biscuits. Not just the biscuits themselves, but how they were dressed up. I finally made a trip to the tiny shop in Park Place myself; the shop was hopping and with only 4 hours in the day to grab one it looked like people wanted to make sure to get their fix. I ordered a couple to take home for me and Shelby.

We ate the Dill Na Na - Potato Onion Frittata and Arugula with Dill Mayo and the already famous Hella  Fitzgerald - Fried Chicken with Bacon, Cheddar, and Red Eye Sausage Gravy. Both were delicious and I’m already planning my next trip and scouting out the menu so I’ll be ready.

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Dishcrawl Portsmouth

Dishcrawl Hampton Roads conducted it’s first Portsmouth Dishcrawl. I was fortunate enough to be invite and I’m glad I was. We visited Brutti’s, Still Worldly Eclectic Tapas, Gosport Taven, and Krush - A Sourtern Bistro. I’ve never been to any of the four shamefully, so this was a great opportunity to get sample of what they have to offer.

Dishcrawl works this way: Buy a ticket, meet at the rallying point—in this case Portsmouth, then you walk to four restaurants chosen by your Dishcrawl ambassador. Each restaurant will have small plates for the diners in the group allow them to sample what the house has to offer. HR’s rep is Chynee Cousins, super sweet and she seemed to really enjoy guiding us around Olde Towne Portsmouth. An unexpected bonus was the light drizzle we walked through. People tended to huddle together under umbrellas and the streets took a somewhat ethereal quality about them.

The next Dishcrawl will be in Portsmouth again on 4 June. Don’t miss it, tickets are limited.

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Old Beach Farmers Market - April 2013

Old Beach Farmers Market. Virginia Beach, VA

Judy’s Sichuan Cuisine - Virginia Beach, VA

Judy’s Sichuan in Virginia Beach. Soup Balls at the top.

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Beer Tasting at Grape and Gourmet

Beer Tasting last week at Grape & Gourmet

Hampton Roads Beard and Stache Society - 16 April 2013

Made it to a Hampton Roads Beard and Stache Society meeting this week. It was held at Belmont House of Smoke and it was all-you-can-eat rib night. So I had the ribs ;) They were great.

WINESday - 17 April 2013

WINESday at Whole Foods Virginia Beach, 17 April 2013

Cheap and Cheery - April 2013

Cheap and Cheery April 2013. Grape and Gourmet tasting, Virginia Beach, VA