Croakers - Virginia Beach, VA

My favorite thing about Croaker’s is the sign out front. It still says “Don’t forget 9/11” and has ever since, well, 9/11. I know that statement doesn’t forebode well for their food, but it is the truth. I have eaten there at least a half dozen times and have never left raving or complaining about the food. Ambiance is a big part of it. Croakers is small. The main dining room is like a galley, with two smaller rooms branching off. The décor is a little ridiculous. My 6 year old loves it, if that tells you anything. However, it is always crowded and usually there is a line with a wait, so not everyone is as blasé as I am.

Tuesday night we had 6:30 reservations, and that was a good thing. The wait was already 45 minutes. They get a decent sized crowd early on from senior citizens who inhabit the multitude of condominiums up and down Shore Drive and like to eat at 5pm. (Please note: I am not making fun of them. I am jealous. I want to be retired and live on the beach. I already prefer eating dinner early.) Their parking is sparse. We lucked out and grabbed a spot behind an employee who posted a sign on his/her bumper letting you know it was okay to block him in. Thanks Buddy! Without that we would have been on the side street somewhere.

Once seated it was pretty obvious that the servers were slammed. We had a nice, beachy/surfer type guy who knew his stuff and did a good job without appearing to be ruffled. It took a bit longer than normal to get our meals. Since I had not yet had a Softshell crab and they are almost out of season, I decided to try theirs. The server recommended sautéed, and I concurred. My husband got the same. My brother ordered the mixed grill and my mother the broiled flounder. They have a kids menu, with most entrées priced at $7.99, a little on the pricey side. Otherwise, they are not really kid friendly, offering no crayons, etc., to entertain your child. Come prepared.

I think that my mother out ordered us all. Her flounder was the best looking flounder I have seen in a long time. It was almost an inch thick, perfectly cooked and seasoned. It was a very large portion, of which at least half went back home with her.
My brother’s mixed grill looked a little well done to me. He agreed that he likes his Tuna and Salmon a bit more on the rare side too, but assure me that it was not dry, and was quite good. The Softshells arrived covered in a sauce. Not what I expected to see. Since it was a special item, no preparation notes were on their specials board, and none were given when we ordered. As we ate them we could not discern the contents of the sauce. Finally I asked the server and was told it was their special house sauce and he rolled off the ingredients. The primary ingredients were butter, flour, garlic and some other herbs/spices. It’s not that the sauce was bad per se; I just wish it had not been on the crab. It overwhelmed the flavor and robbed some crispiness from the texture. So, as usual, the dish was not bad, but I cannot rave about how good it was. Softshells and Mixed Grill were both 20.99, the Flounder was 22.99.

On a final note, they have great cornbread. It is sweet, which I like, and very moist. Make sure you try it if you are a cornbread fan.

_Laine

3629 Shore Dr
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
(757)363-2490
(No Website)

Omar's Carriage House-Norfolk, VA

Omar’s Carriage House has been around for over ten years. Omar also owns Voila, Omar’s Fountain Cafe at Town Point Park and the Pagoda Restaurant. I have been the Carriage House once during restaurant week, once during his tenth anniversary, when he offered 10 for $10 (ten entrees all priced at $10 and $10 bottles of wine that you could cork and take home) and a few other times.

Omar’s is tucked down Bute Street, close to the downtown YMCA. It is a very cute, historic building that was once exactly what the name suggests, a carriage house that was home to horses, carriages, tack and hay. Sitting on the first floor allows you a look at the drop doors in the ceiling above where the hay was stored and dropped into the carriages. There is history section on Omar’s website that chronicles the building’s use. The decor is casual chic and comfortable. I enjoy sitting downstairs for day meals as it is brighter, while the upstairs is suited more to dinner with a darker hue. I enjoyed the non-deal experiences more than the anniversary and restaurant week visits. It is always nice to feel like you are saving a few bucks, but restaurant week has been disappointing in general to me over the last few years and I feel you get a better meal, all around, on regular days and nights. If you have only been to Omar’s during one of these times, I suggest going for a regular meal. I thoroughly enjoyed brunch when I had the vegetable omelet, but the next time I visit Omar’s during brunch, I have my sights set on the California Benedict or the quiche of the day.

Laine and I had been talking about Omar’s and when a day that was not over 90 degrees arrived, we took the stroll. The panini portabella grabbed my attention this fine day, though the vegetarian lasagna looked appealing as well. I chose the panini, grilled ciabatta bread with marinated portabella mushrooms, roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese. The sandwich was grilled perfectly and it was a manageable size for lunch. The Carriage House potato salad that accompanies the sandwiches is killer. It contains egg and was made with red potatoes (my favorite). Laine and I both wanted more of this creamy side.. I have had the warm spinach salad in the past and the hot cider dressing is very unique and fantastic, but this salad is not a meal salad if you are in any way hungry; it is more like an appetizer or something to share when ordering another dish.

Our server was fine until it was time to get our check and this exercise took forever. He was a quiet lad which is a plus, as I do not want a waiter that is too bubbly or talkative, but his attention seemed to wander after the food arrived.. A good ten minutes after we both had finished, we finally approached the bar and asked him for the checks. Omar’s is a little bit of a walk for us and we still had to journey back and.were watching the clock. Laine and I always say we are going to ask for the checks as the food arrives to quicken payment, which seems to always be the time hiccup, but we often forget this tactic once we get seated in a restaurant. We start having a good time and forget we are on a schedule. We finally paid and were on our way, but it took entirely too long to get our checks (and we had to fetch them). I enjoyed my meal and will go back, but will be cognisant to ask for the check after the food arrives to not incur the delay we experienced at the tail end of this meal. My sandwich was $7.95 which is reasonable for lunch.

The Carriage House also caters and is the house caterer on the American Rover. I organized an event on the Rover a few years ago and the food was phenomenal. I remember Omar’s having a good selection and both the Rover crew and the catering contact being very accommodating. Laine and I will visit Omar’s Fountain Cafe and report back when the temperature drops again. Its a little too steamy to sit in the blazing sun at Town Point Park during lunch.

~Alex

I had been wanting to try Omar’s Carriage House for a while. Upon entering the building I discovered my instincts were right on. I loved the funky, artistic feel of the interior. Everywhere you turn there is something interesting on the wall, or ceiling. I had already perused the online lunch menu and knew what I wanted to order. Labeled “New!”, I was intrigued by the California Grilled Chicken Sandwich, consisting of chicken breast, guacamole and Havarti cheese on Sour Dough bread with pesto mayo and fresh tomato, served with a side of Carriage House potato salad. I love guacamole, Havarti is my favorite cheese, and pesto is another favorite of mine. Unfortunately, the in house menu did not match the online menu. This “new” sandwich, was no longer available. Grumble.... I have come across this blunder now with several restaurants. It’s 2010 people. Keep your online information current. After some discussion in the kitchen, our waiter determined that the sandwich could be served as they had all the ingredients available.

The sandwich arrived looking as delicious as I thought it would. After a couple of bites, I knew something was missing. The pesto mayonnaise was MIA. As Alex mentions, our server also went MIA after delivering our meals, so I never had the opportunity to ask him to bring out the mayonnaise, or refill my drink. The potato salad is very good, and the sandwich was good too, it just would have been better with pesto mayonnaise.

The restaurant filled up while we were there. During our lunch I noted that the clientele leaned more towards the senior citizen demographic. I’m not sure if that is the norm, or an anomaly of that particular day. Lunch prices are very reasonable, with most sandwiches ranging from $7-8. There is also a $3.95 half sandwich and a $14.95 crab cake sandwich. On cooler days, it would be the perfect spot for some soup and a sandwich. We will be back.

_Laine

Omar’s is located at 313 West Bute Street and is open daily for lunch and dinner and brunch on the weekends.
www.omarscarriagehouseva.com

Norfolk Greek Festival 2010

I have attended the Greek Festival at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Granby Street for many years, since my grandparents have lived on the neighboring Fife Street for about 55 years. I enjoy the festival, but has the church thought about moving this event to Town Point Park? I know that Fife Street, which runs beside the church is almost all elderly people and the street is so congested most of the festival that it is hard for them to come and go from their own homes. My grandmother is 84 now and lives alone and if she needed to get out, it would be hard for her to do so, as the food service trucks are parked right across the street from her house. I had a hard time backing out of the driveway on Wednesday before the festival even started and I'm not 84. The church blocked Fife Street off starting Monday and the festival does not commence until Thursday. That is too long to block that street from Granby.

The other disturbing incident that occurred was Saturday night after I had been to the festival. I came across the street to my grandmother's and there was a silver BMW X5 parked right in front of my grandmother's driveway and the driveway of the co-op building that sits on the corner of Fife Street and Granby Street. We asked a couple of the guys cooking and they said they would try to find out to whom the car belonged. I called the non-emergency police number and they said they would send someone out. I waited about 30 minutes and called again. Finally, when the cop showed up, the owner of the car was coming out. I approached him and said 'this is not a parking space, you cannot park here' and the guy was so busy talking on his cell phone that he pretty much ignored him. I then said 'this is a fire hazard' and he ignored me as well. The owner of the car and someone from the church schmoozed with the cop, who basically did nothing and this guy should have received a ticket. His car was parked illegally for over an hour. These types of incidents make it hard for the people that live around the church to enjoy the festival. They need to have better control of the parking situation or move the festival. It is becoming a nuisance. I do not think the festival committee thinks enough of the citizens who live around the church. $20 in gift certificates does not compensate for all of the parking fiascoes and people trampling through yards and letting their children play soccer in yards of people the parents do not even know. If a soccer ball goes through someone's window, who is going to pay to fix that?

I emailed the city, the church and the Wards Corner civic league and got absolutely no response.

I'm bugged, can you tell.

~Alex

The Loukoumades rock. Being disrespectful of their neighbors does not. As their website states "This year's 2010 Greek Festival, Tidewater's oldest and largest ethnic festival, set the record for the biggest-ever attendance." I think they have outgrown the current locale. Do we really need "one of Hampton Roads’ biggest tents" plunked down on Granby Street. It may be all fun if you are visiting the festival, but it is extremely inconvenient if it happens to be in your front yard. Could this festival be another example of nepotism in Norfolk?

_Laine