The Public House - Norfolk, VA

The talented owners of Bardo and Still opened the much anticipated Public House earlier this year.  After months of serious renovation, Public House opened to welcomed arms of the Ghent community. My initial visit was a few weeks into their opening and I had a shot of cherry vodka and the Apple Cranberry Crumb Strudel which comes with goat cheese ice cream. The ice cream made this dessert unique. If you like goat cheese, go for it. Service was good this night, but I had heard a few people mention it was a little spotty during the first week or so. I had wanted the Moon Pie dessert as that had gotten good reviews, but PH was out of that a few other things that late in the evening so close to their grand opening

My next outing involved dinner. The meal began with the Antipasti which was good and I chose the Butternut Squash & Quinoa for my meal. I thought this was a great lighter option at PH and very different, definitely one of my favorite entrees there. My dining companion enjoyed the opposite, the Waffle-Battered Chicken Breast, which comes with a blueberry maple syrup. He said it was good, but was not as enthralled as the server expected. At the beginning of our meal, I asked the server to save a Moon Pie for us. I was on a mission to have this dessert. Presented on a rectangular plate, two chilled moon pies are drizzled with white and dark chocolate sauce as well as a cut strawberry. I was pretty amazed by this, but it is does not come out soft and gooey. Because it is chilled, the marshamellow center is more firm than some would expect. Similar to the entrees, I was overly pleased and my companion was not wowed. He did enjoy a few O’Connor’s brews, which are always offered at PH. Service was fine this time, but it seemed to take too much time for things like water refills. We sat in the dining room in the back on this occasion and I wonder if that had something to do with it (see my patio dining experience below).

My third experience at PH was on a Friday night. My friend, Chrisselle*, and I sat at the bar because there were two seats available and the wait for a table was 30 minutes. She ordered the Butternut Squash & Quinoa after I raved about it, while I opted for the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich. We split the Blue Collar Mac & Cheese and an order of the regular fries. The mac & cheese is very rich, superb and has a sharp, delicious bite to it. After relaxing for a while, I caved and ordered the Cheesecake of the Moment, this moment being an orange one. I loved this - orange is my new chocolate. The bar is full and there are quite a few people standing around drinking and socializing. I like it - feels like a bigger city restaurant/bar, which is typically my preferred atmosphere if I am out to see friends and hobnob.





Charlotte* and I ventured into PH on a Thursday a few weeks ago. She had not yet dined there and of course, I was ready to go back since this was my new favorite place. I had eyed the Chick Pea Burger on the menu and decided that was the calling of the night. Served with Granny Smith Apples, as all of the sandwiches are, this ‘burger’ is a great vegetarian dish and preferred by quite a few PH employees from what I gathered. The Charmoula, a traditional Moroccan sauce, that topped it was nothing less than spectacular. I added a slice of provolone for good measure and was ecstatic about my meal. Charlotte ordered the Roasted Pork Tenderloin which was wrapped in Applewood bacon and served with mashed potatoes and Parmesan encrusted corn on the cob. I tried the corn, it was top notch and something to definitely try on the grill at home. Charlotte was overly pleased and even had leftovers for lunch the next day. We decided to share the Cheesecake of the Moment, which was a Strawberry Nut variety, topped with a bacon caramel sauce. Since I do not eat bacon, they gave Charlotte the full sauce and gave me caramel sauce. That worked really well and I appreciated the accommodation.  The cheesecake was decadent as it had been the previous time I ordered it. I like this ‘of the moment’ business - something new all the time.







Chrisselle and I decided to head back up to PH on a Wednesday evening, this time we chose to sit outside. We were seated immediately, but apparently, there was a communication breakdown between the hostess and the wait staff, so we did not see our waiter for about 10 minutes. We were not in a hurry, but it was a tad irksome. When our waiter did come over, he apologized profusely and our service was stellar after that, so we did not hold a grudge. We started with the Asparagus Fries which are of the tempura style - deep fried goodness. I really liked the lemon aioli but like cowbell, the dish needed more sauce. PH has a few salads and I decided to give the Shrimp & Spinach salad a try, substituting the Gardein Chicken for the shrimp. I like that they have Gardein on the menu to use on a lot of dishes if you are not a carnivore. The avocado cucumber dressing makes this salad. If you are starving, do not order a salad, but if you are looking for something lighter, this one is a good choice. Chrisselle ordered the Slow Braised Short Ribs, which came with asparagus and mashers.  Like Charlotte’s pork tenderloin, this dish is large, in charge and not for the faint-hearted. We were full and skipped dessert for once, but still left happy and satisfied.







Next up was lunch with Laine.  It was Friday and we were ready to get out even in the rain. Sticking with my goal to try everything vegetarian on the menu, I sought out the Gardein Chicken Sandwich. Clint, the manager we chatted with, said the curry carrot relish made this sandwich worth trying. He was right and PH does not disappoint with the variety of sauces in their dishes. It had a little heat but the sweetness of the carrot balanced it perfectly. I decided to have the Gardein fried (you can also choose regular chicken and then grill or fry either). Gardein fried pretty well, I must say. I had raved about the Moon Pie to Laine, so that was on order with Clint. It was even better than the first time I had it. Laine and I talked about it non-stop for about a week to everyone that would listen. Much Moon Pie Love here and we will have another very, very soon. The plate was beyond clean when we finished. Service was good and we enjoyed our talk with Clint, a super nice guy.



I have lost count of my visits and I made it to brunch finally a few Sundays ago. Nikki* and another good friend were my company. I had been out late the night prior, but my crankiness subsided slightly when we entered PH. I was excited about brunch and knew I had to have the Pancakes of the Moment (remember, I love the ‘of the moment’ theme). Blueberry was the flavor and the honey butter and jam made the deal sweet. I tried the Fried Grit Cakes as well and those are good, but not greasy, as some traditional grit cakes can be. These come with crab meat for an additional $5, which is how our friend had them. She enjoyed that version as well. Nikki ordered the Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich and said she was not that thrilled. I know Laine thought the BBQ Salad was great the week before, so maybe it was an off day for BBQ.
~Alex

The Public House
1112 Colley Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23517
(757) 227-9064
Open every day 11AM - 2AM
To view their website click HERE

Path - Norfolk VA

One of my favorite sayings is ‘[insert action here] seemed like a good idea at the time’. This applies to life so frequently, as it did for our experience at Path. Laine and I were pretty excited to try this newer place, a 100% vegan restaurant in Norfolk. Initially, they only offered delivery, which I thought was a tad odd, but by the time we ventured to the Ghent location, they had dine-in service. Having no worries in the world about this adventure, we convinced our friend, Emma*, to tag along, though she was timid about the faux meat business and I do not fault her here, as some of the faux stuff out there can be pretty bad.

It was a nice Friday, as we hopped in the car to head to Path. At the time, it was situated in a tiny structure on Boissevain Avenue. I know this building was a hair salon at one time, as my mom has visited pretty much every salon in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, and I believe it may have also been an art gallery at some point. Street parking was a limited but we found one spot, thankfully. We did not need that hurdle with what we were about to endure. We walked in and were greeted by the lone employee, who was pleasant but not overly friendly. I immediately spied the empty dessert case and was perturbed as Path is always posting photos to their Facebook page to showcase their temping desserts. Where were they? Nervousness could not explain my state of mind at this time.

We had perused the menu beforehand, but took another look and went for it. I was torn between the ‘Chicken’ Salad and the Raspberry ‘Chicken’ and finally settled on the former. We had a choice of Cole slaw or potato salad, of which I chose the slaw. Apparently, the vegetable chips and fries were only offered at the Path location situated inside The Edge, near ODU. They have the fryer there, along with desserts and other things that were well out of our reach this day. Then the menu advertised bread, but all they had was wraps. The gal said the bread was white and did not have much nutritional value, and these vegan wraps were better - please update your menu. I prefer bread over a wrap, but what was I going to do, the choices were dwindling by the minute. I was bugged and Laine was right there with me. Emma went with the Club which has tempeh bacon along with the faux chicken and the potato salad - two faux meats for the timid one!

While I appreciate the effort to eat all natural, I need my diet soda, the all chemical drink alternative. No go at Path - the choices were Dr. Pepper (no diet!), bottled water, a drink with the word grass in the title and the now infamous Kombucha tea. Because I have an aversion to regular soda or drinks made from carrots, grass and such and I’m not a fan of paying for water when we have decent tap H20, I gave in to the Kombucha, but only after Laine and Emma chose the same. It came in cute dark glass recycled bottles, which had hand-drawn designs. Emma and I opted for the last two bottles of the hibiscus haze flavor, which was okay, but I like regular iced tea better...especially after we were hit, or rather smacked, with the price - it’ll put you in a haze. To round off the meal, we ordered a lemon pound cake topped with coconut shavings.

We encounter the coupon debacle pretty often. You think you are getting a deal, but what you get is hosed. Not every time, but Laine and I have definitely had this experience more frequently that we would like, and Path is another example. I had a coupon worth $20. I figured we might pay another $10 for the three meals. As she rang up our food...and tea (this is important), I almost choked. $45 for three sandwiches (each about $8), one lemon cake ($5) and then the darn tea. That means that the three bottles of Kombucha ran us somewhere between $13-$14. For that price, a drink needs alcohol in the ingredients and as I stated, we did not think this was a revolutionary drink. We all stared at each other, forked out too much money and went outside to sit and wait for our food. For a place that does not cook anything, only heats up, the prep time for our food was lengthy. Our food arrived and while my sandwich was quite good, as was Emma’s, we both were disappointed in how little ingredients were in our sandwiches. The contents were about half of what you would expect inside a wrap. The sides of vegan slaw and vegan potato salad were tasty, especially the slaw, which was very fresh, but unfortunately, our overall experience was less than stellar at Path.

We cut the lemon cake back at the office and that was actually wonderful and for $5, it is a deal and easily feeds 2-3 people. I just wish we had been able to try some of their other desserts as well, such as the many different flavors of donuts they promote on Facebook. The vegan donuts were what really caught my eye.

I have another coupon, so Laine and I will try Path again, but we will have to travel to either their location at The Edge or a newer location on 35th Street, which seems to have replaced the Boissevain address. The gal who took our orders this day told us to to to The Edge before 10pm, the time it becomes shady. Interesting marketing to warn your patrons about the times to NOT visit your other location. We were surprised that Path would put itself in a college bar, but maybe they get enough business from Edge supporters that want a vegan alternative. We will not be lured into buying any Kombucha ever again, though, and if prices had been posted (they were not anywhere in the restaurant or online), we would never have purchased it - we should have asked but who knew it would cost that much for tea! For almost $5 a pop, I can think of a lot of other things I would rather drink, preferably something with alcohol. Hopefully, the veggie chips, fries and donuts can help Path make a comeback for us. To be continued...

~Alex

If I were to construct a top five list of worst restaurant experiences, this would be on it. In their defense, they did close this location about a week later, which is probably why they were out of so many things. However, food supply was only the tip of the iceberg.

I am not going to rehash what Alex so perfectly describes, but the whole “no bread, no dessert, no soda, no fries” thing was a pretty big let down. Right then I should have redirected the group to a nearby favorite, but we chose to persevere. Stupid. Seating inside was two, 2 top tables and it was rather warm, so we chose to dine outside. They had one table out front, again with only two seats. Shortly after being seated we realized it was located in a driveway, which doubled as access for the rather busy business next door. Excellent. I can eat my healthy, vegan food whilst I inhale exhaust fumes. I'm not sure this is "a kinder way" to dine.

 We were the only group dining in that day, but the food did not arrive quickly. We were pondering our teas and getting a bit antsy when the food started to arrive. I had ordered a cheese melt with fresh fruit as a side, and the watermelon looked perfect. The wrap looked like a brown paper bag that was burnt on the corner. I have long ago learned that you cannot necessarily judge food by the appearance, so I dug in with gusto. If I were to construct a list of top five worst sandwiches, this just might make #1. There was almost no cheese on my cheese melt, and what was there was not melted. The generous portion of mustard on the other hand, was strong, spicy and overpowering. All this was rounded out by a lonely little slice of apple and a chunk of tempeh. It was inedible. The lone cook/server/cashier did not say a word when she removed my full basket of picked apart wrap. Thank goodness for the lemon poppy seed cake. My one third of that cake, which was excellent, got me through until cocktail hour when I tried to drink away the memory of lunch. (It didn’t work.)

Alex may have to knock me unconscious and drag me by the hair in order to get me to try Path again.

P.S. I was not a fan of the tea either.

_Laine

Path

617 W. 35th Street

Norfolk, Virginia 23508

Path @ODU

4814 Hampton Blvd

Norfolk, Virginia 23508

http://www.pathnorfolk.com

No Frill Bar and Grill - Ghent - Norfolk, VA

Alex and I have been hitting our old favorites hard recently. Today we took a ride out to one of our Ghent Favorites, No Frill. It was nice to see a break in the rain and humidity, so we jumped at the offer for outdoor seating. The view added to our dining entertainment later in the meal as we watched a moron drive the wrong way down Spotswood. Unbelievable. I was hungry today and scanned the appetizer menu for something to eat before I ate. I pondered the Creamy Artichoke Dip ($7.99) aloud, and Alex said it was awesome. That's all I needed to know. In addition I ordered the classic house specialty, Funky Chicken Salad - Grilled chicken, bacon, Swiss cheese, mixed greens, fresh veggies 10.99. This is also available as a sandwich for $8.99. Alex had the Asian Portabella Salad - Teriyaki grilled mushrooms, mixed greens, roasted red peppers, mandarin oranges, red onions, crispy rice bowl, sesame-orange-ginger vinaigrette 9.99. If you are a loyal reader, you know by now that Alex always has to tweak her orders. She likes this salad with a veggie burger on top. The always accommodating team at No Frill doesn't bat an eye, and her order comes out right every time. Pictured below is our order. Their portions are beyond generous. After the three of us obliterated the dip, we still had to find room for our enormous salads. Don't worry, we were up to the task.

Creamy Artichoke Dip and a bazilloin Pitas

Asian Portobello Salad with Veggie burger add on

Funky Chicken Salad

Alex and I suggest you visit No Frill  frequently.

_Laine

Original Post 2/25/09

No Frill Grill. The place you head for a consistently good meal at a great price. Helpings are generous and service is fast. Laine and I ventured to Frill last week. We also brought a No Frill virgin, my friend Briana*. There was a line, which is not unusual, but remember two things, the wait is never very long and you can always sit at the bar. We opted for the bar since we needed in and out service in 45 minutes. The bartender's attentiveness was as good as a waiter or waitress at a table. I ordered the Grilled Pita Quesadilla. Frill serves this as an appetizer or an entree, with the entree including a side for only $1 more. That's a deal and I chose the poppy seed cole slaw. This is one of my favorite sides and measured up as usual. Briana ordered the Funky Chicken Sandwich, one of Frill's all-star menu items. This is the perfect blend of chicken, bacon, tomato and Swiss cheese on your choice of bread (they suggest sourdough). The sandwich is grilled and served with a side. Briana chose the garlic mashers. She loved the sandwich, but said the potatoes could have been better. If I remember they are not overly creamy, which is also my preference. The food came very quickly and our server brought our bills at the same time, which was helpful with our limited time frame. The menu includes a variety of salads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers and entrees. Some of my favorite items include the Spotswood Salad, which has blue cheese, granny smith apples and caramelized raisins and almonds, the Funky Chicken salad, the salad version of the sandwich described above, the Spotswood Melt, a burger with Swiss and cheddar cheese, bacon and grilled onions on grilled sourdough bread, the crab cake sandwich, the chili and the onion rings. I must promote these, the onion rings are to die for! Frill is always busy, which is a testament to its quality food, bright and helpful service and long-standing reputation as one of Ghent's best restaurants. I have to admit I have eaten there three times in one week and even twice in one day, if that says how much I enjoy a Frill meal. I highly recommend No Frill Grill for lunch, dinner or Sunday brunch. It is a great place to go before your next movie at the Naro.

~Alex

Alex and I were stunned when we realized that we had never reviewed No Frill Grill. Why? Well, for starters, Alex would eat there 6 out of 7 days if her schedule permitted! Further, in our humble opinions, it is one of the best places to eat in Ghent. (Never been to the beach location, sorry). The menu has a lot of variety. Even your pickiest eaters can find something of interest. And, as Alex says, they are consistent with their service and preparation. Lunch last Friday at the Grill was fairly typical, except that I snagged a parking spot right by the front door. Thank you parking gods! There was about 10-12 people waiting to be seated, so eating at the bar was a good move. I arrived late, but Alex had my back when I called in my order (to her!). I ordered the Asian Portobello Salad. I realize that some of our loyal readers get tired of hearing about salads, but this one is a doosey! I must have told Alex about 100 times how good the mushrooms were. Service at the bar was great. She was friendly, but not overbearing. Being a bit on the short side, I sometimes find sitting at a bar uncomfortable, especially when I am not being anesthetized by martinis. However, they have really comfortable chairs, not stools, so I didn’t feel like a toddler with dangling feet or an octogenarian with a back ache. I could go on and on, but you get the point. If you haven’t been to No Frill Grill, put it on your short list of places to go, things to do. You’ll thank us (if you know who we really are;)!

_Laine

No Frill Grill is located at 806 Spotswood Avenue in Ghent and at 1620
Laskin Road at Hilltop and is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday
and Saturday 11am-11pm. A brunch menu is served Sundays 11am-3pm.

http://www.nofrillgrill.com/

*Name is changed