john g.'s Profile

I wished I liked it here, but it was just really bad. A few of us coworkers headed over for a Friday lunch and ordered wings with different sauces and also chicken strips.

The ends of the strips were cold to the touch, and that was just gross. They were obviously precooked and then microwaved to order. We ordered 5 strips and got 8, which is nice, but I think it was because they had been sitting a while and wanted to get rid of them. The ranch dipping sauce was very watery and thin, and had pretty much no flavor at all.

The wings were nothing special either. The honey-BBQ just taste bland with no trace of honey or BBQ. The hot wings had some heat, but really no flavor.

Was not good.

This store is tucked around the corner by the VB tax office, totally on the other side from the Hardy's, in case you are looking for it. I dropped off a pair of dress shoes that had the soles coming unglued from the rest of the shoe. The man working there (George?) was very helpful and told me the options I had. It was only $10 to get them re-glued, vs $50 to have them totally re-soled. So I went for the re-glue option since the shoes were pretty old anyway.

They took my number and told me they would be ready in 3 days. They didn't call so I went by to check, and the shoes were ready.

Judging by the other items I saw in the store, they do all kinds of repairs to men's and women's shoes. I would recommend this place because it is a small family business, and they did a really good job.

I have a new habit of taking Alexandria V.'s reviews and assuming the opposite. (I also like to see how many times she can mention her fiance in every review. Sadly, only twice in this one.)  Anyway, I was right again, her review was way off base, and I enjoyed The Boot.  

In short:  started with a great duck confit, then moved on to seared scallops with gremolata over handmade paprika fettuccine.

Good dinner. I'll be back for sure.

We sat out on the patio one nice evening to enjoy the view and music over the PA system. The atmosphere was very nice and the wait staff was really on top of everything. We stuck to the sandwich menu and ordered Fish Tacos (local flounder), Crab Cake sandwich, and a cheeseburger. Everyone really liked their food.

The crab cakes were some of the best I have had. It was solid crab with no obvious filler. The flavor of the crab was allowed to come out, and I really liked it.

Price wise, this place was great, as far as the sandwiches go. I think they were all less than 9 or 10 dollars.

Grace Street Grill is a small grill in downtown Norfolk that serves up an excellent Philly Cheese Steak. There is a bar in front by the grill as you walk in where you can sit, and a small dining room in the back. I sat at the bar and chatted with the couple working there.

The sandwich rolls are the authentic ones, and are imported from Philly. Having eaten Cheese Steaks in Philly, I would say that the ones here were definitely on par, and even tasted a bit better and were less greasy. However, the sandwich was not a full as others I have had.

They have pretty limited hours of operation. Just Monday through Friday from 11am to 3m.
Daily specials start at $4.95.

Go check them out.

Very good diner food. There are daily lunch specials for $5.25. I was there yesterday and had the Salisbury Steak special. It came with gravy and grilled onion a roll and two sides. I chose mashed potatoes and gravy, and carrots. It was very filling, and all for under $6.

The previous time I ate here was St Patrick's day when they were serving Corned Beef and Cabbage. They are also open early for breakfast.

Home made desserts are available too.

Well, we had a blast here. I think there is a strategy to be used. First of all, get there as soon as they open. It's not that tough, really, since they open at 10am on the weekends. At least they did the Saturday we went. The only down side is that the people who work there are still clearly hung over. Mary is right, the girl in the ticket booth was the most unhelpful person ever. She has no concept of anything in the park; not how long a ride takes, how many rides there are, anything. Of the remaining 25 or so workers, I encountered one (1!) who actually smiled and seemed nice. The rest were jokers.
So back to the strategy. Get there early, and then buy a 2-hr all you can ride pass. The park doesn't start to fill up until after noon. We easily got in 15 or 20 rides. The pass doesn't let you ride the two speediest rides there, but that is not why we went, so we were pretty happy.

Trader Joe's is definitely a welcome addition to VB, but it could be so much better. The bakery is the size of my desk at work, the seafood section is pretty poor considering where we live, and the produce is nothing exotic or special. If you want apples, oranges or bananas, you are set. But if you fancy the occasional guava, dragon fruit or mango you are out of luck.

I thought the tea selection sucked, since they carried no jasmine or darjeeling tea. Seriously? I have a better selection of tea in my cupboard at home.

I think the big draw is the large and cheap selection of wine. Also the frozen dinners are popular.

It's better than Kroger, but if you have ever shopped at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, or Fresh Market you will likely not be impressed. Certainly you will not react as most in VB, who seem to think that the Trader Joe's opening is on par with the second coming of Jesus. I can only assume that the novelty will wear off eventually.

Go here.

The location is a little rough around the edges, but the interior is nice and inviting. The prices would be fine if you were only getting what you ordered, but they always bring me extra things to try, and it works out to be a deal. I have been a few times for dinner and they have been pretty empty, except for a steady stream of take-out orders. Sit up at the bar and the sushi chef will chat with you, and you are more likely to get his sample rolls that he is still working on. The rolls are definitely not the biggest, but there is a lot of flavor in there. Try the Chesapeake roll, or some of the other baked rolls. They are fantastic.

I took my daughter there last night and they made it so much fun for her. Mo Mo is nice family sushi and noodle joint that I recommend to anyone in the area.

Lake Rawlings gets 4 stars for the diving, and 0 stars for the people who work there.

I was finishing my SCUBA certification dives over the weekend, and decided to camp there Friday and Saturday night. When I arrived around 7:30pm friday I checked in at the main shack. It is $10 a night to camp, which is very reasonable, but they charge $5 to get to your camp site. What? Yup, they said they had to charge me a visitor fee of $5 to get to my campsite. I was shocked. It was so stupid. That's like checking in to a hotel and being charged to walk to your room.

The campsites were not well marked at all, and the directions I got offered no help at all. After driving a few loops of the trails I picked a tree and set up camp under it.

The next morning people were bustling around the staging area getting ready, and a Lake Rawlings staff lady was barking commands at people. Not at people work there, but at paying divers. "Get off the grass!" "don't park there" "don't you know that pavilion is not reserved for you!" She was nuts, and the most negative person I encountered in a long time. She yelled at me for walking under a rope from one pavilion to another. I think she must be an elementary school teacher, and misses yelling at kids during the summer. She drove around in a very loud gas powered golf cart kicking up dust all morning.

As for the diving, the water is super clear, about 30' vis. The fish are everywhere and fearless, which is pretty cool. The top 30' of water was nice and warm, and below 30' was in the 50s. There is a floating dock in the middle of the 20 acre lake, and lots of underwater attractions, like sunk boats, planes, cars, etc.

Surprisingly, I got decent cell phone reception out there. Oh, bring plenty of water. The water on tap is well water, and they said they have never tested it. There is a military base a few miles upgradient, so I wouldn't drink that if I were you. The girl behind the counter said she had been drinking it her whole life and she "was fine." It's all relative, I guess.