Last week I attended a medical conference at Virginia Beach. Here is a sampling of my favorite restaurants - two tried and true ones and a new fabulous find.
Catch 31
Everything about this restaurant screams trendy sophistication. I mean, come on, it's at the Hilton. It is a very busy place and is usually quite energetic. The food is gourmet and it's one of the best places to have seafood at the beach. I love to sit outside. When it's cooler, fire pits are lit to keep you warm. During the summer, there is usually a band playing right beside of the restaurant. And there is an ocean view of course. This is one of the pricier restaurants, and they don't take reservations (booo!) but I think you have to try it at least once when you're in town.
I had the crab cakes and they were perfect just as expected; large chunks of back fin meat with a yummy grain mustard sauce, an unexpected but flavorful pear-tomato chutney, and side of veggies/steamed potatoes.
Everything about this restaurant screams trendy sophistication. I mean, come on, it's at the Hilton. It is a very busy place and is usually quite energetic. The food is gourmet and it's one of the best places to have seafood at the beach. I love to sit outside. When it's cooler, fire pits are lit to keep you warm. During the summer, there is usually a band playing right beside of the restaurant. And there is an ocean view of course. This is one of the pricier restaurants, and they don't take reservations (booo!) but I think you have to try it at least once when you're in town.
I had the crab cakes and they were perfect just as expected; large chunks of back fin meat with a yummy grain mustard sauce, an unexpected but flavorful pear-tomato chutney, and side of veggies/steamed potatoes.
Aldo's Italian Ristorante
I'm not going to lie. I ate here two nights. In a row. I just couldn't imagine a different place at which I'd rather be. This is a quintessential Italian restaurant in my opinion. It's so classy and chic. On Saturday nights, a musician plays the baby grande and the lights are turned down low. The whole place just glows.
I ate classic Italian pasta dishes this time, but I'm sure anything off the menu would be great. On the first night, I ordered capellini served with the vodka tomato cream sauce which was luscious. I asked for the half size which was just right. On the next night, I ate the classic lasagna baked in the wood burning oven which was also decadent and perfect; exactly the way you imagine it should be. I should also add that the wine list is also amazing. I found a red wine that was one of the best I had EVER tasted. Aldo's is about a five to ten minute drive from the shore (on Laskin Road) but is worth leaving the strip!
I'm not going to lie. I ate here two nights. In a row. I just couldn't imagine a different place at which I'd rather be. This is a quintessential Italian restaurant in my opinion. It's so classy and chic. On Saturday nights, a musician plays the baby grande and the lights are turned down low. The whole place just glows.
I ate classic Italian pasta dishes this time, but I'm sure anything off the menu would be great. On the first night, I ordered capellini served with the vodka tomato cream sauce which was luscious. I asked for the half size which was just right. On the next night, I ate the classic lasagna baked in the wood burning oven which was also decadent and perfect; exactly the way you imagine it should be. I should also add that the wine list is also amazing. I found a red wine that was one of the best I had EVER tasted. Aldo's is about a five to ten minute drive from the shore (on Laskin Road) but is worth leaving the strip!
The Leaping Lizard Cafe
I decided to visit this cafe after seeing it featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drives, and Dives. It was about twenty minutes from the actual beach but I am so glad I made it out. The cafe is committed to using fresh produce and it shows. In fact, there is a produce stand out back where many of the ingredients are from! (Along with some chickens!) It seemed that every opportunity was taken to add as many fresh ingredients as possible to the plate - down to the cantaloupe slice that finished everything off.
You should know that seating is pretty limited and I actually never made it inside because most of the seats seem to be outside. It was 100 degrees when I was there and I was a little annoyed at first. However, I think it was worth it and a glass of cold white wine really makes you forget how hot it really is :-)
I ate one of the daily specials (of which there are many). It was a little crab cake with a summer salad (including zucchini and squash), and the summer corn with basil. (See my last post for my attempt at recreating this). Delicious! The serving sizes were a little small, but the food itself was excellent. For dessert, I ordered the peach shortbread which really knocked my socks off. The shortbread was just the right consistency and had just the right amount of sweetness. The peaches were so amazingly ripe and flavorful. I really do not know what the cooks did to render so much flavor from the peaches but it was on the best desserts I've ever had!
After lunch (yes I had all of that for lunch), I bought a ton of produce from the back. I was just beaming after the whole experience. I loved Leaping Lizard and will definitely be coming back!
I decided to visit this cafe after seeing it featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drives, and Dives. It was about twenty minutes from the actual beach but I am so glad I made it out. The cafe is committed to using fresh produce and it shows. In fact, there is a produce stand out back where many of the ingredients are from! (Along with some chickens!) It seemed that every opportunity was taken to add as many fresh ingredients as possible to the plate - down to the cantaloupe slice that finished everything off.
You should know that seating is pretty limited and I actually never made it inside because most of the seats seem to be outside. It was 100 degrees when I was there and I was a little annoyed at first. However, I think it was worth it and a glass of cold white wine really makes you forget how hot it really is :-)
I ate one of the daily specials (of which there are many). It was a little crab cake with a summer salad (including zucchini and squash), and the summer corn with basil. (See my last post for my attempt at recreating this). Delicious! The serving sizes were a little small, but the food itself was excellent. For dessert, I ordered the peach shortbread which really knocked my socks off. The shortbread was just the right consistency and had just the right amount of sweetness. The peaches were so amazingly ripe and flavorful. I really do not know what the cooks did to render so much flavor from the peaches but it was on the best desserts I've ever had!
After lunch (yes I had all of that for lunch), I bought a ton of produce from the back. I was just beaming after the whole experience. I loved Leaping Lizard and will definitely be coming back!