Virginia Diner

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I just spoke about how we took a ride to Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads, Norfolk, I am not that familiar so they get kind of all mixed up for me. It was Southern Virginia near the shore, where a lot of rivers meet the ocean. We went so my honey could fly in the air. Which she accomplished, she left the earth, flew in the sky more than once and then landed back on the earth.  There is only 1 sky. Just so you know….

 We stayed at the Hilton on the river in Suffolk Va. The hotel is on the banks of the Namemethecockofcoxfoxintheboxwithmysoxonyourhotboxhotknocks  river. (maybe better to look it up!) A beautiful property on the water, adjacent to a great  marina. The restaurant was run of the mill for a Hilton Garden Inn. Two dudes cooking on a line visible to the dining room. Dinner the night of arrival  was late and fair ….  and only fair. The boys behind the line spent more time  shooting the bull than concentrating on putting out good food. Sea Salt French Fries on the menu…. the only thing missing was the Sea Salt. I told the waitress I could have went to Wendy's. The crab cake was Ok.  

Breakfast the following day….  sad omelets, frozen potatoes, and no commitment from the wait staff for refills, creamer, butter, or anything else you may anticipate from a full service establishment. As a youngster, I would do back flips to make an extra dollar tip. These kids here …. not so much.    

Saturday morning after breakfast at the airport. SBCP ( Sweet Banana Cream Pie)  kissed the heavens and got her first official flying lesson and we were considering what  to do next. What the heck could top that ??? I tell you what. Ham Biscuits at a diner doing the right thing for the right reasons for more than 80 years. The night before we watched a special on TV about Virginia Diner …. Fried Chicken, Collard Greens, Macaroni & Cheese, oh and Biscuits….  Southern Style, the same way for more than 8 decades. It was about 45 minutes away and worth the drive. We considered flying but the parking lot was full and there was no room to land. The joint was packed. It was 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon.  It was Virginia Diner.  

We registered with the hostess. This place was kind of Cracker Barrel -esque. They jam you into the gift shop  when you sign in … so you can browse and buy. Boiled peanuts and Virginian Tech shirts. They tell you it's going to be 20 to 25 minutes… so go forward and spend ! The dining room sat about 90 or so. It was about 10 minutes until we were seated. On this Saturday afternoon after 11:00 the buffet was $11.95. The buffet displayed all of the Southern Specialties plus some really pretty desserts. The Mac & Cheese on the buffet turned out to be much better that the ala-carte  portion. We were seated and watched the folks coming back from the buffet with dangling trails of strings of cheese from the Mac & Cheese. This place was legit !

This joint had it all !! Little kids… fat ladies …. grumpy bastards… tourists…. local mutants….. 400 pound people….. and 80 pound people …. dudes with sandals and black socks… Chicks with cutoff shorts so short that the pockets stuck out of the bottom … Three dudes who while waiting for a table just kept saying … " Is there a Burger King around here ? " Chicks and dudes with bad teeth… brown teeth…. missing teeth …. and summer teeth…. ( Some were there  …. some were not) There were  fast and furious waitresses and sweaty  bus boys…. They had it all !  The cheese string trails  continued to made small inroads all over the linoleum floor. It was fantastic! They cleaned and turned over the tables like it was nobody's business…. but you know what ? It was their business !

I loved it  !  

SBCP ordered the house specialty - Ham Biscuits- Collard Greens-Waldorf  Salad- and a wrap up of Peanut Pie. I ordered a Club Sandwich. We ordered two sides of Mac &  Cheese.  I was jonesing for the Fried Chicken but I knew it would have been too much. However I could taste the Fried Chicken as I visually licked the grease from the faces of the previously mentioned mutantos dejour.  

 

 

I just wanted a club sandwich… the club had the Famous Ham as one of the components so I was good !

Overall the meal was excellent. The atmosphere and hum of the restaurant was outstanding. Just good honest, wholesome food.   I fell into a small carbohydrate coma on the way back to the river. HSBCP got us back and forth…. on the earth of course . Another visit to a famous food destination !!!!  

Virginia Diner >>>>>>>>>>>> As far as I am concerned you folks are good for another 80 plus years.  

The Peace You Build in Your Soul is the Peace That Becomes Your Rock !!!

Luvya- The FoodNomad>>>> Stay Tuned for the big announcement.