Virginia Beach is experiencing a rising craft beer scene. In addition to visiting Back Bay Brewing, I also visited Home Republic during a recent trip. Home Republic is restaurant, brewpub, and wine shop all in one. They have a very small brewing system that they are using to put out some interesting beers like their Blue Berrymore, which is brewed with twenty pounds of blueberries per barrel.

Young Veterans Brewing Jet Noise

They also feature a variety of craft beer drafts from neighboring breweries and from around the U.S. I was able to try Young Veterans Brewing Jet Noise, a tasty double IPA from the Virginia Beach brewery which was founded in 2012.

Veggie Burger

The food is made from scratch and the menu features plenty of sandwiches and burgers, along with a small selection of entrées featuring baby back ribs and crab cakes. My wife tried the quinoa and black bean veggie burger topped with spinach, tomato, and sautéed onions with a side of fries ($13). The addition of quinoa to the patty was unique and something that I’d like to see more of.

Cuban Panini

I went with the Cuban panini featuring roasted pork, Smithfield ham, and Swiss topped with pickles and mustard ($13). For my side I went with the veggies and was given a massive serving of steamed broccoli that was slightly under-cooked for my tastes. The sandwich was quite tasty, especially the ham which I’ve learned is a local specialty. Home Republic is a great place for a quality meal.

I’ve visited Virginia Beach twice. The first was back in 2011 when craft beer was hard to find. Fast forward to this year’s visit to the beach and I had multiple breweries to choose from when my in-laws offered to watch my kids for an afternoon.

Brewing Equipment

After a quick review of the locations of the handful of breweries in the area, I quickly chose Back Bay Brewing Co. mainly because my wife and I could ride our bikes there from our hotel on Atlantic Avenue next to the beach. The tasting room is on the somewhat busy Norfolk Avenue, but there is a bike path all the way from the beach area.

Bar Area

The tasting room was comfortable and the beers helped cool us down after our hot bike ride. While enjoying the beers we chatted with the employees from the brewery who were all very friendly and knowledgeable of the breweries history.

Atlantic Avenue IPA

The brewery started in 2011 and originally was contract brewing at another brewery’s site. Now they have opened up their own small system on site and are brewing as much as they can. The flagship beers are still being brewed offsite, but the brewers make sure to oversee the operation as much as they can. I’m told they are also planning to open their own production facility in the future.

Coaster Backside

Their Atlantic Ave IPA was a very good choice and I was also given a taste of a new double IPA they were working on, which was excellent. My wife was happy with the Hefeweizen and even tried a Shandy that they create by mixing their lager with San Pellegrino, a good choice for a hot afternoon.

While on vacation in Virginia Beach, my brother-in-law and I biked from our oceanfront hotel to Zero’s Subs. This Virginia Beach based sandwich franchise operates roughly 30 restaurants in three states, though all but two are located in Virginia. The 17th Street location sits just five blocks from the boardwalk.

Outside

Then menu is written on chalk boards above the food preparation area, however descriptions of many of the sandwiches were not available. The staff was kind as they walked us through the menu and offered suggestions along the way. Our carry out order was ready in about five minutes.

Inside

We ordered a variety of their signature oven baked subs. My favorite was the 17th Street club with sliced turkey breast, baked ham, hearty bacon, and smoked provolone ($4.65 for 6″). By default subs are dressed with lettuce, tomato, onions, spices, oil, and vinegar. The hearth baked bread was very good and the ingredients were all high quality and fresh.

17th Street Club

Located close to the beach, Zero’s Subs is a perfect spot for a quick lunch. While the normal prices are fair, be sure to catch the “2 for Tuesday” special, to get two 12″ subs for just $10.99!

The MLB All-Star Game events started over the weekend and Cincinnati is alive more than I’ve ever seen. My family and I took some time yesterday to walk through the jam-packed Block Party adjacent to the ball park, see the zip line fly overhead, and run through the newly expanded Smale Riverfront Park, which was filled with families overflowing from the nearby events.

All-Star Mustache Statue

Tonight the Home Run Derby is schedule and tomorrow night is the main event. I’ve been very impressed by the work that has taken place to make our city look better than ever. I hope all of those who visit from out-of-town truly appreciate it all as much as we do and will continue to for years to come. Go Reds!

On our way into Virginia Beach a couple of weeks back, we stopped at Mary’s Restaurant for breakfast. Located just four blocks inland from the touristy beach area, I’m told this is a local favorite. Upon our arrival just before 9 A.M. on a Sunday the restaurant wasn’t overly crowded and a table for nine was available right away. When we left the restaurant all the tables were full and there was a wait for any new customers. So get there early.

Inside

For breakfast I ordered the biscuits and gravy ($4.95) along with a side of home fries ($1.79). The biscuits were nearly square-shaped and clearly homemade. They were dense and very good. The sausage gravy needed a touch of extra salt but was still good. The home fries also appeared to be fresh-cut and were cooked perfectly.

Biscuits & Gravy

The breakfast menu is quite large and definitely has something for everyone. Prices are very reasonable, omelets starting at $6, pancakes for under $4, and there is even an early bird special for those arriving before nine. Our service was quick and the food was all good to very good. This was a good find.

Late May through June was filled with a series of vacations. Not only did my family and I take a road trip through southern Ontario, we also had two trips to the beach. The first of these beach trips was with my in-laws to Virginia Beach, which we last visited in 2011.

28th Street Guard

This was a bit of a whirlwind trip, leaving on Saturday evening and driving through the night then coming back on Wednesday evening with another drive through the night, but that was as many days as we could fit into everyone’s schedules last-minute.

Sandstock

Even with the shorter trip we still managed to squeeze in a beach concert, a couple of rounds of mini golf, a few restaurant experiences, a brewery stop, and of course plenty of time swimming in the ocean and the hotel pool. It’s nice that there was so much to do and see all within walking/biking distance of our hotel.

Beach Family

The one thing that really distinguishes Virginia Beach from other beaches is the 28 feet wide paved boardwalk that stretches three miles along the beach. The boardwalk sits between the sand and any buildings and features a separate bike path. This makes getting up and down the beach a breeze and there is always some sort of entertainment taking place on the boardwalk. The downside is that you always have to cross the boardwalk to get to the beach from your hotel, even if you have an oceanfront view.

During our recent trip on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, my family and I stopped at the Peninsula station to explore and get some lunch. As for as lunch goes, there isn’t a whole lot in this historic village. Fortunately there is a Winking Lizard Tavern there, one of the eighteen locations of this northeastern Ohio based chain.

Inside

The restaurant was pretty full for it being mid-afternoon on a Sunday. The restaurant is spacious enough that there was no wait, in fact we had our choice to be close to the game area or on the quieter side of the restaurant.

Pulled BBQ Chicken Melt

I ordered the pulled BBQ chicken melt topped with smoked Gouda along with Applewood bacon and served between grilled sourdough with steak fries and a pickle spear ($8.79). The sandwich was large and tasty. The BBQ sauce was especially good.

My wife enjoyed the Maui Maui grilled chicken sandwich, which is marinated in teriyaki and topped with grilled pineapple ($8.49). My kids devoured the mini corn dogs from the kids menu. From sandwiches and burgers to pizza and BBQ, there is something from everyone at the Winking Lizard. Plus the beer list is very good and constantly changing. Even if there were other places in Peninsula, this would still be the place to go.

While wrapping up a recent vacation, my family and I picked ordered a couple of pizzas from Napoleon’s Pizza to eat at our hotel room for the night in Cleveland. A miscommunication during the ordering process was realized when I went to pick up the pizzas and only one pizza was on the order. The staff was happy to throw the forgotten cheese pizza in the oven as quick as possible and even delivered the goods to us car-side when ready.

Breadsticks

We all shared a side order of bread sticks with marinara sauce ($4.75 for 6). While these appeared to be cooked from frozen, the dusting of seasoning on top was a nice touch. My family of four had no problem taking down the full order, though even one stick per person would be a good start to any meal.

Deluxe Pizza

My preschool aged kids had no complaints with their small cheese pizza ($6.75). My wife and I split a large deluxe pizza with pepperoni, mushroom, green pepper, onion, and sausage ($16.50). The toppings were of great quality and were very plentiful. The sauce was on the sweeter side, though I’m told they have an even sweeter sauce available per request. I was very happy with Napoleon’s and wouldn’t hesitate to order their pizza again.

The last stop on our recent trip up to Toronto and back was near Cleveland to check out Cuyahoga Valley National Park. To do so we took a train ride aboard the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Originally I had hoped to rent bikes to ride through park of the park and use the train to get back to where we started, but it was too rainy during our visit to do so.

All Aboard

We got on the train in Independence, OH at the Rockside Station. From there we enjoyed a 40 minute trip do to Peninsula. Here we did a little Canalway Questing to explore the Towpath Trail and a couple of the old locks that were part of the Ohio & Erie Canal.

Lock 29 Bridge

Back on the train we enjoyed another trip back north to where we started. We were able to see some of the park’s wildlife and even spotted a bald eagle. My youngest swears that she saw a bear, but she was the only one on the entire train. We had a nice time exploring the park through the train, but I really wish we could have biked some of the trail too.

Please Remain Seated

Before we left the Clifton Hill area to explore the falls, my family and I stopped into the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. The restaurant was nearly empty during our Friday afternoon visit, so we were seated right away. I’ve been to other locations before, but this was the first time our four and two year old children would experience this restaurant attraction.

Elephants Inside

We were seated fairly close to the group of animatronic elephants, which would make all sorts of noise every ten minutes or so. There were also a group of gorillas doing the same thing, as well as a choreographed thunderstorm every half hour. Needless to say, the kids were entertained throughout the meal.

Misty Mountain Chicken Club

I ordered the misty mountain chicken club with Cajun chicken, bacon, jalapeño jack cheese, lettuce, and tomato on toasted ciabatta. This comes served with coleslaw and choice of kettle chips or fries ($16.99). Overall the sandwich was good and the side of chips was enough for our entire table.

China Island Chicken Salad

My wife had the China island chicken salad with potato sticks, rice noodles, sesame seeds, and Mandarin oranges with a signature dressing ($16.99). This was one of the better salads we’ve had recently and the serving size was plentiful with a full grilled chicken breast on top.

Our kids enjoyed the three amigos mini hot dogs, served with either fries of veggies ($7.99). The price is a little high, but it is inline with the inflated entrée prices that come with the tourist destination and the ambiance of the jungle themed restaurant. Overall it was a solid lunch and paying extra to have the kids entertained throughout the meal is often worth it.