After checking out the nearby OBX Lizard Land in Currituck, NC, my family and I stopped at Pass the Salt Cafe for a late lunch. Despite it being 2 P.M. there was a decent crowd inside, and by the time we left an hour later the dinner rush was already starting.

Raw Bar

We were seated at a table with a cool sea turtle painting on it. My wife and I enjoyed a couple of local brews while looking over the menu.

Table Art

The choice was easy for me, the Pamlico Pimento ($8.50 with a side). This sandwich combines house-made pimento cheese with crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato, house dressing, and drizzled with red pepper jelly on a grilled French roll. Wow, this was great! I really loved the sweet and spicy flavor of the jelly, and their pimento cheese is delicious.

Pamlico Pimento

Our entire family was happy with their meal. There isn’t much restaurant competition in the area, but even if there was, Pass the Salt would be at the top of the list.

My family and I ventured out for breakfast one morning during our brief stay in Elizabeth City. There aren’t many options in the small town, but we did eventually find Colonial Cafe, a very traditional breakfast and lunch cafe. The breakfast menu is full of omelets, biscuit sandwiches, pancakes, and plenty of bigger platters.

Fried Chicken Biscuit

I settled on the fried chicken biscuit, cajun style ($6.99). Their biscuits are really good alone, but adding some spice from the chicken was an excellent choice. I really enjoyed this sandwich.

Biscuits & Gravy

I also had some of my daughter’s biscuits & gravy ($8.99 with a choice of home fries, grits, or baked apples). I would have ordered this had she not done so. But I knew there would be plenty leftover. This was a good serving of biscuits & gravy, again their biscuits are fresh baked and good on their own, but when topped with homemade sausage gravy you can’t go wrong!

My family and I spent a few nights in Elizabeth City, NC before heading for a week at the Outer Banks on a large family vacation. My favorite meal of the entire trip was courtesy of Hoppin’ Johnz, our first night in Elizabeth City. This restaurant was just a few blocks from our rental home in downtown Elizabeth City. We arrived just before their dinner rush on a Friday evening and were immediately seated at a high top near the bar. Soon after the host was letting other parties know that it was going to be a 30-40 minute wait for a table.

Inside

To start we ordered the fried green tomatoes ($12). The server kindly let us know that the serving size was 3 and offered that we could add another to our order so each member of our family could have their own. There was no way my son was going to try these, so we just stuck with the standard order. Hoppin’ Johnz is self-described as new south cuisine, and I think that description fits it well.  These tomatoes were fried in cornmeal and topped with country ham, pimento cheese, and pepper jelly. I have never seen fried green tomatoes presented this way, but they were extremely good!

Fried Green Tomatoes

For dinner, I had the heritage farms pork barbecue topped with new south slaw and eastern NC barbecue sauce ($11 with choice of side). The pork was full of a nice smokey flavor, while the new south slaw had a welcome addition of sweet peppers that really made it stand out. On the side, I enjoyed the Brussels sprout slaw which was mostly sweet in flavor thanks to the dried cranberry addition. It was a great meal and a ton of food for the price tag!

Pork Barbecue Sandwich

My wife enjoyed the classic Chesapeake crab cake sandwich, which is a blue crab cake, that was topped with lettuce, tomato, and remoulade ($14 with choice of side). She commented that the crab cake was one of the best she had. And she also enjoyed the side of sweet potato fries dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with apple butter.

Crab Cake Sandwich

The restaurant is totally kid-friendly. I can’t remember exactly what our’s had, but I think there was at least pasta and a burger on the menu. That’s what I remember my kids enjoying anyway. Overall this is a wonderful place for lunch or dinner and has to be among the best in Elizabeth City.