While on vacation in the Gulf Shores area our entire group of two dozen went out to dinner together one time. After a few failed calls the afternoon before, we finally made a reservation at Gilbey’s Seafood & Steak the following evening.

Outside

Upon our arrival we found three large tables were reserved for us at the rear of the restaurant. This was perfect as we had let them know earlier that we did not all need to sit together. But with all the tables in the same area it was almost like we had our own dining room.

Garden Salad

I started with a garden salad ($2.95 addition to an entrée) with spring mix, shaved carrots, tomatoes, and garlic croutons. There wasn’t anything special about the salad, but the ingredients were fresh. I would have paid an extra dollar for the pecan goat cheese salad, had that been an option.

Smothered Chicken

For dinner I went with the only chicken dish on the menu, which featured mushrooms, caramelized onions, BBQ sauce, and white cheddar. This was served on top of sour cream and chive mashed potatoes with a few sautéed green beans ($19). The dish was plentiful  in size featuring two large chicken breasts. The combination of mushroom and BBQ was not something I’ve seen before and it actually worked quite well. Overall a very solid dish.

Gilbey’s  is a great place for a large group meal. Our service was quick especially considering the size of our party. And most of the group seemed happy with their meals.

The closest restaurant to our rented vacation house near Gulf Shores, Alabama was The Flying Harpoon 2. One day during our stay my family and I stopped here for lunch after a bike ride. We arrived right at their 11 A.M. opening time. In fact, a  friendly employee had to unlock the front door to let us in. He took the time to show us around the space and even took us out back to see the alligator and turtles that call the back pond home.

Inside

This employee split his time between taking care of all the patrons at the bar and surrounding dining area, as well as shucking fresh oysters. Though he was busy, he continued to entertain with great stories and facts on the surrounding area.  Top notch service for sure!

Conecuh Smoked Sausage Po’ Boy

Conecuh Smoked Sausage is a local hickory smoked specialty. The Flying Harpoon prepares the sausage as a po’ boy sandwich on New Orléans Leidenheimer French bread, with peppers, onions, and spicy Creole mustard ($7.75). The tasty sausage was mostly mild but the mustard helped kick it up a notch. The peppers and onions were piled high and the bread was perfect.

Shrimp Po’ Boy

My wife had the shrimp po’ boy with corn flour breaded and fried local gulf shrimp, lettuce, and tomato ($9.75). Though I didn’t try this one, it got great reviews and comes highly recommended. We also shared an order of hand cut potato chips ($3.50) that were perfectly cooked and reminded me of chips we would make at home as a kid. Great food and exceptional service make The Flying Harpoon 2 a great place to visit.

After driving through the night to get to Gulf Shores, my family and I stopped for breakfast at Kitty’s Kafe. We arrived around 8:15 A.M. on a Saturday and there was no wait for a table. There were a few tables outside on the patio, but the weather was already heating up so we opted to sit inside. We were seated at a booth next to a large painted wall depicting a farm scene. We later learned that the owners are from our home state of Ohio and the paintings are representative of their family farm.

Inside Kitty’s Kafe

The breakfast menu offers a wide variety of options. Since I don’t eat eggs my options can sometimes be limited for breakfast, but Kitty’s had plenty to offer. I went with the smothered hashbrowns with ham, mushrooms, onion, and peppers all mixed into the potato mix and then covered in cheese. This was awesome and the homemade biscuit was excellent.

Smothered Hashbrowns

Our service was speedy and friendly. All of the food was great. We were off to a great start to our vacation.

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!

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.

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.

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.