My family and I were out in Middletown for a soccer tournament. We needed a quick and early lunch and found Bourbon’s Kitchen nearby the fields. We were seated right away and ordered a couple of beers from the decent beer list. They also have over 130 whiskeys and a long cocktail list.

Inside

For lunch, I had the Grippo’s sandwich with hand-breaded chicken. This was topped with muenster cheese, fancy sauce, creamy coleslaw, crushed Grippo’s chips, and smoked bacon ($15.50). Sweet potato waffle fries are a $4 addition but are well worth it. This sandwich is typically served as a steak burger, but chicken can be subbed or an impossible burger. This was delicious and the spicy from the Grippo’s chips really stood out.

Grippo’s Chicken

My wife had the Baja fish tacos with crispy haddock, fire-roasted black beans, and corn, house-pickled purple cabbage, salsa verde, ancho chile crema, and cilantro ($14). She seemed really happy with her choice, though the fries were an interesting side choice.

Baja Fish Tacos

Our kids enjoyed the cheeseburgers and fries from the kids’ menu ($7.99). Overall this was a really good lunch and we will be back if ever in the area again.

Bandito, a casual and quick Mexican restaurant, has been open for nearly a year now. My family and I have visited a number of times, and we will continue to do so. Parking can be tight at times, and the restaurant can also be busy, but we have found for lunch tables are nearly almost always readily available.

Outside

Orders are placed at a counter and then later picked up from a nearby window. A large bar occupies a good portion of the opposite side of the space and features a good selection of draft beer, craft cocktails, and wine.

Pickup “Trailer”

My favorite things on the menu include the nachos libre ($12) with a choice of verde chicken or ground beef served on top of a bed of corn chips topped with crema, cheese, pickled jalapenos, pico de gallo, tomatillo sauce, and manzano salsa. We also like the chips and dip sampler where $9 gets you a choice of 3 dips from a list of 8 plus a large platter of chips. As far as the tacos go, I really enjoy the buenes tardes amigo ($4) which combines verde chicken, cotija cheese, pico, and jalapeno cream sauce. The porkopolis ($4) is also a favorite with al pastor pork, green pepper sauce, cilantro, red onion, radish, and pineapple.

Tacos

Our kids enjoy the cheese quesadilla, ground beef taco, or even the hamburger (all $7 with a side). We have had a quick visit in under a half hour or we have spent the better part of an afternoon with multiple families catching up and watching sports on the TVs. We all enjoy Bandito and will keep it in our rotation of restaurants.

Over the last year or so, Dutch’s has reopened under new ownership by the folks who own Red Feather Kitchen. This means elevated food in a revamped casual setting. There are more tables than there used to be under the previous ownership that focused more on carryout. My wife and I stopped in for a date night and sampled various dishes on the menu.

Cheese Board

We started with a wonderful cheese board ($14 for 3 kinds of cheese and accoutrements). The selection of cheeses was a great mix and we really enjoyed this delicious start to the meal.

Truffle Popcorn

My wife spotted others snacking on the truffle popcorn ($6) and had to give it a try. The flavor was definitely unmistakable, and while it’s not my favorite thing, it was at least worth a try.

Smoked Chicken Sandwich

We split the smoke chicken sandwich ($14 with a choice of side dish). This adds pickled jalapeno, white bbq sauce, shredded lettuce, and Dutch’s unique “American” cheese crumbles. This was a big sandwich and was very good. The potato salad on the side was a nice mixture of local red potato, mustard seed, and mayo.

Butternut Squash Bisque

My wife also had to try their butternut squash bisque ($6) which she declared the best she’s had. Overall we had a nice meal and we should be back in the future!

After a week in the Outer Banks, my family and I stayed the night in downtown Norfolk before flying out the following morning. Before heading for the airport to catch our flight, we stopped at the Granby Waffle Shop for a quick breakfast. Orders are placed at the counter (or through an online ordering system) and prepared in the open kitchen behind. It was busy on a Monday morning holiday, but the wait for our food was only about 15 minutes.

Counter

I ordered the Captain Crunch chicken & waffles, which come with oven-baked breaded chicken bites, captain crunch, and powdered sugar ($10.99). I would have preferred the chicken to be deep-fried, but this was still really good. You can order this without the Captain Crunch cereal, but I would not recommend doing so. The crushed cereal adds a nice sweetness to the dish that would be missing otherwise.

Captain Crunch Chicken & Waffles

My kids were happy with their house waffles, but you can also build your own waffles from a wide variety of toppings. There are also more than a dozen specialty savory waffles and a handful of dessert waffles. I really liked this unique concept and would recommend checking it out when in the area.

On our way into the Outer Banks for a week-long vacation, we stopped at the Lost Colony Tavern in Manteo for lunch. We were seated right away at 11:45 on a Sunday and had our choice of indoor or outdoor tables. My wife and I both started with a Nags Head IPA while we looked over the menu. This English-style IPA is not as hoppy as I like my IPAs to be, but it was good enough for a refill later in the meal.

Carolina Barbecue Sandwich

For lunch, I had the Carolina barbecue sandwich with cherry and applewood smoked pulled pork on a potato bun with Carolina-style sauce. This is served with cole slaw and a side of chips (fries) for $15. The meat was well smoked and I wished there were more of it on the sandwich. Plus some extra barbecue sauce would really spice it up a bit. Overall it was pretty good. My wife seemed to really enjoy the Pamlico crab cake sandwich ($21) and I didn’t hear any complaints from my kids’ mini Angus cheeseburgers ($8). Overall it was a solid stop on our way to the beach.

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.

After one of my son’s many soccer games, my family and I stopped in for lunch at Grove Park Grille. They are located on Kellogg Road east of Coney Island just before Kellogg runs into US-52. Tables are available inside and out, with plenty of space for even the largest groups. My family of four was seated right away in a booth, which was perfect for us.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts

We started with the crispy Brussels sprouts with shaved Parmesan and Sriracha aioli on the side ($8.95). The Brussels were wonderfully fried and I really liked the sauce. We were off to a great start!

Coleman’s Farm Chicken Salad

For lunch, I had Coleman’s Farm chicken salad, which is a bed of grilled romaine hearts, cherry tomatoes, and roasted sweet corn topped with a chicken salad of braised organic chicken and candied pecans ($13.95). Wow, this was excellent! And the serving was very large. I had plenty to take home for the next day. This dish is highly recommended.

California Flatbread

My wife had the California flatbread with roasted garlic, olive oil, goat cheese, spinach, artichoke hearts, tomato, and avocado ($11.95). All of the ingredients were fresh and tasty. Another solid dish, but I much preferred the salad. Our kids enjoyed grilled cheese and curly pasta (both $5 with a beverage and side).

My family and I met another family for dinner at Mi Cozumel, a new addition to the Oakley Station development. We arrived around 5 on a Friday night and were seated right away. The interior and decor are not at all recognizable from the previous tenant of the space, Bar Louie.

Inside

They have an incredibly long and expensive drink list, as well as a more moderately priced but equally as extensive food menu. With the restaurant not at capacity, one would expect service to be fast, but we had to flag down a server after 20 minutes of not even placing a drink order. If considering a large house margarita ($15.99) I would recommend going with the half pitcher instead ($16.99) and splitting it with someone else. The specialty margaritas looked interesting but too expensive for my tastes.

Chimichangas

For dinner, I had the chimichangas, two per order, covered with white queso sauce, served with rice or beans, and guacamole salad ($13.99). This was a good meal and I would definitely order it again, but I’m just not sure we will be back due to slow service and expensive drinks. Plus the line was out the door by the time we left, so make sure to show up early if you do decide to give it a try.