Back to the Tidewater (and the big 5-0)!

I had wanted to get to the last 3 places in my home state of Virginia for some time.  The 3 are in the Tidewater area of the state near Norfolk and Virginia Beach, which for those of you not familiar with the Commonwealth of Virginia is about 4 to 5 hours drive for me.  I had a few days off so I decided to make an overnight trip to get to them.

Before I get into the trip I have to make a detour in the story.  About a week before the trip, I was lucky enough to have a dinner to celebrate my 50th Birthday.  I normally have a birthday dinner with some family and friends, actually been doing it for abut 20 years but with the big 5-0 upon me this turned out to be bigger than usual.  The place  I wanted at first to hold it did not have a room available the night we wanted so at the suggestion of my sister-in-law Elaine I looked at a Triple D location (the original place not being available became a real blessing in disguise!).  There are really only 2 in the DC area that can handle a larger size group.  I decided to call the "Metro 29 Diner" in Arlington.  The Metro 29 was featured on DDD a few years back and I have been there several times, it was actually the 104th DDD visit that I made.  After talking with the night manager, Nick, we decided upon the day and away we went. 

The Birthday Boy (that would be me!)

I have to say that I am so blessed to have a really great family and group of friends.  My dad, step mom, sister and brothers as well as their families came along with some of my best friends from work, high school and cruising buddies, 37 in all!  The food was excellent and we had just a great time.  The Metro 29 made a huge and delicious birthday cake and my family made a video tribute for me.  I am not usually one to be the center of attention, so it was a bit strange for me, but it was a night I will always cherish and never forget!

The Cake!

My Family

A few days later I set out for southern Virginia to get to the 3 last DDD places in the state.  I knew I could get to all of them in the afternoon.  I use the places websites and Google maps to plan my trips so away I went.  After checking in to the hotel I was staying at in Williamsburg (about an hour from the Norfolk area, in normal traffic, which is never normal in this area) I headed for my adventure.

My first stop was in Norfolk at a inside a farmers market area.  The market is called 5 Points Community Farmers Market.  As I entered I had to explore the building and there in the corner was a small lunch stand looking place called "Get Fresh Cafe".

The Get Fresh Stand

I was helped by the owner, Mike, he cooked with Guy on their episode.  Get Fresh serves all organic and locally grown vegetables.  The menu is not too big, but everything on it looked delicious.  I choose the Patty Melt burger on Rye Bread. 

The sandwich was excellent!  A burger with Havarti Cheese and an apple slice on the side.  This place is a real find.  The prices were very reasonable, friendly service and very tasty.  Mike signed my book and I was really glad to have gone there!

From there I headed into Virginia Beach to a place very near the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  The "Leaping Lizard Cafe" is a group of buildings that include the cafe and a gift shop of funky eclectic items.  Now as I wrote I use the places websites to plan  my trips.  The Leaping Lizards site showed that they were open UNTIL 5p and I arrived there at 3p,  I walked up and saw that they closed at 3p and would reopen at 5p.  While I was deciding what to do another vehicle with Connecticut plates came up and were also disappointed!  I just can't understand my a place can't update their website, he web can really help the success of a business but I guess this place doesn't need it!

I decided to head out to my last stop which was still in Virginia Beach, but took about 30 minutes to get to.  I pulled into a new strip mall and stopped at "Rigoletto's Italian Bakery and Cafe".  This small cafe seats about 25 and has a huge display case of desserts and pastries.  They also sell dry pastas and wines in a small Italian store area of the cafe. 

I decided upon the Spaghetti and Stuffed Meatball meal.  They had all kinds of great choices from raviolis and paninis and sandwiches.  I chose this meal because on the show the owner made the Stuffed Meatballs with Guy. 

Spaghetti and Stuffed Meatballs

The Stuffed Meatballs

The sauce was pretty good but the meatballs were excellent!  The stuffing was pork, spices, herbs and cheese and was incredibly tasty.  I think the staff knew from my clean plate that I really enjoyed it!
I talked with the owner and she gladly signed my book and told me about the filming at the cafe.  I really appreciate it when I get to talk with the owners and hear their stories.  I headed back home and the elusive 300th visit is getting closer, my count is now 276!