Terrapin

So apparently my blog is so popular people know me when I call because I got my husband and I table at Terrapin last night, even though it was booked SOLID for restaurant week. Okay, yeah, that's just a dream and no where near reality, but a girl can always hope!

So Terrapin...located down by the Oceanfront on Baltic Avenue, Terrapin a gem. It's one of the Virginia Grown restaurants in the area and it is absolutely delicious! Plus they have their own mixologist who makes amazing concoctions. We went for restaurant week so the meal was $25.09 a person (this has been extended until Tuesday January 27 for those of you have gotten here yet) and had 3 courses.

Starter: To start you could choose from a butternut squash soup with a chipotle sauce and spiced pecans, truffle oil mac & cheese, or a roasted winter vegetable salad. The soup was really amazing and I would definitely recommend it to anyone

Entree: You could choose from a half hen, seafood pasta, vegetable gnocchi or pork tenderloin meal. I had the half hen which came with brussel sprouts and the truffle mac & cheese. It was delicious. the Hen was cooked perfect and they had already taken it off the bone (thank you!). My husband had the seafood pasta was also delicious, though a fairly small portion; it had clams, shrimp and scallops in a vodka sauce.

Dessert: We had the flourless chocolate cake with chocolate sorbet and the caramelized bouchee with cider reduction and apples. Both were delicious though I think I'd have to go with the chocolate here. It had this amazing consistency and was super light - it reminded me of Nutella but of course way better.

For cocktails, there was a huge variety of great concoctions ($12-13 each). I tried both the sparking cranberry tini (house infused cranberry vodka, champagne and cranberry juice) and the Asian tini (lychee infused vodka, lemongrass syrup and something else I'm forgetting). Both were excellent. My husband had a Manhattan and said it was wonderful.

In all, you need to go to Terrapin. It was just rated #1 in Hampton Roads by Hampton Roads Magazine and I can't say I would disagree!

Price: $$$$ (expect to spend $60+/person including a few drinks not during restaurant week)

Food: 5 bowls (on a scale of 1-5)

Drinks: 2 martini glasses (out of 2)

Atmosphere: super cool

The Boot

Last night I went to the Boot for the first time in almost a year. I returned (after begging my husband) hoping that the service would be better. It was. Luckily the food was just as good as I had remembered!

For those of you haven't heard of the Boot, it's a ways from Colley down 21st Street, but it's well worth the trip. The menu is Italian inspired but uses mostly local and seasonal ingredients. They have a great selection of VA cheese, wines, and beer as well. (Tuesday is half price bottles of VA wine!)

For starters we got a cheese plate. My one critique is there isn't enough cheese on there, especially when they're all so delicious! We had a soft chevre-type, a medium gouda-type, and a hard cheddar type, all from VA. It came with a cut up Asian pear, honey, peanuts, olives, and homemade zucchini bread. Very good overall.

For my meal I decided to skip out on the full portion of pasta and instead do a salad and a half portion of pasta. Great idea because it let me try more! I had the arugula with dried figs, prosciutto and chevre. It was delicious! For a pasta, I had the shrimp and crab in a creamy tomato sauce over penne. A half-portion of this was great because it is a little heavier, but it was very good. My husband had the black angel hair with calamari, garlic, capers and tomato. It was excellent and so light and fresh. I would definitely recommend either of these plates! My husband also did the half-portion pasta and paired it with a fried oyster and grilled romaine salad which he said was awesome.

Although we didn't stay, another great thing about the Boot is the live music almost every night of the week. It starts around 9pm and includes everything from acoustic rock to blues. 

Cost: $$$ (out of 4)

Ambiance: 2 thumbs up

Deliciousness: 4 out of 5 stars

Green Onion - Brunch

Just a heads up, the Green Onion is my favorite restaurant in Hampton Roads, and probably the whole world. Every time I go it is absolutely amazing, and it is the standard by which I compare all other eating establishments at this point in my life. So, I'm just giving you fair warning when you read this post. Let me also say that some friends who used to live in Norfolk came down and visited, and they special requested Green Onion...clearly I am not alone in in thinking the Green Onion is amazing!

I will do a separate post another day for dinner, but this weekend I went for brunch, so I start with it...

The Green Onion is located on Colley Avenue, right in the middle of Ghent. It is in the space where a place called The Wild Monkey used to be if you know that. The chef at Green Onion is amazing, and one of my favorite things is the fact that it is run by almost all women! Also, all the ingredients are either local and/or organic which is also amazing. The dishes are always so fresh and delicious.

For brunch they have quite an extensive menu, with classic brunch options like pancakes & bacon and steak & eggs, but also regional options like fritatas and shrimp & grits, in addition to lots of great sandwiches and soups for lunch. They also have an amazing cheese selection, though we did not order a cheese plate this visit.

So, after getting a mimosa for me and bloody Mary's for the rest we ordered. I'm not a bloody Mary fan, I have been told these are the best blood Mary's around. I had the chorizo and red pepper fritata, my husband the soft shell crab sandwich, one friend ordered the applewood smoked bacon, apple, and cheddar sandwich on country bread, and the other friend the "lobstah" roll. My fritata was awesome...the chorizo gives a great bit of flavor and the red pepper complemented wonderfully. However, I think the winner of the day was my friend's bacon, apple and cheddar sandwich that was grilled like a classic grilled cheese. It was phenomenal. The three flavors combine so well together into an delightfully rich combination. I think I'll try to recreate this one at home as a panini... the soft shell crab sandwich and lobstah roll were supposedly excellent as well. I'm not one for soft shell crab, so I didn't try it. And, I didn't have any room left for the lobstah roll, but it looked awesome. The friend who had that is originally from Boston, and he thought it was amazing, so I feel like carries some weight since he should know his lobstah rolls! I believe all our plates were $13 each, but the range of the brunch menu is from $8 - $13.

Like I said at the begining, the Green Onion is the best restaurant in Hampton Roads...if you haven't been there, you need to go now, either for brunch, lunch or dinner! Four stars without question!

Brunch rating:
Food - 5 forks!
Cost - $$ ($15/person)
Atmosphere - 2 thumbs up for this funky place with local artists featured each month/season