This year's Treasure Chest icon - "Hula Gal"

Green Flash Treasure Chest 2015

October 6, 2015

Green Flash Brewing's annual cancer benefit and awareness event called Treasure Chest is happening this Sunday (11 Oct 2015) in Virginia Beach! Throughout the week, in the Hampton Roads area, Green Flash will be throwing #raiseaglass2015 events to raffle off tickets to this great event and help advertise the cause.

(Check out photos from last year's Treasure Chest - Virginia Beach here.)

Green Flash's Phil Shannon and me (always with something strapped to my shoulder)

Treasure Chest was founded in 2011 by Green Flash Co-Founder and breast cancer survivor Lisa Hinkley. All the Treasure Chest related events raise money to support breast cancer charities. A beer and icon are released with the announcement of the event.

This year's Green Flash Treasure Chest beer is a naturally pink IPA with grapefruit and prickly pear juice and hibiscus flowers. I haven't had it yet, but plan on grabbing one this week! Last year's was great, barrel-aged Belgian style saison with plum. It was fermented in red wine barrels with house Brettanomyces, then conditioned with plums for six months. It was very good!

The Green Flash crew at The Birch, Norfolk, VA

Hampton Road's 2nd annual Treasure Chest event will be held at the same place it was last year - on the Green Flash Brewing property connected to where the new brewery will open in 2016. Like last year, they have invited other local breweries and shops to participate as a community to throw the big bash.

I was one of the photographers last year (you can see some of my photos in the video linked above) and can tell you it was a great time. Everyone was having fun (some a little more than others, you know who I'm talking) drinking some great beers and eating delicious food. The first time I ever had a sample of Home Republic food was at Treasure Chest 2014. That's saying something because I get out a lot! Another thing is that my wife, Shelby, will be volunteering at the event too. I can't wait to see her in action.

If you want a chance to win tickets, hit up one of the #raiseaglass2015 events in the area leading up the actual Treasure Chest October 11th. I've sorted them out for you below:

10/6 - Tubby's Tavern from 5:00-8:00 PM (Virginia Beach)
10/7 - DoG Street Pub from 5:00-8:00 PM (Williamsburg)
10/8 - The Public House from 5:00-8:00 PM (Norfolk)
10/9 - Home Republic from 6:00-9:00 PM (Virginia Beach)
10/10 - Lynnhaven Pub from 6:00-10:00 PM (Virginia Beach)

Buy tickets to Treasure Chest on this page.

Photos included were from The Birch's Treasure Chest event last week.

Virginia Craft Beer & Wine Festival 2015

September 10, 2015

We're going to the Virginia Craft Beer & Wine Festival this year for the first time. I'll be honest and say I can't remember the last time I've been to an event in Portsmouth. I guess it would have to have been the Portsmouth Dishcrawl over two years ago! Here is more info from the event's Facebook page:

This Saturday's event will be held from 12:00pm-5:00pm and will feature some of the finest selections of craft breweries and wineries, all hand picked and selected from right here in the state of Virginia.

Tickets are just $35 and include unlimited sampling, a commemorative festival glass, tons of great food options and live entertainment all afternoon featuring Mike Profitt & Dana Silver Cloud.

Breweries include: O’Connor Brewing Company, Smartmouth Brewing Company, Back Bay Brewing Company, Young Veterans Brewing Company, St. George Brewing Company, Larry’s Lemonade, Ale Works Brewing Company, Legend Brewing Company, Devils Backbone Brewing Company, Bold Rock Hard Cider, Starr Hill Brewing Company & Center of the Universe. Each brewery will feature multiple selections of some of the finest craft beers in the state of Virginia for guests to enjoy all afternoon.

Wineries include: Rapidan River Winery, Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery, Barboursville Winery, Trump Winery, Williamsburg Winery, Horton Vineyards & Lake Anna Winery. Each winery will feature multiple selections of premium wines from right here in the state of Virginia for guests to enjoy all afternoon.

Tickets are on sale now at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion Box Office and at all Ticketmaster locations. You can also purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information on The Virginia Craft Beer and Wine Festival, visit www.PavilionConcerts.com, or call 757-393-8181.

The Virginia Craft Beer & Wine Festival is proudly sponsored by nTelos Wirless, Hoffman Beverage, Republic National, Rick Hendrick Cadillac, Coastal Limousines and is produced by Integrated Management Group. Proceeds from this year’s event benefit the Virginia Legends Walk Foundation.

She Crab Soup Classic 2015 Winners!

April 12, 2015

Here's who placed in the 7th Annual East Coast She Crab Soup Classic.

CRITICS' CHOICE:
1st Place - Passion the Restaurant
2nd Place - Mahi Mah's Seafood
3rd Place - Tubby's Tavern
Honorable Mentions: Freemason Abbey, Blue Seafood & Spirits, and 328 Tequila Lounge

PEOPLES' CHOICE:
1st Place - Passion the Restaurant
2nd Place - Freemason Abbey
3rd Place - Tubby's Tavern
Honorable Mentions: Burton's Grill, McCormick & Schmick's, and 328 Tequila Lounge

Virginia Bacon Festival 2014

September 25, 2014

The Virginia Bacon Festival will be at the Scope Fountain Plaza again this year in Norfolk, VA. Last year drew over 2,700 bacon lovers and included an Iron Chef-type cook-off (you can probably guess what the secret ingredient was), live music and tons of bacon laced recipes from the area's restaurants.

This year the festival will host a Bacon Bowl that Culinary Institute of Virginia and their student chefs will compete in. They will start cooking atnoon and at 2:00 PM the public can sample the the students efforts and cast a vote for their favorite. Afterwards at 3:00 PM the bacon eating contest will be held. Lucky participants will be selected from the Viginia Bacon Festival Facebook page, there is no charge for the contestants chosen. Whoever eats one pound of bacon the fastest wins!

Malbon's BBQ "The Flying Pig" will be serving up this tasty BBQ cone topped with Bacon and drizzled with honey! They call it The Wake 'N Bacon Waffle Cone!Image courtesy of the Virginia Bacon Festival Facebook page. — Malbon's BBQ "The Flying Pig" will be serving up this tasty BBQ cone topped with Bacon and drizzled with honey! They call it The Wake 'N Bacon Waffle Cone!
*Image courtesy of the Virginia Bacon Festival Facebook page.*

Attendees will be able to purchase delicous dishes from some of the best restaurants and food trucks in Hampton Roads (and beyond.) Samples will also be available at most of the tables around the square but be prepared to stand in line for them. I'd like to mention that the restaurants put a lot of time and effort to serve the festival, please bring some cash to buy a dish--help support your food scene! Speaking of lines, there will probably be lines for drinks too, it's just how these things work. Bring some singles to tip your servers. They're going to be super busy. Here are some some of the participating restaurants: Todd Jurich's Bistro, Eat American Bistro, Belmont House Of Smoke, Cotton Southern Bistro, Bite, FM Backstage Restaurant, Public House, Gosport Tavern, Reverend Jim's Southern BBQ, Over The Moon Pizza, Pendulum Fine Meats, Rustic Roots Gourmet, Sooey's BBQ, The Coop, Mad Platters

The Food Trucks present will be: Stuft- Not Your Average Street Food, Sofrito, Twisted Sisters Cupcakes, Malbon's - "The Flying Pig", Bros Fish Tacos, Karnage Asadano Brick Grill and CXB BBQ.

Craft beer will be available too. Local favorites O'Connor Brewing, Smartmouth and the delicious Larry's Lemonade will be there. Regional brews from Hardywood Park, Lickinghole Creek, Heritage, Wild Wolf and many more will also be poured.

Live music by The Fighting Jamesons, The Killroos, The Fuzz Band and more will be on the main stage in addition to the other entertaining cooking demonstrations and competitions. Bacon inspired beverage and spirit sampling, bacon art and a kids area round out the festival. The portions of the proceeds of the event will benefit Princess Anne Hunt Club Foundation for their Agricultural Education and Animal Rescue Funds and Beyond Boobs!

Purchase your tickets online here before they sell out. If there are any left you can you can purchase them at the gate but there will probably be lines. See you there! I'll photographing the event, come up and say "Hi" if you see me.

Admission price will be $25 General, $40 VIP, $10 Kids. You can go in on a VIP table for 10 at $500. Buy tickets here.

Photos from Virginia Bacon Festival 2013:

Another Edition of...

May 1, 2014

I was putting together events on i-heart-food.com's new event calendar and saw the bottles and taps were going to be flowing this weekend. It's been a while since I posted a map to the local booze trail. Here's what's going on and make sure to check out my calendar for more details on the events:

1 May - Beer Tasting at Grape & Gourmet

- Weekly selection of new arrivals and favorites to try in the store.

1 May - ABSOLUT Artini at MOCA (Sold Out)

- 1920s themed Artini event at Virginia MOCA. Sadly it's sold out but there are rumors of getting tickets if you go to their page and poke around.

2 May - Wine Tasting at Farm Fresh (Great Neck)

- Farm Fresh always pours a couple of wines in the store if you're shopping. Good if the kids are getting on your nerves and you want to take the edge off.

2 May - Wine Tasting at Grape & Gourmet

- Weekly Friday night tasting with regulars. Good stuff!

2 May - Wine Tasting at Yiannis Wine Shop

- Yiannis always has something good on the table and if you're lucky maybe something special.

3 May - Big Brew Day at Homebrew USA

- Big Brew Day is a collection of beer enthusiasts who setup shop outside of Homebrew USA and show you how it's done at home. Last year there was a whole pig, hot dogs, hamburgers and much more. Free to the public. I don't think I need to mention there is going to be a lot of beer there right?

3 May - Town Center Virginia Beach Craft Beer Festival

- Town Center will be cordoned off to keep merry makers in while they enjoy the area's finest craft brews. Food and entertainment will be there too.

3 May - Spring Town Point Park Wine Classic

- The 8th Annual Wine Classic returns to Town Point Park running both Saturday and Sunday. Lots of events and wine will be available.

3 May - Mariner's Museum Craft Beer Festival

- The Mariner's Museum will celebrate craft brews from the Southside and Peninsula in the museum. I haven't been to one yet, but they're supposed to be fun. The Hampton Roads Beard and Stache Society will be volunteering too.

6th East Coast She-Crab Soup Classic

April 25, 2014

The 6th East Coast She-Crab Soup Classic is tomorrow at the 24th Street Park. Over 15 of the area's best restaurants will compete to be named the one with the best She-Crab soup in Hampton Roads. Last year Mannino's Italian Bistro won both the Critic's and People's Choice awards. Read my review from the last one here on AltDaily. There will be lines, but the soup makes up for it.

Here who is competing this year:

328 Tequila Lounge

C.P. Shuckers

Freemason Abbey

Keagan’s Restaurant

Lucky Oyster Seafood Grill

Lynnhaven Fish House

Mahi Mah's Seafood

Mannino’s Italian Bistro

McCormick & Schmick’s

Murphy’s Irish Pub

Passion the Restaurant

Rockafeller’s

Roger Brown's Restaurant and Sports Bar

Steinhilber's

Tradewinds

Westminster Canterbury

The gates open at noon and the event ends at 3:00 PM. When you enter the park you'll make your way around the tables and get a sample of she-crab soup. Use your score sheet to mark your favorites and turn it in when you're done. Votes will be tabulated the winners will be named at the end of the event! When you're done, go grab a beer at one of the local watering holes. You can even make the Back Bay Brewing Co. grand opening on Norfolk Ave. down the way!

Check out the photos from last year's event here.

See you there!

Virginia Draft Beer Festival 2013, Virginia Beach, VA

October 22, 2013

The Virginia Craft Beer Festival happens traditionally happens October every year. Tents lined the 24th Street park where the event was hosted with over 25 brewers pouring over 50 beers in souvenir glasses.

Rain the day before scared off some of the attendees who crowded in on day two. The weather was nice and the breeze helped air out the park.

Click here to get a list of brewers from Beach Street USA’s site.

First Virginia Bacon Festival

October 6, 2013

The 1st Virginia Bacon Festival happened this weekend outside of Scope in Norfolk, VA. The festival benefited Beyond Boobs and an estimated 45,000 people attended the fest! Well-known restaurants from around the area offered bacon inspired meals, in addition to samples, to the bacon obsessed crowd.

Everything had bacon in it—chocolate covered bacon (the caramel and chocolate bacon was delicious), poppers, cocktails, cookies, you name it. The Fighting Jamesons provided live entertainment, a bacon eating contest was staged—a fella named Ryan Davis won, downing a pound of bacon faster than the rest. A “Top Chef” style competition was also conducted. You can guess what they were cooking.

i<3food

Embrace The Culture - Norfolk’s Indie Music & Arts Festival

September 15, 2013

The Embrace The Culture - Norfolk’s Indie Music & Arts Festival had a great turn-out of local artists, musicians, and of course, food! In addition to the trucks and stands serving the attendees, there were beer tents and even a water station people could fill water bottles free of charge. Very nice day, great event.

i<3food