We always make sure to catch Grape and Gourmet's big tasting event, Cheap and Cheery, on the second Saturday of the month. It's a great way to try beers and wines you might not normally buy.
She Crab Soup Classic 2015 Winners!
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
7th Annual East Coast She Crab Soup Classic
The 7th Annual East Coast She Crab Soup Classic is happening tomorrow. If you're not familiar with this event, here's what happens:
Some of the area's best restaurants show up and serve their take on she crab soup. There are two judging categories - Critics and People's Choice. Those who attend will get a checklist and get to visit each restaurant's table. You sample their soup and mark which one you think is the best!
So far there are 17 competitors. Maninno's will not be competing this year but I heard they will have a table so everyone can still try their award winning soup!
Check out the event's page for information.
Order tickets here. $14 before the event, $18 at the gates if there are any left.
Sat, Apr 11, 2015 12:00 PM
24th Street Park, Virginia Beach, VA
Tessa pulled images from the site to make this sweet collage.
VB Basics features I Heart Food
When I first started to get into blogging and I mean actually starting one and sticking to it for the umpteenth time (seriously, I've been off and on the idea of online journals since about 2000) I searched for local blogs to follow. One of these was Our Beach Baby, a mommy blog based in Virginia Beach. It was nice seeing shots of Virginia Beach and creeping on someone's family. That sounded weird didn't it? Anyway...
Years later I actually met the woman who owned the blog - Tessa! We bumped into each other at Back Bay Brewing's tasting room at the Beach.
Oh, another thing about me, if we follow each other online I consider that an invitation to talk to you in person if I every see you in the wild. Keep that in mind when I'm in your face one day.
Tessa & me, it was hot outside!
It's always nice to meet someone you've kind of known online for years and finally get to talk face to face. Tessa was there with her husband and his co-workers for a little party. Everyone was having fun, being loud and drinking beer of course. It's a brewery tasting room. They doors were open to let in some air because Virginia summers get hot! I invited myself to take their photos and someone got one of me and Tessa together too :)
Not too long afterwards Tessa started another site called vbbasics.com. I think she said it was something she was messing around with for a while and wanted to put more time into it. She'll be splitting a lot of time between the two because she's having another baby! That'll bring extra content for Our Beach Baby!
Tessa contacted me recently and asked if I would do a little Q&A with her to which I argreed. I love those things, they're fun and my site doesn't really put a lot out there about me personally. So here it is, enjoy and please bookmark VB Basics while you're there!
Lynnhaven Oysters, big, juicy and holding all the characteristics of the water they were raised in.
Chris Ludford on the Lynnhaven River
When the first Europeans arrived on the shores of the Chesapeake they had an unfortunate skirmish with a group of Native Americans in which both sides retreated a little worse for wear in the end. The Chesapeake natives were on the beach again the next day and when they saw the Europeans heading to shore again they took off to the woods. As the landing party checked out the Indian camp they found large oysters roasting in the fire. Here is a first hand account of settlers getting a taste of the local delicacy recounted in "The Beach: A History of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Virginia Beach Public Library":
"On the second day, another party went ashore and penetrated about eight miles inland without encountering any indigenous settlements. This landing was probably east of Lynnhaven Bay (called
Morton's Bay after their wounded comrade), as the Chesapeakes' principal town was located near the mouth of the Lynnhaven River. Although no Indians were found, the Englishmen did find a fire where
oysters were being roasted. The natives had fled, or at least withdrawn, leaving the oysters in the fire. According to Captain Percy, "We ate some of the oysters which were very large and delicate in
taste." These oysters became known as Lynnhaven oysters and enjoyed an international reputation as delicacies into the twentieth century."
Chris Ludford has been running these waters for decades now and has seen big changes, good and bad, concerning the Lynnhaven. He's active in the preservation of our legacy stock and will take you out on his boat for a first hand experience in oyster farming. Here are his own words on how all of us can help.
"For the last 20 years the Lynnhaven River has either been closed or severely restricted to harvest due to water quality mainly but also due to lack of harvest effort. Fortunately both factors have improved and the latter mainly focused on highly sustainable aquaculture. Recently, however, there has been an increase in the harvest of wild Lynnhaven oysters. This is occurring on privately held bottom and cannot be regulated. We hope that wild harvesters only take a small percentage of their holdings and invest in future wild harvest by planting shell and or seed. An aquafarmer by definition must plant seed or invest in the production of oysters in some way. The unfortunate reality is that removing this stock without respect is akin to clear cutting old-growth forests and is not sustainable. Most of these animals are large, 5+ year-old, spawning stock oysters that we need to rebuild the wild population of the river. Oyster biology is such that the seed of oysters free-floats for a short time over great distances before settling. We desperately need this stock to continue to rebuild the river's wild population and keep her clean with their great powers of filtration."
Check out this link to see how efficiently oysters filter water, courtesy of Lynnhaven River Now
"What will we do? Conservation groups and oystermen on the Lynnhaven are working together to develop a certification or label of sustainability for Lynnhaven River oyster producers. The criteria for this label is being developed and will include a required majority percentage of harvest to be from aquaculture, a limited harvest of wild annually and possibly some work with conservation groups on the river.
What can you do? At this point in time I encourage you all to ask the people, restaurateurs, watermen and dealers that serve/sell wild Lynnhavens to inform you about their origins and methods of harvest. Ask to see the tag. There must be a tag on every bag or box as required by law. Please tell them how valuable wild Lynnhavens are and that it is important to you that they are harvested sustainability and with respect. These animals are literally dinosaurs and the subject of attention from scientists, conservationists and the watermen for their ability to resist disease.
Who is currently doing it right? Quite simply: If a person or business has no aquaculture or farm-raised oysters in their production of Lynnhaven River oysters it would be difficult for themselves to be called a sustainable producer or farmer. If you are buying Lynnhaven oysters you should request farm-raised, sustainable oysters. If you buy wild ask if the producer is limiting their harvest in some way or using spat-on-shell methods to replenish wild stocks harvested.
I want to thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully act on my recommendations if you find yourself in agreement. Please remember how valuable those large, wild oysters are to river filtration and repopulation.
Thanks!
Chris Ludford"
Merroir Terroir at Terrapin - Jan 2015
This past January's Merroir Terroir at Terrapin was a good one. Local oysterman Chris Ludford and Terrapin's sommelier Daniel Kieser were at the helm of the event with a nice line-up of West Coast oysters and bonus appearance of a local favorite.
Lisa peeking over Rex for a shot.
We arrived just in time to sit and catch the beginning of the event. We were lucky enough to be sandwiched in-between friends and aquintances—Rex and Lisa Hamaker to our left and the Jo Ann and Buzzy Hoffheimer to our right. Chris talked a bit about oysters and some techniques in enjoying the experience. Looking at the oyster being served, the color of the shell can give you an idea of the environment it was raised in, the size and shape are good indicators of what region they came from, etc..
Mr. Chris Ludford
When it came to tasting you want to smell the oyster, sip it's liquor and then slurp it in. You can pick up the different textures of the oyster when you chew it. Some parts are strong then others, some sweeter. He also talked a little bit about umami. Umami has been classified as one of the five basic tastes together with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. It was founded in Japan, hence the name, and was only officially recognized in the 1980s. It is savory and can be found naturally in tomatoes, aged cheese and dry cured hams among other things. Oysters are packed with it!
As we listened to Chris the plates of oysters started to appear from the kitchen. We didn't know what we were going to be having, so it was a pleasant surprise to see what was going to be our launching point.
The first oyster we were having was one of our favorites, the Kusshi. These are from the West Coast and have small, deep bowls. The oysters form these types of shells due to tumbling that breaks off the edges. This prompts the oyster to grow a deeper and thicker shell. Blonde, lavender to dark hues color the scalloped shells. The batch we had were very varied from one to the next. Chris suggested that they might have mixed up several batches from the farming area which caused the differences. Variation in color is due to bottom sediment make-up. Daniel poured a 2012 Domaine Pichot Vouvray Le Peu de la Moriette Demi-Sec from Loire, France with this oyster. The pairing was perfect! Sipping a little bit of the white with a little bit of the oyster in my mouth blended well and highly complimented the flavors of both. Great finish and lingering aftertaste was very pleasant.
Kusshis!
Color variation in Kusshi shells
Terrapin's Sommelier Daniel Kieser
Second, we were poured Sokol Blosser Evolution 18th Edition, a white blend from Oregon. On our plates were the Rolls Royce of oysters – the Kumamoto! These were raised in Humboldt Bay, CA and had salt up front with a sweet, butterly flesh. The bite was crisp and fruity—think green grapes or light melon. I've only had these a couple of times so this was a treat. They are small but pack a punch, I could imagine eating a bag of these by myself. The wine was bright and paired well with the initial saltiness of the oyster liquor; I think the Evolution would definitely be good with spicy food.
Our third course was another variety of Kusshi known as a Shigoku (which means something along the lines of “outstanding” in Japanese), this particular oyster is being marketed under the name “Fat Bastard.” What separates these from other Kusshi oysters is that they are tumbled by the tides themselves. The oysters are put in bags that are suspended by floats so they never touch the bottom. Twice a day when the tides change the oysters are tumbled. I expected the shells to be bright without coloration, but they were lined with thick, dark stripes. Regardless of what the shell looked like (which was pretty!) they oysters were delicious! Shelby said it was her favorite oyster of the night. Meaty with a strong melon finish. We had a 2012 Côte Bonneville Cabernet Franc Rosé from the DuBrul Vinyard in the Yakima Valley, the arid desert region of Central Washington hold ideal growing conditions for certain grapes. It was citrusy, a little strong for the oyster I thought; still a good bottle though.
Fat Bastards
Similar coloring as the Kusshi
We actually got a fourth course and we made our way back to the East Coast with Chris' own Pleasure House Oysters! Salty liquor, juicy, these were bred especially for Terrapin restaurant. Smaller and easier to eat, these were started in 2013. The standard Pleasure House Oyster is huge, the idea behind farming these a little smaller was that it would be a lot less oyster to handle from one shell. The big ones are called chokers for a reason. Daniel poured a 2012 Bollini Pinot Grigio from Trentino, Italy. It went well with the five Lynnhaven mollusks Chris generously gave us. It was my lucky night too, one of the patrons at the end of the bar had a pea crab in her oyster I got to eat. About eating it herself, she said something along the lines of "maybe next time."
Daniel pouring the Bollini Pinot Grigio
Little pea crab
While we enjoyed out oysters and wine Chris described some of the recent conditions of the Lynnhaven. In 2013, Lynnhaven Inlet didn't have as much rain which in turn increased the salinity of the water. These conditions directly affect the flavor of an oyster. The tide has a huge influence on how an oyster tastes too. Tide creates flow, the flow of the water provides food for the oysters. Like most of what we eat, the animal's diet can be detected in its flesh. He said we should consider the oyster when we purchase animals to eat. Try to know where they came from and how they've been handled. The Pleasure House Oysters we ate that night were only touched 15 times before we ate them.
Oh, another nice thing about Merroir Terroir that night is that it was Shelby's Birthday. They brought out a little Valhrona Cocoa Chocolate Pudding with Sea Salt and Olive Oil. Next to the pudding was a single candle that glowed warmly at the low-lit bar. A great way to cap off the evening of great oysters, wine and company.
Hope Shelby's wish comes true
Virginia Beach Restaurant Week 2015 - Ammos for Lunch
Shelby messaged me yesterday and asked if I wanted to go to Ammos Authentic Greek Cuisine off Great Neck Rd. for lunch. Her co-worker said she wouldn't mind checking it out—cool—we haven't been either! It's Virginia Beach Restaurant Week and they were participating in the $10 lunch special.
Ammos owner Yiannis
I remember being at Yiannis Wine Shop last year and Yiannis said I had to check out the Greek place across the street. He said the food was very good and authentic, I assumed he knew what he was talking about since he was from Cypress. Yiannis even offered to pay for dinner if Shelby and I went to check it out. I declined his generous offer and promised that I would check it out. Sadly it took me several months but we finally made it and we weren't disappointed.
I met Shelby and her friends Crystal, Laura and Jonathan who were already seated. There were supposed to be 6 of us but one of them couldn't make it, no worries though, seating was readily available for them when walked in arrived. Our server, Adriyan, promptly offered water and asked if we wanted anything else to drink. The Restaurant Week menus were on the table, we checked out what was being offered.
We were given choices for two courses, here's what was being offered:
First Course
- Choice of Dip (tzatziki, melitzanosalata, taramosalata, scordalia, tirokafteri or hummus)
- Spanakopita
- Cup of Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo or Lentil Soup
Second Course
- Gyro or Chicken Pita with Fries
- Small Greek Salad with Gyro or Grilled Chicken
- Mediterranean Pasta
Melitzanosalatawas with Pita
Chicken Lemon and Orzo Soup
I already knew Shelby would go for the Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup, she loves that stuff. I saw a Greek version of Baba Ganoush called Melitzanosalatawas available with the pita so I ordered that. Crystal, affectionately known as “Turd” had the Lemon Chicken Orzo too, Laura took the Spanakopita and Jonathan had a cup of Lentil Soup. Adriyan was a great help explaining what was available and what might be the best bet when ordering courses. She told us the Lemon Chicken Orzo is on the normal menu, but the Lentil Soup was a special for Restaurant Week. I think that had Jonathan lean towards the lentil which he ultimately ordered.
Greek Salad with Gyros
Adriyan went over the our second course options and I decided I'd go with the Chicken Gyro since Shelby was ordering the Greek Salad with Gyro. Laura and Jonathan both went with the traditional gyros plates and Crystal had the Mediterranean Pasta. After heading back to put in our orders she quickly returned with our first course meals. My Melitzanosalatawas was served with a generous amount of soft pita for dipping. I liked the texture and it had plenty of garlic, which I love. I don't know if Shelby will later when we were home though. I didn't get to try the soups but the feedback was good. I was snapping photos of peoples plates but didn't get a shot of Laura's Spanakopita, she had already ate half of it!
Gyros
Before we could finish out the first course the second came to the table. The portions were good and everything smelled great. My Gyros plate came with fries so I started picking at them. I have a tendency to always eat my fries first—I have no idea why, been doing it since I was a kid. I pinched off a piece of the grilled chicken in my pita and it was cooked perfectly. Moist, a little grill char on the outside and seasoned nicely. The sauce and vegetables in the pita wrap blended well and I didn't have a problem finishing the whole thing. Shelby's salad looked good and she was getting into the feta cheese and olives. The gyros meat on the salad was the same in the Gyros meals and it was standard fair, what you would find in most Greek restaurants. Crystal seemed to be enjoying her pasta which had sun dried tomatoes, capers, onions, olives and a few other things including a white win garlic sauce.
Chicken Gyros
All in all it was a good meal and the service was great. I'd like to come back and hit the regular menu for a proper dinner sometime. I love lamb and I bet they have a couple of great plates with it. Their Restaurant Week dinner menu does have a braised lamb on it, so maybe that's an option? Maybe next time, we try to head to different restaurants during Virginia Beach Restaurant Week to try places that are new to us.
Can't wait to see where we end up next!
Virginia Beach Restaurant Week 2015 - Mannino's
Virginia Beach Restaurant Week 2015 has kicked off for the new year! Just thinking about all the possibilities for lunches and dinners has me worrying about my cholesterol and blood pressure. If you're not familiar with Restaurant Week, participating area establishments offer lunch and/or dinner specials at reduced prices to entice diners to visit their restaurants to try something new. On average lunches are $10 and dinners run from $20-$30.
Virginia Beach Restaurant Week is celebrating its 10 year anniversary with over 90 restaurants taking part. We were able to hit a few last year: Braise, Croakers, and Chic's to name a few. Our first Restaurant Week outing this year was to Mannino's for lunch! If you didn't know it yet, Mannino's has the best She-Crab soup in Virginia Beach—hands-down. I don't say those words lightly either! Starting with a good soup sounded perfect since we're in cold weather now. Shelby made reservations for us at the new Oceanfront location, this will be our first time at that shop.
They have an extensive Restaurant Week lunch menu made especially for Restaurant Week. I didn't realize how much they were offering until I actually checked out the menu. For $10 you get two courses: The first could be Prosciutto & Fresh Mozzarella, Calamari Friti or a cup of the Award Winning She-Crab soup! (I know what I was ordering.)
Mannino's award winning She-Crab Soup
The second course ran one and a half pages, anywhere from salads, sandwiches (including an Oyster Po' Boy), and a wide range of pastas and sauces. We had 5 in our lunch group Shelby, myself, Nana and Marleigh who brought along a friend for us to meet. Once we were seated our server brought out a hot, fresh loaf of bread for the table and small plates to mix olive oil and balsamic. We used the delicious, crusty bread to dip into the mixture and finished off the small loaf quickly. I asked for another immediately afterward. The table pretty much stuck with the first course She-Crab soup except for Nana who has an aversion to shellfish. Our meals came with salads too, a nice house salad and a Caesar. As for entrées we ordered the following: Two plates of Four Cheese Ravioli (one spicy), Vitello Parmigiana, Smoked Turkey & Provolone Panini and a Fried Oyster Po' Boy.
Calamari Friti
When the first course was brought out I was surprised at how large the calamari plate was, it was the regular serving size. The soup came in cups, as described on the menu. Nana ordered the calamari and passed it around the table to share, even after doling out some to everyone she had a healthy portion left to herself. The She-Crab soup was spectacular as expected. The large chunks of sweet crab meat were hiding just below the creamy soup and I made sure to divvy out equal amounts of each with every bite. I can be a little anal about how I eat my food. The Caesar was very nice and I loved the croutons that came with it, I like mine a little airy. I didn't try the house salad but it was pretty with a variety of lettuce and long slivers of carrots and beets.
Vitello Parmigiana
Four Cheese Ravioli
After the bread, salads, soups and calamari we were getting full. I had to finish Marleigh's soup because it would have been a sin to let that go back to the kitchen to be dumped! When the entrées were brought out we saw they really did stay with the regular menu portion sizes (or close enough!) I had the Vitello Parmigiana, veal Parmesan, that I really enjoyed. I don't get out for Italian much so this was a nice change of pace. The veal was lightly breaded and cook well, the cutlet was sitting on top of a mound of penne and sauce. I ended up giving the rest to Shelby in a take-out. She had the spicy ravioli and was gushing over the sauce. Nana had the panini and seemed pretty happy with what she ordered, it looked good and she ended up taking home some too. Marleigh's friend Patrick had the oyster po' boy that was huge. It had at least 6 plump, fried oysters in it with all fixings to the side with two sauces to choose from.
Fried Oyster Po' Boy
Smoked Turkey and Provolone Panini
Overall everyone was impressed with the meals being offered on Mannino's special menu for Restaurant Week and can't say enough how great of a deal it was for $10 a plate! I hope we're as lucky with the next place we pick. Make sure to get out and see what's being offered, the chefs and kitchens usually put something special together to let people get a taste of what they have to offer. Take a tour of Virginia Beach's restaurants, see if you find a new favorite out there.
Virginia Beach Restaurant Week runs from 10-19 January 2015.
O'Connor Brewing Co. Tap Take-over at Lynnhaven Pub
About 3 weeks back O'Connor Brewing Co. took over the taps at Lynnhaven Pub. Since then a ton has been going on and I forgot to post about it!
OBC brought 5 casks of one-offs the brewers had experimented with. The casks were brand staples with added ingredients, mixing it up a bit. It was a Friday night so Charolette was pouring out back for $5 a pour.
O'Connor was represented by several of the brewers who were willing to discuss their casks with Pub patrons. Rob, Lynnhaven Pub owner, was out back smoking meat and experimenting with coffee grinds he got from Lynnhaven Coffee Roasters.
Wine Tasting at Grape & Gourmet - 6 Nov 2014
Got to see Bill at Grape & Gourmet's Friday wine tasting. We took home a Pinot Noir and
Gina at Grape & Gourmet
We bumped into Gina at Grape & Gourmet the other week. Last time I saw her was at the He Said, She Said IV event at Croc's.
Red Angus Japchae - Korean stir fried noodles with shredded smoked chuck steak, onions, peppers and lime dressed watercress.
Hashi for Lunch
I lucked out today. There was actually a food truck parked in the general area of my office building and not just any truck but Hashi!
Braving the rain
Ross and crew working
The house apple soda
The office park I work in a surrounded by a lot of places to eat and I admit to loving a quick trip to the fast food joint but when Shelby told me Hashi was going to be down the street I got excited. It was rainy but all the better with what was on the menu. We ended up with a smoky stew and some Korean noodle stir-fry. We got a good portion and it was very filling. Both were delicious but I think I could eat the the japchae all day long. Shelby loved the pickled onions which added some pop to each bite.
They were serving a house made apple soda too, which I almost passed. I'm glad I didn't, it was tart and sweet and made your tongue tingle. The apple pulp gave the drink a great texture and all together it was a delicious drink--I wish I bought two.
Don't pass Hashi up if you see them parked around town, definitely worth a stop.
Smoked Chicken and Chili Stew - Pasilla, miso and honey laced stew of smoked free-ranged chicken and butternut squash. Carolina rice with pickled red onion.
The tasting room was open during the CRAFTED event.
Running Around Town - Oct 11, 2014
October 11th was a busy day. Saturday kicked off with the CRAFTED: Indie Arts & Craft Market at O'Connor Brewing in Norfolk, VA. Local crafters were joined by crafters from Richmond to display and sell their work. We saw a lot of friends and our buddies at HomebrewUSA were there serving up their beer; a demonstration on home brewing was setup for those who wanted to see how it's done.
After O'Connor went headed over to Smartmouth Brewing--also in Norfolk--because Shelby saw that New York Souvlaki was setup there that day. We kept missing it when it was out so this was the perfect opportunity to finally try it. It was great! Lucas inside poured me a nice, cool Rule G Shelby and I finished while we ate our chicken and pork kebabs.
We went to Cheap and Cheery at Grape & Gourmet in Virginia Beach, VA after we finished up at Smartmouth. I've posted plenty of Cheap and Cheery event photos and it's one of the events Shelby and I look forward to every month. We bumped into a bunch of friends while perused and sampled wines, beers and ciders on the tables. A great event that lets you sample things you might not normally buy. Wen we finished at Grape & Gourmet we took a little break at home to finish up a pita full of meat called "The Bomb" we got from New York Souvlaki earlier. After our brief down time we headed out again.
The last stop of our run for the day was at Lynnhaven Pub to meet the local chapter of Barley's Angels. Barley's Angels Coastal Virginia is a group of female craft beer enthusiasts who aim to educate and promote craft beer in their region. One of the ways they do this is through volunteering and that night's meeting was a big one because the next day they were going to work the Treasure Chest event.
San Diego brewing company Green Flash has held a breast cancer awareness benefit called Treasure Chest Fest. This year is special for Virginia Beach because it was going to the first one and held on the future spot for a brand new Green Flash brewery! We bumped into a lot of friends and met the friendly people from Green Flash mingled about.
We headed home at a decent time but I still stayed up too late. In the morning I was headed to Treasure Chest Fest where I was asked to be the event photographer. I'll write about that later.
Beer Tasting at Grape & Gourmet - 16 Oct 2014
Gabe is still gone but Grape & Gourmet had Carl pouring for Thursday beer tastings.
Lynnhaven Pub in HR Growler
My latest article in HR Growler is now online at their newly revised page. Read it here.
Three Ships Coffee
"Sail from that safe harbor" Mark Twain
Amy of Three Ships Coffee
I remember first meeting Brad Ewing of Three Ships Coffee, it was at the Old Beach Farmers Market in Virginia Beach, VA. I try to stop by the market when it's in season and under Terrapin's tent was a guest vendor selling cold brew coffee. I'll admit I had no idea what cold brew coffee was all about. I'm like most people, I have an electric pot at home that I program to brew on a timer. That way our coffee is ready when we get out of bed for work in the morning. I assumed cold brew was a little more involved than that.
After talking to Brad for a bit what I picked up was this: He wanted to do something new in the area and I really liked his coffee.
It's been well over a year now (longer?) and Three Ships Coffee is well known in the area. They have a mobile Slow Bar that prepares their home roasted bean on-site. They're also carried and served in select shops in the area. I discussed with Brad the direction Three Ships Coffee was headed while attending Buy Fresh Buy Local's Farm to Fork the other week. They have outgrown the home roasting operation and will be moving to the Oceanfront in a space that will provide room for people to sip and relax while being immersed in the delicious aroma of hand roasted coffee. They also want to have their mobile operation covering more the Hampton Roads area so there should be an announcement on how that work soon.
To learn more about how Brad and Amy jumped into the coffee scene read Brad's story:
"I am not very good about little blurbs. They are typically long like this ...I have always been into beverages and my first coffee was what my grandma called a "Cowboy Coffee". It was likely 90% milk 10% Maxwell house, but I felt like I was an adult for a minute. In my time out west the local coffee shops in small beach towns like San Clemente and Encinitas were always the centers of the community where you always run into someone you know. The other thing is that Amy and I got into the tradition in our travels to always try the local cuisine. That to us is food, beer, wine, and coffee. I originally wanted to start a woodworking business, but that required too much time. Two things happened that got me real into coffee.
1. Amy asked me to stop drinking beer and whiskey when she was pregnant. Coffee became my pacifier.
2. I bought a growler of coffee at a downtown pop-up food market in NYC to keep me awake on the way home and the rest is history.
Three Ships Coffee working a pop-up outside of Handsome Biscuit in Norfolk, VA
While using all kinds of coffee from all around to make my cold brew recipe I learned that coffee has so much more to offer than that burnt tire and dark chocolate. Amy is the secret weapon in all this. Her sommelier's palette and attention to detail have made it look easy. But we put a lot of emphasis on quality control, but what has propelled us forward is that we spend a lot of time tasting coffees from around the globe and researching how the best coffee roasters work their magic. We are small enough that we can make the kind of coffee we love and that has led us to a Nordic Style of roasting that is very unique to our area and only now catching on in big cities.
We think what sets us apart is that we feel its so important to engage people in a conversation about coffee and show them what is possible with coffee. That often means leaving the preconceived notions about coffee behind along with the milk and the sugar. We are excited about expanding our operations in the coming year so that we can have more opportunity to engage more people about the potential of coffee and our local community."
Brad and friends enjoying a sunny morning at the Old Beach Farmers Market
The official copy on Three Ships Coffee:
We are a small batch coffee roaster in Virginia Beach Virginia. We believe coffee creates community and are focused locally to great coffee and a pride of place to our small town.
Our goal is to give our customers a truly different coffee experience. This is achieved with a craftsman's attention to detail in how we source, roast, and serve our coffees. We define a quality cup as one that has a clean and exhibits a high degree of complexity. We are a Nordic style coffee roaster. What this means is that we roast lighter than traditional American roasters to expose the natural beauty and fruit qualities that best represent the coffee growing region where they are sourced. It’s our goal to engage our customers more like a wine tasting and talk them through how we experience each coffee. Our coffees vary based on seasonal harvests to ensure they are as fresh as possible when we roast and sell them.
All our production is done from our home garage and we are regulars at our local farmers markets and pop ups around town in our 1970's camper. Our coffees can be found in select retail locations around town and have been shipped around the country. We are currently building an online store for release in June.
If you see them around town, try a cup. It's light, flavorful and probably very different from anything you've tried before.
Cheap and Cheery - Sep 2014
This past Saturday was this month's Cheap and Cheery at Grape & Gourmet. Always fun and lots of new wines/beers/ciders to sample
Wine Tasting at Yiannis - 12 Sep 2014
Swung by Yiannis Wine Shop after visiting Grape and Gourmet. I just caught him and Valentina the day before they took off to Cyprus to get married! Congratulations to the two them. I did the wine tasting too :)
Wine Tasting at Grape and Gourmet - 12 Sep 2014
Every Friday night is Wine Tasting night at Grape and Gourmet in Virginia Beach, VA. This past Friday it was Bill pouring.
Farm to Fork 2014
The local chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local is holding its annual Farm to Fork extravaganza September 21, 2014. I went last year and had a great time checking out what the area had to offer in the way of fresh foods straight from the fields, waters and land. There was a ton of food and live entertainment. They did a good job of letting people know what was being produced right here in Hampton Roads.
In addition to food there will be regional Chatham Vineyards wine and local craft beers from Beach Brewing Co., Back Bay Brewing and Smarthmouth. A silent auction will be held too. Check out the photos from last year and please click the link to purchase tickets today! The event is a lot of fun and you'll be helping out our local farmers, makers and culture.
Farm to Fork Evenbrite page for tickets HERE!
