when the chef has a couple days off of work in a row — a rare, magical unicorn of an achievement during residency — we love to take little getaways. and now that we’re in baltimore, it’s amazing how many places are so close to us. a benefit of living on the east coast, i guess. we wanted to see the beach at least once before it got really cold, so we decided on a trip to norfolk, virginia. it’s only about four hours away — or three and a half episodes of this american life, which is how we calculate distance. there’s not much to do in norfolk, but there is a lot to eat. one of our favorite stops was a place called the handsome biscuit. it’s easy to see why.
the menu is soooo drool worthy. steven had the ac slawter… pulled pork, a sweet apple slaw and hot sauce. i opted for the hella fitzgerald… fried chicken, bacon and what they called red eye gravy (it was good, but it was not as the chef pointed out, red eye gravy). it was beautiful, though.
the biscuits were sweet potato biscuits. my goal for this week is to perfect my own sweet potato biscuits! if only i could make them no carb.
they also had amazing house made sodas. i had the blueberry and cream. it was as tasty as it is beautiful.
the best part about handsome biscuit is that we could bring mochi. i love his little smile when he gets pet. he just looks so happy!
we ate at their sister restaurant, field guide. the rice bowls were pretty good… but i have a big problem eating out and knowing the chef could make the same dish better. his rice bowls are the best. ; )
we walked around a lot. lots of artists are painting murals on buildings downtown… it’s so cool to see so many colors.
the colors of fall, however… i was not quite ready for.
if we could just hit pause right now on the weather, i’d be happy. but i know it’s just going to get colder and i’m going to have to start wearing my full length parka again. brrrr.
also, a big norfolk you to netflix! this little movie rental store downtown is still going strong, with a claim of more than 30,000 titles than netflix. someone needs to do a documentary on this place. what an antiquated store… i’d like to hear from the people who rent from here.
according to trip advisor, one of the top things to do in norfolk is visit the oriental gardens. the pictures looked really cool, so we took mochi to walk around…. but when we got there: it turns out it’s just like, the world’s most ornate chinese restaurant. huh. small town wonders, i guess.
we did go to the beach once, but it was sticky and the water was cold and mochi wasn’t all that interested in playing fetch or really doing anything other than eating sand.
on the way out of town, we stopped at the bakehouse at chelsea… and NO REGRETS. what was i saying earlier about carbs? give me more carbs if they come with whiskey and cinnamon.
chef meets girl 